Lehigh University
Drexel
Lehigh wraps up dual season with two gritty wins
2/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
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The Penn match was expected to be a close showdown between two of the EIWA’s best and the dual certainly delivered excitement. The Mountain Hawks won the opening bout at 125 as freshman Matt Fisk raced to a 9-0 lead behind a takedown and two-three point near falls then had to hold on in the third period to edge seventeenth ranked Mike Silengo 9-8.
The lead would change hands after nearly every bout. Matt Valenti put the Quakers on top with a first-period pin over John Stout. Senior Cory Cooperman would then re-take the lead with a 12-3 major decision over Cesar Grajales at 141.
Penn would win the next two matches, with Matt Dragon with a 13-0 major decision of Matt Ciasulli and then Gene Zannetti topping Trevor Chinn, who was wrestling in place of an injured Derek Zinck, 10-6.
Troy Letters finally made his long awaited return to the Lehigh lineup at 165, and after shaking off some early rust, the senior cruised to a 10-2 major decision over Andrew Coles.
Lehigh got a key win at 174 as No. 12 Travis Frick outlasted No. 17 Matt Herrington in overtime. Each grappler scored an escape in regulation, then after a scoreless sudden victory period, Frick rode out the first 30 second overtime period and escaped in the second period to earn the victory.
There was another overtime battle at 184, with Penn’s Dustin Wiles scoring a takedown in the final seconds of the sudden victory period to edge David Helfrich 3-1 and give the Quakers a two point lead with two bouts to wrestle.
Junior Matt Cassidy gave Lehigh the lead, scoring a late third period takedown to edge Paul Velekei 3-1, so heading into heavyweight, Paul Weibel just needed to win to secure the dual, and win he did, racking up a 17-4 major decision over John Sullivan.
Several injuries forced Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel to tinker with his lineup heading into the Drexel match. The Mountain Hawks raced to a 10-0 lead behind decisions from Fisk and Stout and another major by Cooperman, but Drexel came roaring back with a pair of falls, as Chris Renninger pinned Matt Ennis at 149 and Ryan Hluschak pinned Chinn at 157 to put the Dragons up at the halfway point.
Troy Letters gave Lehigh the lead with his second major decision of the day. Travis Frick followed with a close 3-2 decision over Nick Kozar. Helfrich followed with a major decision over Brian Stouffer to put the Brown and White up nine with two bouts to come.
Drexel creeped within five as Jon Oplinger earned a 16-6 major over Cassidy, so with one bout to go, Strobel sent junior 197 pound backup Kevin McFarland out with a game plan based around not getting pinned. McFarland executed the plan to perfection, staying off of his back, and after dropping a 7-0 decision, Lehigh escaped with a two point dual victory to wrap up the regular season.
The Mountain Hawks will return to action when they host the 102nd EIWA Championships at Stabler Arena on March 4-5. Lehigh will be gunning for its fifth straight EIWA team title. For tickets, call the Lehigh ticket office at (610) 7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Lehigh 21 Penn 16
|
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score |
|
125 |
Matt Fisk (LU) |
Dec. |
Mike Silengo (UP) |
9-8 |
|
133 |
Matt Valenti (UP) |
WBF |
John Stout (LU) |
1:45 |
|
141 |
Cory Cooperman (LU) |
Maj. dec. |
Cesar Grajales (UP) |
12-3 |
|
149 |
Matt Dragon (UP) |
Maj. dec. |
Matt Ciasulli (LU) |
13-0 |
|
157 |
Gene Zannetti (UP) |
Dec. |
Trevor Chinn (LU) |
10-6 |
|
165 |
Troy Letters (LU) |
Maj. dec. |
Andrew Coles (UP) |
10-2 |
|
174 |
Travis Frick (LU) |
Dec. |
Matt Herrington (UP) |
2-1 tb |
|
184 |
Dustin Wiles (UP) |
Dec. |
Dave Helfrich (LU) |
7-3 s.v. |
|
197 |
Matt Cassidy (LU) |
Dec. |
Paul Velekei (UP) |
3-1 |
|
285 |
Paul Weibel (LU) |
Maj. dec. |
John Sullivan (UP) |
17-4 |
Lehigh 21 Drexel 19
|
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score |
|
125 |
Matt Fisk (LU) |
Dec. |
Steve Mytych (DU) |
1-0 |
|
133 |
John Stout (LU) |
Dec. |
Zach Makovsky (DU) |
7-3 |
|
141 |
Cory Cooperman (LU) |
Maj. dec. |
William Martin (DU) |
23-11 |
|
149 |
Chris Renninger (DU) |
WBF |
Matt Ennis (LU) |
3:33 |
|
157 |
Ryan Hluschak (DU) |
WBF |
Trevor Chinn (LU) |
4:18 |
|
165 |
Troy Letters (LU) |
Maj. dec. |
Scott Hunter (DU) |
17-3 |
|
174 |
Travis Frick (LU) |
Dec. |
Nick Kozar (DU) |
3-2 |
|
184 |
David Helfrich (LU) |
Maj. dec. |
Brian Stouffer (DU) |
12-3 |
|
197 |
Jon Oplinger (DU) |
Maj. dec. |
Matt Cassidy (LU) |
16-6 |
|
285 |
Chris Cowen (DU) |
Dec. |
Kevin McFarland (DU) |
7-0 |
