Lehigh University
No. 20 Penn
Lehigh downed by Penn in regular season finale
2/18/2007 2:00:00 PM | Football
 |
“Obviously, we would have liked to win the last two duals,” said head coach Greg Strobel. “
The dual began at 165 with Penn winning the opening two bouts by major decision. Tenth ranked Zack Shanaman defeated Manuel Schubert 16-7 and then No. 11 Matt Herrington followed with a 9-1 major over senior Dave Helfrich.
The Mountain Hawks battled back to take the lead with three consecutive wins. Freshman David Craig started the run with a 6-4 sudden victory decision over Lior Zamir in a match-up of nationally ranked grapplers at 184. A late penalty point against Zamir tied the bout at four, and Craig scored the winning takedown 27 seconds into the sudden victory period.
Lehigh honored its senior class prior to the match and one of those seniors, Matt Cassidy gave the Mountain Hawks the lead, with a win by fall over Jack Sullivan in 4:29.
Senior Paul Weibel completed the run, winning a 4-2 decision against Ben Reiter.
A key bout took place at 125, with Matt Eveleth holding off sophomore Matt Fisk 5-3. A second period two point near fall gave Fisk the lead, but Eveleth responded with a pair of two point near falls in the third, which proved to be the difference.
At 133, freshman Seth Ciasulli hung tough with Penn’s top-ranked defending national champion Matt Valenti, before a third period reversal and three point near fall made the final score 6-0, giving Penn a 14-12 lead.
Another Lehigh senior, Matt Ciasulli gave the Mountain Hawks the lead back, with a first period takedown and third period escape in a 3-0 win over Brett McCurdy at 141.
Penn took control of the dual with Rick Rappo’s 17-5 major decision over junior Jeff Santo at 149. Several times Rappo was able to turn escape attempts from Santo into near fall points, which helped build the major.
Lehigh needed a win by decision to tie the dual in the final bout, or a bonus victory to win the dual outright, but Nakasone found his offense a little too late against Dragon, the defending EIWA champion at 149.
“I was pleased with the effort of our seniors who went out and won in their final home match,” said Strobel. “Now its time to get the rest of the guys going, making sure everyone gets healthy and is ready to go at Easterns.”
The victory was Penn’s first over Lehigh since a 21-12 triumph at the Palestra in 2002.
Next up for the Mountain Hawks is the 103rd EIWA Championships, which will take place Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, at
On Wednesday, February 21, fans are invited to meet Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel and select student-athletes at the year’s final Lehigh wrestling luncheon. The event will take place at Starters Restaurant on Route 378 in
|
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
165 |
Zack Shanaman (UP) |
maj. dec. |
Manuel Schubert (LU) |
16-7 |
|
174 |
Matt Herrington (UP) |
maj. dec. |
David Helfrich (LU) |
9-1 |
|
184 |
David Craig (LU) |
dec. |
Lior Zamir (UP) |
6-4, s.v. |
|
197 |
Matt Cassidy (LU) |
WBF |
Jack Sullivan (UP) |
4:29 |
|
285 |
Paul Weibel (LU) |
dec. |
Ben Reiter (UP) |
4-2 |
|
125 |
Matt Eveleth (UP) |
dec. |
Matt Fisk (LU) |
5-3 |
|
133 |
Matt Valenti (UP) |
dec. |
Seth Ciasulli (LU) |
6-0 |
|
141 |
Matt Ciasulli (LU) |
dec. |
Brett McCurdy (UP) |
3-0 |
|
149 |
Rick Rappo (UP) |
maj. dec. |
Jeff Santo (LU) |
17-5 |
|
157 |
Matt Dragon (UP) |
dec. |
Dave Nakasone (LU) |
6-4 |
Attendance – 2,389
Referee – Joe Bartell
