Lehigh University
Stanford
Allen's late heroics lead Lehigh past Stanford
1/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
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Lehigh enjoyed a nine point lead with three bouts to go, but back-to-back losses at 184 and 197 left the fate of the dual in the hands of the heavyweights. After a scoreless first period, Allen escaped and earned a takedown in the second to build a 3-0 cushion. The
The dual began with the teams trading pins at 125 and 133. All-American Tanner Gardner put the Cardinal ahead with a fall over freshman Mitch Berger in 2:24, but sophomore Seth Ciasulli wasted little time in his Grace Hall season debut, taking down Blair Matsuura and stacking him up for a fall which came in just 17 seconds, the fastest Lehigh fall this season.
The Brown and White built an 18-9 lead after seven bouts, with wins in four of the next five weight classes. Senior Jeff Santo and junior Trevor Chinn delivered wins by decision at 141 and 149 respectively, and after Josh Zupancic beat senior Dave Nakasone 8-2 at 157, sophomore Mike Galante and freshman Alex Caruso delivered wins by decision to put Lehigh up by nine.
Stanford received some hope from its second bonus win of the night, a 13-3 major decision by Zack Giesen over freshman Kadeem Samuels at 184. Lehigh had a chance to clinch the dual at 197, but sophomore Alex Iacocca fell to Jake Johnson in a wild, back-and-forth affair 12-10. Iacocca scored first, but after yielding an escape was taken down, only to secure a reversal and two-point near fall at the first period buzzer. Johnson reversed to open the second, and then a quick trade of reversals made the score 8-7 heading into the third. In the final period Johnson secured two takedowns and riding time, to earn the two point win by decision, and setting up Allen for the dramatic finish at heavyweight.
“We were going to need one of the final two, either Iacocca or Allen,” said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. “I could see the look in Allen’s face right before the match where he knew he had to go out and do it for the team. I was really pleased with the whole team in terms of the fight they showed tonight.”
The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats next Friday when they head to
|
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
125 |
Tanner Gardner (Stan) |
Fall |
Mitch Berger (Lehigh) |
2:24 |
|
133 |
Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) |
Fall |
Blair Matsuura (Stan) |
0:17 |
|
141 |
Jeff Santo (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Max Rosefigura (Stan) |
3-1 |
|
149 |
Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Lucas Espericueta (Stan) |
5-2 |
|
157 |
Josh Zupancic (Stan) |
dec. |
Dave Nakasone (Lehigh) |
8-2 |
|
165 |
Mike Galante (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Peter Miller (Stan) |
10-3 |
|
174 |
Alex Caruso (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Luke Feist (Stan) |
5-3 |
|
184 |
Zack Giesen (Stan) |
maj. dec. |
Kadeem Samuels (Lehigh) |
13-3 |
|
197 |
Jake Johnson (Stan) |
dec. |
Alex Iacocca (Lehigh) |
12-10 |
|
285 |
Justin Allen (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Phil Doerner (Stan) |
8-2 |
Attendance – 1,281
