No. 14 Lehigh bounces back with win at Michigan
11/22/2009 3:30:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – After dropping its first dual of the season on Friday night, the 14th-ranked Lehigh wrestling team bounced back with a 21-9 win over No. 24 Michigan Sunday afternoon at Cliff Keen Arena. The Mountain Hawks won seven bouts on a day that saw neither team produce bonus points. Freshman Robert Hamlin and sophomore Zach Rey both moved to 5-0 on the season for Lehigh, which now stands at 4-1. Michigan opens its dual season at 0-1.
“It was a better effort than Friday,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “We did some good things, but we had some things go against us as well. We want our guys dominating for all three periods and working to score points all the time.”
Sophomore John McDonald gave Lehigh an early boost with a 4-0 win over Sean Boyle at 125. After a scoreless first period, McDonald rode out Boyle in the second and then added an escape and takedown in the third period.
Michigan picked up its first win at 133 as Zac Stevens upset senior Matt Fisk by a 7-5. Stevens had two takedowns, and while Fisk took the Wolverine down to his back in the final seconds, no near fall points were awarded.
Lehigh then won three straight bouts to take a 12-3 lead into intermission. Senior Seth Ciasulli turned takedowns in each of the first two periods into an 8-3 decision over Mark Weber at 141. Sophomore Brian Tanen picked up his first dual win of the season, scoring a first period takedown and adding a third period reversal and over two minutes of riding time in a win over Mark Beaudry at 149. At 157, sophomore Sean Bilodeau again gave up the first score but battled back with a pair of reversals, and a key, two-point near fall late in the second period.
The Wolverines picked up their second win at 165 when Aaron Hynes defeated Brandon Hatchett 8-6 in sudden victory. Hatchett scored two first period takedowns but gave up a second period takedown and four escapes to send the match into sudden victory tied at six. In the sudden victory period, Hatchett tried to lock up in the upper body with Hynes, but the Michigan grappler wound up on top for the decisive takedown.
At 174, Hamlin moved to 5-0 with a 7-2 win over Justin Zeerip. Hamlin scored two first period takedowns and added a third score in the second period, plus riding time for the win.
Senior David Craig bounced back from a loss to Mike Pucillo with a 4-1 win over Erich Smith at 184. Craig broke open a scoreless third period with an escape and takedown plus a hefty riding time advantage.
Michigan’s lone ranked wrestler picked up the Wolverines’ final win as 13th-ranked Anthony Biondo held off sophomore Joe Kennedy 6-4.
The final bout of the day saw sophomore heavyweight Zach Rey rack up three takedowns in a 7-4 win over Eddie Phillips.
“Michigan’s a tough Big Ten team,” said Santoro. “We had some opportunities for bonus points in a couple of matches but we couldn’t get them. We have to be looking for bonus points. We can’t be content winning matches on our feet. That’s something we’ll work on moving forward.
The Mountain Hawks will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Troy, N.Y. for the Northeast Duals. Lehigh will face North Carolina at 9:15 a.m., No. 7 Nebraska at 1:15 p.m. and No. 10 Maryland at 3:15 p.m. The latter two duals can be heard online at Lehighsports.com.
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
125 |
John McDonald (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Sean Boyle (Michigan) |
4-0 |
133 |
Zac Stevens (Michigan) |
dec. |
Matt Fisk (Lehigh) |
7-5 |
141 |
Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Mark Weber (Michigan) |
8-3 |
149 |
Brian Tanen (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Mark Beaudry (Michigan) |
5-1 |
157 |
Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Dave Johnson (Michigan) |
10-6 |
165 |
Aaron Hynes (Michigan) |
dec. |
Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) |
8-6 |
174 |
Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Justin Zeerip (Michigan) |
7-2 |
184 |
David Craig (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Erich Smith (Michigan) |
4-1 |
197 |
Anthony Biondo (Michigan) |
dec. |
Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) |
6-4 |
285 |
Zach Rey (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Eddie Phillips (Michigan) |
7-4 |
Mountain Hawks Wrestling Post-Match Extra