Lehigh University Athletics
Panthers invade Grace for season opener
9/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Lehigh opens its 2001-2002 campaign at home Thursday night in Grace Hall against 15th ranked Pittsburgh, the first of many ranked teams, on a highly competitive schedule. The Panthers were ranked 15th in the nation by Intermat Wrestling the same preseason poll that ranks Lehigh 8th. Last year the Mountain Hawks went 18-5 overall, finished third in the EIWA and 13th at the NCAA Championships. The Panthers are coming off a 6-6 season and a third place finish in the Eastern Wrestling League.
The last time these two teams met on the mat, Lehigh walked away with a 23-11 victory. Many of the wrestlers will encounter their sparring partners from last season. The Mountain Hawks' senior tri-captain and All-American Rob Rohn will look to reenact last years meeting with the Panther's Dan Stine. Rohn recorded a 14-6 victory in the 184 lbs weight class. Senior tri-captain and All-American Chris Vitale will again face Carl Fronhofer at the 165 lb weight class. Vitale fell to Fronhofer 7-5 in a close battle. At 197 sophomore tri-captain John Trenge takes on Dave Sanberg. Last year Trenge defeated Sanberg easily 14-3 for a Major decision.
At 125, sophomore All-American Mario Stuart will step back on the mat for the Mountain Hawks, after suffering a knee injury last season. Senior transfer Dan Hyman will wrestle at 133. At Arizona State Hyman held a 14-26 career record. Freshman Tommy Rohn will be making his collegiate debut at 141. Rohn placed at both the University Nationals and Junior World Trials last summer. Senior Troy Monarovic moves up from 141 to start at 149. Sophomore Nate Cote will start for Lehigh at 157. Brad Dillon and Joe Sahl will represent the Mountain Hawks at 174 and 285 respectively.
Head coach Greg Strobel predicts this will be an exciting match. "Pittsburgh has a talented team that is currently ranked 15th. There should be good matches at every weight class. We will have to wrestle very well to beat them. We match up well, which means our nationally ranked guys meet their ranked guys. The feature of the night may be at 165 with Chris Vitale taking on Carl Fronhofer. Last year they split wins. It should be interesting," said Strobel.
The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00. Fans can listen to the match live by logging on to www.lehigh.edu or tuning into 1230 ESPN radio (WEEX-AM), with Ross Nunamaker and Keith Wennogle calling all the action. Service Electric TV-2 will televise the match on tape delay beginning at 9:30. Doug Heater and Jake Llewellyn will call the action. The match will also reair on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Pittsburgh. DirecTV subscribers can find Fox Sports Pittsburgh at channel 628, but must be sports package subscribers.
