Rey's title leads Lehigh at Nittany Lion Open
12/7/2009 11:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Lehigh sophomore Zach Rey went 5-0 to capture the heavyweight championship, leading a contingent of 19 Mountain Hawks who competed at the Nittany Lion Open Sunday at Penn State’s Rec Hall. Rey, ranked fifth in the nation by InterMat, improved his season record to 13-0 with his title, leading a group of five Mountain Hawks who placed in the tournament.
The Hopatcong, N.J. native rolled into the semifinals with decision victories over opponents from Michigan State, Edinboro and Ohio University. In the semifinals, Rey met third-ranked Dom Bradley, a reigning Junior World Freestyle champion from Missouri. Rey edged Bradley 2-1 in the tiebreakers to move into the finals, where he won a 3-2 decision over Ryan Tomei over Pittsburgh, Rey’s second victory this season over the 18th-ranked Panther.
Rey, who reached the All-American Round of 12 at last year’s NCAA Championships, has won his first 13 bouts to start the season. He was one of five Mountain Hawks who have seen dual action this year that competed at the Nittany Lion Open.
Lehigh’s next highest finish came from freshman Joey Napoli, who placed third at 149. Napoli racked up two pins and a technical fall before dropping a 3-2 decision to Brian Stephens of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. With the semifinal losers going directly to the third place match, Napoli won by medical forfeit over Mike Rowe from West Virginia.
Among the 19 tournament entrants, Lehigh had six entrants at 149. Joining Napoli on the podium was sophomore Brian Tanen, who placed sixth. Tanen picked up a pair of wins by fall before falling 9-2 to eventual champion Frank Molinaro of Penn State in the quarterfinals. In the consolations, Tanen picked up two more victories before falling 6-0 to Donnie Vinson of Binghamton in the fifth place match.
At 165, senior Mike Galante placed fourth, winning his first three matches by decision, before dropping a 6-1 decision to Missouri’s Nick Marable in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Galante built a 4-0 lead on Penn State’s Dan Vallimont, before Vallimont rallied to pin Galante in 4:20.
Also placing fourth was junior Alex Caruso at 174. Like Galante, Caruso won his first three bouts, including a major decision in his opening round match. In the semifinals, Caruso fell 4-2 to eventual champ Chris Henrich of Virginia, dropping him to the third place match where he fell 8-3 to Penn’s Scott Giffin.
Freshman Austin Meys also had a strong run at 174, with a pair of pins before dropping a 7-6 decision to Dorian Henderson of Missouri in the quarterfinals. With a win and a loss in the consolations, Meys would have wrestled for seventh place but his match as not contested.
Complete brackets can be seen via the link above.
The Mountain Hawks will be off for final exams, and will return to action at the Midlands Championships, December 29 and 30 in Evanston, Ill.
