Lehigh University
No. 10 Oklahoma
Lehigh rallies past Sooners in Va. Duals semis
1/9/2010 3:15:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
 |
HAMPTON, Va. – Trailing 16-0 after the first four weight classes, No. 11 Lehigh mounted a furious rally, capturing decisions in the final six bouts to rally for an 18-16 win over No. 10 Oklahoma in the semifinals of the Virginia Duals Saturday at the Hampton Coliseum. Four of Lehigh’s six victories came over ranked Sooner wrestlers, and sixth-ranked sophomore Zach Rey’s 3-2 win over No. 12 Nathan Fernandez completed the comeback for the third-seeded Mountain Hawks, who improved to 9-2 on the dual season and will now meet top seed and No. 4 Oklahoma State in the finals Saturday night.
“We were very tight early on,” explained Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “We were trying to keep the guys loose and relaxed, but we were making a lot of fundamental mistakes like giving up takedowns late in periods. We finally relaxed a bit and guys started finding a way to win. Sean got it started, and then Galante won. Hamlin was Hamlin and it kept going from there. Joe Kennedy had a great win. A top-ten win.”
The No. 2 seed Sooners jumped in front early as Jarrod Patterson won a 4-2 decision over sophomore John McDonald at 125 and then Kendric Maple pinned junior Mitch Berger in the opening period at 133.
In a match-up of ranked wrestlers at 141, No. 5 Zack Bailey prevailed 5-1 over No. 18 Seth Ciasulli, and fourth-ranked Kyle Terry completed the early run with a 10-2 major over sophomore Brian Tanen at 149.
For the second straight day it was sophomore Sean Bilodeau who swung the momentum in Lehigh’s favor as he edged Chad Terry 8-7 at 157. Bilodeau started strong, with a first period takedown, and then a reversal and two-point near fall off a Petersen roll, but needed a third period escape to hold on for the victory.
At 165, senior Mike Galante gave Lehigh consecutive wins, as he downed Tyler Caldwell 6-5. Galante used a first-period lateral drop to build an early 5-0 lead, but after Caldwell battled back, Galante finally mustered an escape in the third for the decisive points.
Freshman Robert Hamlin kept things going for Lehigh with an upset win, 6-2 over eighth-ranked Jeff James at 174. Hamlin scored takedowns in the first and third periods to hand the Sooner his third loss of the weekend. Senior David Craig won a decision over Jon Weakely by the same 6-2 score to put Lehigh behind 16-12 with two bouts left.
Needing a win to clinch the dual, Oklahoma sent out third-ranked Eric Lapotsky to face sophomore Joe Kennedy at 197. After wiggling out of an early Lapotsky shot, Kennedy scored a takedown in the first and added a double leg score in the second to earn the upset 4-1.
The match came down to the heavyweights, and trailing by one, Rey made a first period takedown stand as he downed Fernandez 3-2 to send Lehigh to the Virginia Duals finals for the second consecutive year.
Lehigh will now meet Oklahoma State in the finals after the Cowboys knocked off Penn State 24-13 in the semifinals.
“Oklahoma State’s a very good team,” said Santoro. “They’ve got a great coaching staff and some great wrestlers. It’s going to be a great challenge for our team.”
The finals of the 2010 Virginia Duals will begin at 8:30 p.m. from the Hampton Coliseum. The Lehigh-Oklahoma State match can be heard online at Lehighsports.com.
|
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
125 |
Jarrod Patterson (OU) |
dec. |
John McDonald (Lehigh) |
4-2 |
|
133 |
Kendric Maple (OU) |
Fall |
Mitch Berger (Lehigh) |
1:34 |
|
141 |
Zack Bailey (OU) |
dec. |
Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) |
5-1 |
|
149 |
Kyle Terry (OU) |
maj. dec. |
Brian Tanen (Lehigh) |
10-2 |
|
157 |
Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Chad Terry (OU) |
8-7 |
|
165 |
Mike Galante (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Tyler Caldwell (OU) |
6-5 |
|
174 |
Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Jeff James (OU) |
6-2 |
|
184 |
David Craig (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Jon Weakely (OU) |
6-2 |
|
197 |
Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Eric Lapotsky (OU) |
4-1 |
|
285 |
Zach Rey (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Nathan Fernandez (OU) |
3-2 |
Check back Sunday afternoon for the Virginia Duals Post-Match Extra!
