Sunday, January 11
College Park, Md.
5:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
35
at
3
Maryland
Mountain Hawks complete 2-0 weekend in Maryland with 35-3 rout of Terrapins
1/11/2015 7:20:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The 11th-ranked Lehigh wrestling team closed out its weekend trip to Maryland on a convincing note winning nine of ten bouts to defeat Maryland 35-3 Sunday at XFINITY Center. The Mountain Hawks posted bonus points in three of the nine wins, with senior Santiago Martinez posting his second fall in as many days and sophomore Randy Cruz overcoming an early 5-0 deficit to win by fall.
Lehigh improves to 9-3 on the dual season with the win, while Maryland falls to 5-9. Earlier Sunday the Terrapins were edged by Navy 20-18. The Mountain Hawks opened their weekend with a 30-6 win over the Mids on Saturday.
"We wrestled more of a complete match today," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We were trying to score points, trying to score late in periods and at the end of the match. That's important. Last night we got a lead and shut down. The message was to keep scoring points and we responded well."
The dual began at 125 with freshman Scott Parker winning a 10-4 decision over Josh Polacek. Parker scored an early takedown and two point near fall and controlled the bout throughout but could not collect the late takedown needed to earn a bonus points.
Maryland's only win of the dual came at 133 as Geoffrey Alexander upset junior Mason Beckman 2-1 in a battle of ranked wrestlers. Beckman led 1-0 with over a minute of riding time in the third period when Alexander scored a late reversal, erased the riding time and rode out the final seconds.
Frank Goodwin looked to make it two straight wins for Maryland as he took Cruz to his back with a cradle early in the first period of their bout at 141 but Cruz fought off his back and eventually reversed to trail 5-2 after one period. Goodwin chose down in the second and Cruz used a leg and an arm bar series to turn the Terp for the fall in 4:42 to give the Mountain Hawks a 9-3 lead. Cruz's win started a run of eight straight Lehigh victories to close the dual.
"It's a test when you're on your back for that long of a period of time," Santoro said. "To be able to keep your composure – he scored a reversal and then rode him out. Next period he kept the pressure on and eventually got a pin. That was a really big mental win. Any time you're on your back for a minute or so, it's hard to come off and get that composure back but that's what he did."
At 149, freshman Drew Longo scored a takedown in each period to defeat RJ De George 7-2 while at 157, sophomore Mitch Minotti conceded the first takedown to Lou Mascola but reversed and took control from there, winning 10-4 to put Lehigh up 15-3 at the halfway point. Like Parker, Minotti narrowly missed a major decision when he couldn't convert a takedown in the final seconds.
Senior Marshall Peppelman kicked off the second half of the dual with a 6-3 decision over Justin Alexander at 165, before Martinez took to the mat against Tyler Manion at 174. Martinez scored a late 2-and-2 to lead 4-0 after one period and led 7-0 in the second period before putting Manion on his back for the fall in 4:02.
Lehigh's third bonus point win came from junior Nathaniel Brown who dominated Tony Gardner at 184 in a 21-6 technical fall, with the action stopped at the 6:15 mark.
Sophomore Elliot Riddick continued the roll at 197 with a 6-3 decision over Rob Fitzgerald. Riddick scored two first period takedowns and with Fitzgerald within a point late in the third, clinched the win with a reversal.
In the final bout of the day, sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro collected four takedowns in a 9-3 decision over Sean Twigg.
The Mountain Hawks will be off from competition next weekend and will return to the mat the following weekend with home duals against Franklin and Marshall (January 24) and Cornell (January 25). Tickets for both duals can be purchased by visiting LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
No. 11 Lehigh 35, Maryland 3
125 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. Josh Polacek (Maryland) 10-4
133 – Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 2-1
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Frank Goodwin (Maryland) 4:42
149 – Drew Longo (Lehigh) dec. RJ De George (Maryland) 7-2
157 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Lou Mascola (Maryland) 10-4
165 – Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) dec. Justin Alexander (Maryland) 6-3
174 – Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) Fall Tyler Manion (Maryland) 4:02
184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) tech. fall Tony Gardner (Maryland) 21-6, 6:15
197 – Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) dec. Rob Fitzgerald (Maryland) 6-3
285 – Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Sean Twigg (Maryland) 9-3
Lehigh improves to 9-3 on the dual season with the win, while Maryland falls to 5-9. Earlier Sunday the Terrapins were edged by Navy 20-18. The Mountain Hawks opened their weekend with a 30-6 win over the Mids on Saturday.
"We wrestled more of a complete match today," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We were trying to score points, trying to score late in periods and at the end of the match. That's important. Last night we got a lead and shut down. The message was to keep scoring points and we responded well."
The dual began at 125 with freshman Scott Parker winning a 10-4 decision over Josh Polacek. Parker scored an early takedown and two point near fall and controlled the bout throughout but could not collect the late takedown needed to earn a bonus points.
Maryland's only win of the dual came at 133 as Geoffrey Alexander upset junior Mason Beckman 2-1 in a battle of ranked wrestlers. Beckman led 1-0 with over a minute of riding time in the third period when Alexander scored a late reversal, erased the riding time and rode out the final seconds.
Frank Goodwin looked to make it two straight wins for Maryland as he took Cruz to his back with a cradle early in the first period of their bout at 141 but Cruz fought off his back and eventually reversed to trail 5-2 after one period. Goodwin chose down in the second and Cruz used a leg and an arm bar series to turn the Terp for the fall in 4:42 to give the Mountain Hawks a 9-3 lead. Cruz's win started a run of eight straight Lehigh victories to close the dual.
"It's a test when you're on your back for that long of a period of time," Santoro said. "To be able to keep your composure – he scored a reversal and then rode him out. Next period he kept the pressure on and eventually got a pin. That was a really big mental win. Any time you're on your back for a minute or so, it's hard to come off and get that composure back but that's what he did."
At 149, freshman Drew Longo scored a takedown in each period to defeat RJ De George 7-2 while at 157, sophomore Mitch Minotti conceded the first takedown to Lou Mascola but reversed and took control from there, winning 10-4 to put Lehigh up 15-3 at the halfway point. Like Parker, Minotti narrowly missed a major decision when he couldn't convert a takedown in the final seconds.
Senior Marshall Peppelman kicked off the second half of the dual with a 6-3 decision over Justin Alexander at 165, before Martinez took to the mat against Tyler Manion at 174. Martinez scored a late 2-and-2 to lead 4-0 after one period and led 7-0 in the second period before putting Manion on his back for the fall in 4:02.
Lehigh's third bonus point win came from junior Nathaniel Brown who dominated Tony Gardner at 184 in a 21-6 technical fall, with the action stopped at the 6:15 mark.
Sophomore Elliot Riddick continued the roll at 197 with a 6-3 decision over Rob Fitzgerald. Riddick scored two first period takedowns and with Fitzgerald within a point late in the third, clinched the win with a reversal.
In the final bout of the day, sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro collected four takedowns in a 9-3 decision over Sean Twigg.
The Mountain Hawks will be off from competition next weekend and will return to the mat the following weekend with home duals against Franklin and Marshall (January 24) and Cornell (January 25). Tickets for both duals can be purchased by visiting LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
No. 11 Lehigh 35, Maryland 3
125 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. Josh Polacek (Maryland) 10-4
133 – Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 2-1
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Frank Goodwin (Maryland) 4:42
149 – Drew Longo (Lehigh) dec. RJ De George (Maryland) 7-2
157 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Lou Mascola (Maryland) 10-4
165 – Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) dec. Justin Alexander (Maryland) 6-3
174 – Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) Fall Tyler Manion (Maryland) 4:02
184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) tech. fall Tony Gardner (Maryland) 21-6, 6:15
197 – Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) dec. Rob Fitzgerald (Maryland) 6-3
285 – Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Sean Twigg (Maryland) 9-3
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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