Friday, January 27
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
15
vs
21
Virginia Tech
No. 10 Lehigh knocks off two unbeaten wrestlers but ultimately falls 21-15 to No. 5 Virginia Tech
1/27/2017 10:07:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh junior Darian Cruz and sophomore Ryan Preisch both knocked off previously-unbeaten second-ranked wrestlers but visiting Virginia Tech rallied to claim the final three bouts as the fifth-ranked Hokies denied an upset bid from No. 10 Lehigh 21-15 Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
Preisch's 3-1 sudden victory win over Zach Epperly at 174 gave Lehigh a 15-9 win with three bouts remaining, but after Zach Zavatsky's decision over freshman Andrew Price at 184 a win by injury default gave the Hokies their first lead of the night, which held up following a win by Ty Walz at heavyweight.
The Mountain Hawks, who competed without three regulars Friday night, suffered their second straight dual loss, falling to 8-3 on the season, while the Hokies won their tenth straight dual to improve to 14-1.
(1/27/2017) Wrestling vs. Virginia Tech, 1/27/17
"I thought the guys fought pretty hard," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "It doesn't matter if we're undermanned or not, when we put guys out there we expect them to win, and to fight to win. It's tough right now as we're into this third weekend (with multiple duals). We have a big one on Sunday that we need to get ready for. We have to put this behind us and head out to Michigan ready to wrestle."
The Cruz brothers sparked Lehigh in the first half of the dual, starting with Darian's 4-2 win over second-ranked and previously unbeaten Joey Dance at 125. Trailing 1-0 late in the second, Cruz was able to take down Dance with a low double leg from behind in front of the Hokies bench. Cruz added a reversal in the third and used solid defensive positioning to secure the victory.
"He just kept wrestling," Santoro said of the younger Cruz. "It was a good win for him. Any time you come in and knock off a top guy in the country it's a good thing. Darian did a nice job. He stayed patient and was very focused."
Virginia Tech's Dennis Gustafson evened the dual with a 4-0 decision over Joe Lobeck at 133, but Randy Cruz answered back for Lehigh, hitting an early cement mixer to put Brendan Ryan on his back. Cruz secured his first fall of the season in just 37 seconds to give the Mountain Hawks a 9-3 advantage.
In a tight battle between ranked wrestlers at 149, 11th-ranked senior Laike Gardner just missed securing a go-ahead takedown in the third period against No. 7 Solomon Chishko. Tied 1-1 in overtime it was Chisko who secured the decisive takedown to win 3-1.
Freshman Kent Lane subbed for classmate Jordan Kutler at 157, and while he scored a third period takedown to avoid the major decision, a 13-7 win for 14th-ranked Sal Mastriani tied the dual at 9-9 heading into intermission.
At 165, senior Mitch Minotti started fast, with three first period takedowns on the way to a 9-6 decision over David Bergida to give the Mountain Hawks a 12-9 lead.
The match with Preisch and Epperly was 1-1 through regulation with Preisch working Epperly's two best shots into stalemates. In the sudden victory period, Preisch was able to get behind Epperly on a re-shot and returned him to the mat for the winning takedown in a 3-1 decision.
"Epperly is a really good kid; really athletic and a really good wrestler," Santoro said. "That was a good win for Ryan. That's something to build off of going into Sunday. He'll have another big one at Michigan so he can enjoy it tonight then tomorrow we get on a plane and he gets ready for another big match."
Price, subbing for the injured Kyle Gentile did well to avoid bonus points against the fourth-ranked Zavatsky, but two first period takedowns for the Hokie and one more in the third led to an 8-3 decision.
The dual swing in the Hokies' favor at 197 as senior Ben Haas was battling against third-ranked Jared Haught. The Hokie scored the first takedown in the opening period, but Haas answered with one of his own in the second and trailed just 5-4 after a third period escape. Working to scramble his way into a potential go-ahead takedown, Haas suffered an injury to his right arm, gave up a takedown, and was forced to default with the injury, giving Virginia Tech an 18-15 advantage.
"This is the second straight weekend that the injury bug got us, right at the end of a match," Santoro explained. "Part of it is unfortunate but part of it is about being in better position all the time when you're wrestling. Things happen in this sport and January is always the biggest grind."
Facing a three point deficit plus criteria in the Hokies' favor, senior Doug Vollaro needed bonus points against Virginia Tech's third-ranked Ty Walz, but Walz scored a takedown in each of the first two periods and opened things up in the third to win 12-5.
The Mountain Hawks will take to the road to face No. 15 Michigan Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. The dual will be streamed on BTN Plus, while audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com beginning at 1:45 p.m.
No. 5 Virginia Tech 21, No. 10 Lehigh 15
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Joey Dance (VT) 4-2
133 – Dennis Gustafson (VT) dec. Joe Lobeck (Lehigh) 4-0
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Brendan Ryan (VT) 0:37
149 – Solomon Chishko (VT) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 3-1, sv
157 – Sal Mastriani (VT) dec. Kent Lane (Lehigh) 13-7
165 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. David Bergida (VT) 9-6
174 – Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Zach Epperly (VT) 3-1, sv
184 – Zach Zavatsky (VT) dec. Andrew Price (Lehigh) 8-3
197 – Jared Haught (VT) injury default Ben Haas (Lehigh) 6:23
285 – Ty Walz (VT) dec. Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) 12-5
Attendance – 1,599
Officials – Michael Letcher and William Doran
Preisch's 3-1 sudden victory win over Zach Epperly at 174 gave Lehigh a 15-9 win with three bouts remaining, but after Zach Zavatsky's decision over freshman Andrew Price at 184 a win by injury default gave the Hokies their first lead of the night, which held up following a win by Ty Walz at heavyweight.
The Mountain Hawks, who competed without three regulars Friday night, suffered their second straight dual loss, falling to 8-3 on the season, while the Hokies won their tenth straight dual to improve to 14-1.
"I thought the guys fought pretty hard," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "It doesn't matter if we're undermanned or not, when we put guys out there we expect them to win, and to fight to win. It's tough right now as we're into this third weekend (with multiple duals). We have a big one on Sunday that we need to get ready for. We have to put this behind us and head out to Michigan ready to wrestle."
The Cruz brothers sparked Lehigh in the first half of the dual, starting with Darian's 4-2 win over second-ranked and previously unbeaten Joey Dance at 125. Trailing 1-0 late in the second, Cruz was able to take down Dance with a low double leg from behind in front of the Hokies bench. Cruz added a reversal in the third and used solid defensive positioning to secure the victory.
"He just kept wrestling," Santoro said of the younger Cruz. "It was a good win for him. Any time you come in and knock off a top guy in the country it's a good thing. Darian did a nice job. He stayed patient and was very focused."
Virginia Tech's Dennis Gustafson evened the dual with a 4-0 decision over Joe Lobeck at 133, but Randy Cruz answered back for Lehigh, hitting an early cement mixer to put Brendan Ryan on his back. Cruz secured his first fall of the season in just 37 seconds to give the Mountain Hawks a 9-3 advantage.
In a tight battle between ranked wrestlers at 149, 11th-ranked senior Laike Gardner just missed securing a go-ahead takedown in the third period against No. 7 Solomon Chishko. Tied 1-1 in overtime it was Chisko who secured the decisive takedown to win 3-1.
Freshman Kent Lane subbed for classmate Jordan Kutler at 157, and while he scored a third period takedown to avoid the major decision, a 13-7 win for 14th-ranked Sal Mastriani tied the dual at 9-9 heading into intermission.
At 165, senior Mitch Minotti started fast, with three first period takedowns on the way to a 9-6 decision over David Bergida to give the Mountain Hawks a 12-9 lead.
The match with Preisch and Epperly was 1-1 through regulation with Preisch working Epperly's two best shots into stalemates. In the sudden victory period, Preisch was able to get behind Epperly on a re-shot and returned him to the mat for the winning takedown in a 3-1 decision.
"Epperly is a really good kid; really athletic and a really good wrestler," Santoro said. "That was a good win for Ryan. That's something to build off of going into Sunday. He'll have another big one at Michigan so he can enjoy it tonight then tomorrow we get on a plane and he gets ready for another big match."
Price, subbing for the injured Kyle Gentile did well to avoid bonus points against the fourth-ranked Zavatsky, but two first period takedowns for the Hokie and one more in the third led to an 8-3 decision.
The dual swing in the Hokies' favor at 197 as senior Ben Haas was battling against third-ranked Jared Haught. The Hokie scored the first takedown in the opening period, but Haas answered with one of his own in the second and trailed just 5-4 after a third period escape. Working to scramble his way into a potential go-ahead takedown, Haas suffered an injury to his right arm, gave up a takedown, and was forced to default with the injury, giving Virginia Tech an 18-15 advantage.
"This is the second straight weekend that the injury bug got us, right at the end of a match," Santoro explained. "Part of it is unfortunate but part of it is about being in better position all the time when you're wrestling. Things happen in this sport and January is always the biggest grind."
Facing a three point deficit plus criteria in the Hokies' favor, senior Doug Vollaro needed bonus points against Virginia Tech's third-ranked Ty Walz, but Walz scored a takedown in each of the first two periods and opened things up in the third to win 12-5.
The Mountain Hawks will take to the road to face No. 15 Michigan Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. The dual will be streamed on BTN Plus, while audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com beginning at 1:45 p.m.
No. 5 Virginia Tech 21, No. 10 Lehigh 15
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Joey Dance (VT) 4-2
133 – Dennis Gustafson (VT) dec. Joe Lobeck (Lehigh) 4-0
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Brendan Ryan (VT) 0:37
149 – Solomon Chishko (VT) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 3-1, sv
157 – Sal Mastriani (VT) dec. Kent Lane (Lehigh) 13-7
165 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. David Bergida (VT) 9-6
174 – Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Zach Epperly (VT) 3-1, sv
184 – Zach Zavatsky (VT) dec. Andrew Price (Lehigh) 8-3
197 – Jared Haught (VT) injury default Ben Haas (Lehigh) 6:23
285 – Ty Walz (VT) dec. Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) 12-5
Attendance – 1,599
Officials – Michael Letcher and William Doran
Players Mentioned
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
149/157
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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