Sunday, November 24
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
18
vs
19
Pitt
Photo by: Josh Liddick
No. 7 Lehigh edged by No. 12 Pitt, 19-18 on criteria
11/24/2019 4:56:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Two home duals for the Mountain Hawks so far this season.
Two duals decided by the third criteria.
Eight days after knocking off No. 4 Oklahoma State at Stabler Arena, the third criteria was not as kind to No. 7 Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks fell 19-18 to No. 12 Pitt in their first Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall appearance of the dual season.
Lehigh took an 18-15 lead after nine bouts after a 4-1 decision by junior Jake Jakobsen over Kellan Stout at 197. With total match points through nine bouts favoring the Panthers, ninth-ranked heavyweight Demetrius Thomas just needed to beat No. 6 Jordan Wood, and after a 10-6 decision for Thomas, Pitt won the dual on a 39-34 edge in total match points.
The Mountain Hawks looked strong early, looking to put a four-point loss at Princeton on Saturday behind them, but after winning three of the first four bouts, Lehigh won just two of the final six as the Mountain Hawks fall to 1-2 on the dual season.
"We made some mistakes and we couldn't capitalize in certain situations, but that's college wrestling," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "The effort has been great. The guys are fighting hard. Last week we won on points, this week we lost on points. We had two tough matches this weekend, but they were ones we could have easily won."
Twelfth-ranked junior Brandon Paetzell electrified Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall with a second period pin in the opening bout at 125. Paetzell trailed Louis Newell 2-1 after one period but escaped early in the second and then took Newell down to his back. The fall came at 4:27 to put Lehigh up 6-0.
"Brandon has done everything right," Santoro said. "He trains hard. Stays late. Does the extra work. It's paying off and you're seeing it. He's doing great things. He got us started and put us in the best position we could have been in. You're not expecting a pin there, but he put us in a good situation."
Junior Nick Farro was locked in a tough battle with No. 4 Micky Philippi at 133. Philippi led 1-0 after two periods, but Farro had the two best shot attempts through two periods. Philippi eventually scored the only takedown of the bout in the third period to win 3-0 and get the Panthers (2-1) on the board.
At 141, senior Ryan Pomrinca fell into an early 4-1 hole but brought the Grace Hall crowd back to life with a thrilling, come-from-behind 10-8 victory in sudden victory against No. 15 Cole Matthews. Pomrinca scored the final four takedowns of the bout with one in the second and two in the third. He kept Matthews down for the remainder of the third period, but riding time advantage sent the match to sudden victory. In overtime, Pomrinca grabbed a leg and after a lengthy scramble scored the winning takedown with 16 seconds remaining to give Lehigh a 9-3 lead.
"Ryan got off to a slow start but that was a huge win," Santoro said. "Things were going our way. We just couldn't capitalize and put the nail in the coffin."
Sophomore Jimmy Hoffman made it two straight wins for the Mountain Hawks, scoring takedowns in each of the first two periods to beat Luke Kemerer 6-1.
Facing his second ranked opponent of the weekend, sophomore Josh Humphreys gave up a reversal and two near fall points to Taleb Rahmani at 157. Down 4-2 in the third, Humphreys was countered to his back by Rahmani, who secured the fall at 5:48, bringing Pitt within 12-9 at intermission.
Pitt tied the dual after 165 as 12th-ranked Jake Wentzel beat freshman Brian Meyer 7-1. Senior Jordan Kutler put Lehigh back in front with a 4-1 decision over Gregg Harvey at 174 with Harvey doing everything in his power to avoid giving up bonus points.
Eighth-ranked Nino Bonaccorsi tied the dual again with an 8-3 win over junior Chris Weiler at 184. Jakobsen used a second period escape, third period takedown and riding time to beat Stout and put Lehigh ahead entering the final bout.
Thomas started fast with takedowns in each of the first two periods against Wood. In the third, Wood scored his lone takedown to get within 5-4, but Thomas scored a counter takedown to go back in front and added one more late in the bout after a quick escape by Wood.
"Obviously you want to win every time out, but we have to use this as motivation for the NCAA Tournament," Santoro said. "If this doesn't sting right now, there's something wrong."
The Mountain Hawks will be off Thanksgiving weekend and will return to action on Friday, Dec. 6 when they welcome top-ranked and four-time defending national champion Penn State to Stabler Arena for a 7 p.m. match.
The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
No. 12 Pitt 19*, No. 7 Lehigh 18
125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) Fall Louis Newell (Pitt) 4:27
133 – Micky Philippi (Pitt) dec. Nick Farro (Lehigh) 3-0
141 – Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) dec. Cole Matthews (Pitt) 10-8, sv
149 – Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) dec. Luke Kemerer (Pitt) 6-1
157 – Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) Fall Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 5:48
165 – Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 7-1
174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt) 4-1
184 – Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. Chris Weiler (Lehigh) 8-3
197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. Kellan Stout (Pitt) 4-1
285 – Demetrius Thomas (Pitt) dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 10-6
Attendance – 1,489
* Pitt wins on third criteria: 39-34 edge in total match points
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Two duals decided by the third criteria.
Eight days after knocking off No. 4 Oklahoma State at Stabler Arena, the third criteria was not as kind to No. 7 Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks fell 19-18 to No. 12 Pitt in their first Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall appearance of the dual season.
Lehigh took an 18-15 lead after nine bouts after a 4-1 decision by junior Jake Jakobsen over Kellan Stout at 197. With total match points through nine bouts favoring the Panthers, ninth-ranked heavyweight Demetrius Thomas just needed to beat No. 6 Jordan Wood, and after a 10-6 decision for Thomas, Pitt won the dual on a 39-34 edge in total match points.
The Mountain Hawks looked strong early, looking to put a four-point loss at Princeton on Saturday behind them, but after winning three of the first four bouts, Lehigh won just two of the final six as the Mountain Hawks fall to 1-2 on the dual season.
"We made some mistakes and we couldn't capitalize in certain situations, but that's college wrestling," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "The effort has been great. The guys are fighting hard. Last week we won on points, this week we lost on points. We had two tough matches this weekend, but they were ones we could have easily won."
Twelfth-ranked junior Brandon Paetzell electrified Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall with a second period pin in the opening bout at 125. Paetzell trailed Louis Newell 2-1 after one period but escaped early in the second and then took Newell down to his back. The fall came at 4:27 to put Lehigh up 6-0.
"Brandon has done everything right," Santoro said. "He trains hard. Stays late. Does the extra work. It's paying off and you're seeing it. He's doing great things. He got us started and put us in the best position we could have been in. You're not expecting a pin there, but he put us in a good situation."
Junior Nick Farro was locked in a tough battle with No. 4 Micky Philippi at 133. Philippi led 1-0 after two periods, but Farro had the two best shot attempts through two periods. Philippi eventually scored the only takedown of the bout in the third period to win 3-0 and get the Panthers (2-1) on the board.
At 141, senior Ryan Pomrinca fell into an early 4-1 hole but brought the Grace Hall crowd back to life with a thrilling, come-from-behind 10-8 victory in sudden victory against No. 15 Cole Matthews. Pomrinca scored the final four takedowns of the bout with one in the second and two in the third. He kept Matthews down for the remainder of the third period, but riding time advantage sent the match to sudden victory. In overtime, Pomrinca grabbed a leg and after a lengthy scramble scored the winning takedown with 16 seconds remaining to give Lehigh a 9-3 lead.
"Ryan got off to a slow start but that was a huge win," Santoro said. "Things were going our way. We just couldn't capitalize and put the nail in the coffin."
Sophomore Jimmy Hoffman made it two straight wins for the Mountain Hawks, scoring takedowns in each of the first two periods to beat Luke Kemerer 6-1.
Facing his second ranked opponent of the weekend, sophomore Josh Humphreys gave up a reversal and two near fall points to Taleb Rahmani at 157. Down 4-2 in the third, Humphreys was countered to his back by Rahmani, who secured the fall at 5:48, bringing Pitt within 12-9 at intermission.
Pitt tied the dual after 165 as 12th-ranked Jake Wentzel beat freshman Brian Meyer 7-1. Senior Jordan Kutler put Lehigh back in front with a 4-1 decision over Gregg Harvey at 174 with Harvey doing everything in his power to avoid giving up bonus points.
Eighth-ranked Nino Bonaccorsi tied the dual again with an 8-3 win over junior Chris Weiler at 184. Jakobsen used a second period escape, third period takedown and riding time to beat Stout and put Lehigh ahead entering the final bout.
Thomas started fast with takedowns in each of the first two periods against Wood. In the third, Wood scored his lone takedown to get within 5-4, but Thomas scored a counter takedown to go back in front and added one more late in the bout after a quick escape by Wood.
"Obviously you want to win every time out, but we have to use this as motivation for the NCAA Tournament," Santoro said. "If this doesn't sting right now, there's something wrong."
The Mountain Hawks will be off Thanksgiving weekend and will return to action on Friday, Dec. 6 when they welcome top-ranked and four-time defending national champion Penn State to Stabler Arena for a 7 p.m. match.
The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
No. 12 Pitt 19*, No. 7 Lehigh 18
125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) Fall Louis Newell (Pitt) 4:27
133 – Micky Philippi (Pitt) dec. Nick Farro (Lehigh) 3-0
141 – Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) dec. Cole Matthews (Pitt) 10-8, sv
149 – Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) dec. Luke Kemerer (Pitt) 6-1
157 – Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) Fall Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 5:48
165 – Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 7-1
174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt) 4-1
184 – Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. Chris Weiler (Lehigh) 8-3
197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. Kellan Stout (Pitt) 4-1
285 – Demetrius Thomas (Pitt) dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 10-6
Attendance – 1,489
* Pitt wins on third criteria: 39-34 edge in total match points
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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