Chattanooga
HAMPTON, Va. --- The 24th-ranked UTC wrestling team defeated North Carolina 24-13 Saturday night to claim third place at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. It was the Mocs’ second win over the Tar Heels in the last two days.
UTC, now 9-6-1 in dual matches after going 4-1 on the weekend, defeated Drexel 27-13 in the consolation bracket to get to the third-place match against fifth-seeded UNC. Top-seeded Indiana, the eventual champion, knocked the fourth-seeded Mocs to the consolation bracket with a 25-11 win in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals.
The Mocs won four of the first five matches against North Carolina and took advantage of two Tar Heel forfeits. Javier Maldonado (125) and Matt Keller (133) opened the scoring with consecutive wins, and Michael Keefe pushed the Mocs’ lead to 12-0 on a forfeit at 141 pounds.
The Heels got as close as 15-9 after wins at 165 and 174, but John Davis defeated Justin Dobies at 184, and Robert Buckhaults earned a forfeit victory to put the match out of reach, 24-9.
Keller, ranked No. 6 nationally, was the only Moc wrestler to go undefeated in all five matches. He collected a pin and two majors. Keefe and Davis won four matches apiece.
The Mocs claimed seven of nine matches against Drexel and forfeited at heavyweight. UTC got a pin at 125 pounds from Maldonado and major decisions from Keefe (141), Aaron Martin (149) and Davis (184) as the Dragons didn’t get on the scoreboard until Ryan Hluschak’s major decision over Jake Yost at 157.
Also winning for the Mocs in the Drexel match were Keller (133), Daniel Peterson (165) and Nick Lorenzano (197).
The Mocs led only once against the Hoosiers in the semifinal match. Keller (133) and Keefe (141) put together back-to-back major decisions for an 8-6 lead after three matches. Matt Cooper put Indiana ahead for good at 149 with a 5-1 win over UTC’s Martin.
Davis was the only other Mocs wrestler to get in the win column against Indiana with a 6-2 victory over Justin Curran at 184.
The Mocs defeated Columbia 22-13 and North Carolina 17-15 in Friday’s matches.
Semifinals ? Indiana 29, No. 24 Chattanooga 11 (Saturday)
125 ? Joseph Dubuque (IU) pinned Javier Maldonado (UTC), 2:56 6-0
133 ? Matt Keller (UTC) maj. dec. Andrae Hernandez (IU), 14-6 6-4
141 ? Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. Nick Spatola (IU), 13-4 6-8
149 ? Matt Cooper (IU) dec. Aaron Martin (UTC), 5-1 9-8
157 ? Brandon Baker (IU) dec. Jake Yost (UTC), 9-4 12-8
165 ? Max Dean (IU) dec. Justin Otis (UTC), 5-1 15-8
174 ? Marc Bennett (IU) pinned T.J. Sayers (UTC), 7:06 21-8
184 ?John Davis (UTC) dec. Justin Curran (IU), 6-2 21-11
197 ? Brady Richardson (IU) tech fall Lloyd Rogers (UTC), 19-4 26-11
285 ? Dave Herman (IU) dec. Israel Silva (UTC), 2-0 29-11
Consolations ? No. 24 Chattanooga 27, Drexel 13 (Saturday)
125 ?Javier Maldonado (UTC) pinned Steve Mytych (DU), 6:17 6-0
133 ? Matt Keller (UTC) dec. Zach Makovsky (DU), 12-5 9-0
141 ? Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. William Martin (DU), 19-6 13-0
149 ? Aaron Martin (UTC) maj. dec. Chris Renninger (DU), 16-3 17-0
157 ? Ryan Hluschak (DU) maj. dec. Jake Yost (UTC), 17-6 17-4
165 ? Daniel Peterson (UTC) dec. Scott Hunter (DU), 10-3 20-4
174 ? Nick Kozar (DU) dec. T.J. Sayers (UTC), 4-1 20-7
184 ? John Davis (UTC) maj. dec. Justin Terhune (DU), 10-2 24-7
197 ? Nick Lorenzano (UTC) dec. Brian Stouffer (DU), 5-2 27-7
285 ? Chris Cowen (DU) won by forfeit 27-13
Third-Place Match ? No. 24 Chattanooga 24, North Carolina 13 (Saturday)
125 ?Javier Maldonado (UTC) dec. Bobby Shaw (UNC), 10-4 3-0
133 ? Matt Keller (UTC) dec. Jared Royer (UNC), 10-6 6-0
141 ? Michael Keefe (UTC) won by forfeit 12-0
149 ? Chris Ramos (UNC) dec. Aaron Martin (UTC), 6-4 12-3
157 ? Jake Yost (UTC) maj. dec. Brian Baglio (UNC), 5-4 15-3
165 ? Deon Barrett (UNC) dec. Daniel Peterson (UTC), 6-4 15-6
174 ? Alex Maciag (UNC) dec. Justin Otis (UTC), 14-9 15-9
184 ? John Davis (UTC) dec. Justin Dobies (UNC), 6-2 18-9
197 ? Robert Buckhaults (UTC) won by forfeit 24-9
285 ? Spencer Nadolsky (UNC) dec. Israel Silva (UTC), 2-1 24-12
First Round - No. 24 Chattanooga 22, Columbia 13 (Friday)
125 ? Jeff Sato (COL) dec. Javier Maldonado (UTC), 5-2 0-3
133 ? Matt Keller (UTC) pinned Brandon Kinney (COL), 2:16 6-3
141 ? Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. Dean Kinports (COL), 15-4 10-3
149 ? Aaron Martin (UTC) dec. Derek Sickles (COL), 6-4 13-3
157 ? Jake Yost (UTC) dec. Tyler Thurgood (COL), 7-3 16-3
165 ? Dustin Tillman (COL) dec. Daniel Peterson (UTC), 10-5 16-6
174 ? T.J. Sayers (UTC) dec. Kenji Porter (COL), 7-1 19-6
184 ? Justin Barent (COL) dec. John Davis (UTC), 12-9 19-9
197 ? Orrin Kleinhenz (COL) maj. dec. Lloyd Rogers (UTC), 17-9 19-13
285 ? Israel Silva (UTC) dec. John Grando (COL), 5-3 22-13
Quarterfinals - No. 24 Chattanooga 17, North Carolina 15 (Friday)
125 ?Javier Maldonado (UTC) dec. Bobby Shaw (UNC), 5-3 3-0
133 ? Matt Keller (UTC) maj. dec. Jared Royer (UNC), 12-4 7-0
141 ? Philip Ramirez (UNC) dec. Michael Keefe (UTC), 6-5 7-3
149 ? Chris Ramos (UNC) dec. Aaron Martin (UTC), 3-0 7-6
157 ? Jake Yost (UTC) maj. dec. Brian Baglio (UNC), 13-4 11-6
165 ? Justin Otis (UTC) dec. Deon Barrett (UNC), 11-9 14-6
174 ? Alex Maciag (UNC) dec. T.J. Sayers (UTC), 7-4 14-9
184 ? John Davis (UTC) dec. Justin Dobies (UNC), 5-3 17-9
197 ? David Daschiell (UNC) dec. Lloyd Rogers (UTC), 7-3 17-12
285 ? Spencer Nadolsky (UNC) dec. Israel Silva (UTC), 2-1 17-15
Edinboro 29, UNC Greensboro 9
EDINBORO, PA ? Edinboro claimed eight of the 10 possible bouts as the 17th-ranked Fighting Scots defeated UNC Greensboro 29-9 Saturday evening at McComb Fieldhouse on the Edinboro campus.
In the 141 lbs. weight class, senior Kevin Artis picked up his fourth consecutive win and third by fall as the Baltimore, MD native pinned Ryan Morgan in 4:10 to run his team-leading record to 17-4. Artis, the 18th-ranked wrestler in his class, has won eight of his last nine bouts and has yet to be defeated in a dual match.
Fellow senior and 12th-ranked Tyler Shovlin also claimed a win Saturday, defeating Koel Davis 2-1 in the 285 lbs. weight class to improve his record to 15-4. Like Artis, Shovlin is also undefeated in dual matches so far this season.
Edinboro, which has five wrestlers nationally ranked in their respective weight classes, received wins from all five to improve to 5-0 on the year. The Fighting Scots collected wins from 16th-ranked Ricky Deubel at 125 lbs., No. 1 ranked Shawn Bunch at 133 lbs., seventh-ranked Gregor Gillespie at 149 lbs., 20th-ranked Eric Ring at 174 lbs. and 15th-ranked Alex Clemsen at 184 lbs combined with wins at 157, 165 and 197 lbs. to earn the 20-point victory.
UNCG returns to the mat Sunday when the Spartans travel to Buffalo to tangle with the Bulls in a 1 pm bout at Alumni Arena.
UNC Greensboro 22, Buffalo 20
BUFFALO, NY ? The UNC Greensboro wrestling team held off a late charge by Buffalo to improve its dual match record to 6-1 with a 22-20 win over the Bulls Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gym.
UNCG jumped out to a 15-4 lead as the Spartans won three of the first four matches to gain the early advantage. In the 125 lbs. weight class, freshman Justin Walp claimed his fourth victory of the year with a forfeit in the opening bout.
In the 141 lbs. weight class, 17th-ranked Kevin Artis continued his dominate wrestling of late as the Baltimore, MD native claimed his fourth fall victory in as many bouts with his pin of Dana Gingerich in 2:26 to improve to 18-4 on the year.
Cody Harrington followed with a slim 7-6 decision over Pat Lloyd in the 149 lbs. weight class to give the Spartans an 11-point edge.
After the Bulls cut the deficit to 15-7 with a decision victory at 157 lbs., Mark Ring posted an 8-0 major decision over Mickey Moran at 165 lbs. to retake the momentum and push the Spartan lead out to 19-7. With the win, Ring improved his record to 15-7, 4-3 in dual match competition.
At 174 lbs., Joe Lowe collected an impressive 9-3 decision victory over Mike Ragusa to run his record to 13-2. Lowe, who lost just his first dual match of the season Saturday at Edinboro, is now 6-1 in dual competition.
Buffalo rallied to take the three final matches of the afternoon, but was unable to accumulate enough points to overcome the Spartans existing 15-point lead, leaving the Spartans victorious with a slim two-point win.
UNCG returns to action when the Spartans head back into conference competition with Jan. 21 trip to Appalachian State. Bout time between the Spartans and Mountaineers is set for 2 pm.
Davidson 39, Belmont-Abbey 9
Gardner-Webb 26, Davidson 17
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? After falling to Gardner-Webb 26-17 in the opening dual, Davidson cruised to a 39-9 victory over Belmont-Abbey for its first wrestling win of the 2005-06 campaign.
In the opening matches, Gardner-Webb grabbed an early 10-0 advantage with a Daniel Elliott major decision over Davidson’s Matt Leonard followed by a Wildcat forfeit at 157 pounds. Davidson quickly responded with 5-2 and 15-6 victories by Jimmy Colavita (165) and Marcus Boyd (174) respectively to cut the deficit to 10-7 with six bouts remaining.
After dropping two consecutive bouts, the Bulldogs won four of the next five matches to put the dual out of reach 26-11. Davidson’s lone win during the GWU spurt came from senior Patrick Coman, who recorded an 8-0 major decision over Cortney Roberts. The Wildcats’ Jim Avola finished the competition pinning A.J. Renteria in 1:08 for his second victory by fall of the season.
Against the Crusaders in the final dual of the evening, Davidson jumped out to a 32-0 lead winning each of the first six matches. Leonard (149) opened the scoring by pinning Belmont-Abbey’s Anthony Viola in 2:50. The next two weight classes were awarded to the Wildcats by forfeit, followed by a Boyd technical fall, a Wil Carter 6-3 win and another forfeit at 197-pounds
Following Belmont-Abbey taking the 285-class by forfeit, Coman remained perfect on the night blanking Chris Neidermeier, 4-0. The Crusaders’ lone win of a match that took place came at 133 pounds when Reimark Neidermeier edged Travis Hunter, 2-1, to earn the final points of the dual for Belmont-Abbey. The Wildcats’ Avola (141) closed things out with a major decision (8-0) triumph over Tony Butler.
Davidson returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 18 when it faces Southern Conference foe VMI on the road at 7 p.m.
Gardner Webb 26, Davidson 17
125 -- Patrick Coman (DAV) def. Cortney Roberts (GWU) -- 8-0
133 -- Josh Pniewski (GWU) def. Travis Hunter (DAV) -- 10-1
141 -- Jim Avola (DAV) def. A.J. Renteria -- Pin (1:08)
149 -- Daniel Elliott (GWU) def. Matt Leonard (DAV) --15-7 **
157 -- Adam Glaser (GWU) wins by forfeit
165 -- Jimmy Colavita (DAV) def. Jordan Lowe (GWU) -- 5-2
174 -- Marcus Boyd (DAV) def. Matthias Piasecki (GWU) -- 15-6
184 -- Brandon Beach (GWU) def. Sam O’Hair (DAV) -- 7-2
197 -- Brent Blackwell (GWU) def. Wil Carter (DAV) -- 5-1
285 -- Brandon Schweitzer (GWU) wins by forfeit
Davidson 39, Belmont-Abbey 9
125 -- Patrick Coman (DAV) def. Chris Neidermeier (BA) -- 4-0
133 -- Reimark Neidermeier (BA) def. Travis Hunter (DAV) -- 2-1
141 -- Jim Avola (DAV) def. Tony Butler (BA) -- 8-0
149 -- Matt Leonard (DAV) def. Anthony Viola (BA) -- Pin (2:50) **
157 -- Drew Carey (DAV) wins by forfeit
165 -- Jimmy Colavita (DAV) wins by forfeit
174 -- Marcus Boyd (DAV) def. Tim Stanton (BA) -- 19-3
184 -- Wil Carter (DAV) def. Mark Blair (BA) -- 6-3
197 -- Sam O’Hair (DAV) wins by forfeit
285 -- A.J. Scales (BA) wins by forfeit
George Mason 24, VMI 20
FAIRFAX, Va.- For the VMI wrestling team, Friday the 13th proved quite unlucky, as they jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first two matches before dropping six of the next eight, falling 24-20 to George Mason in non-conference action Friday evening.
A pair of local products gave the Keydets (1-4) the early advantage, as Lorton, Va.’s Jochen Granja produced a technical fall victory at 141, before Springfield, Va.’s Sam Alvarenga pinned Mason’s (2-0) Jay Chichester in 1:11 to improve his overall mark to 14-6 and 4-1 in dual matches.
From there, the match turned to 157 pounds, where VMI’s Tommy Cunningham entered the contest with a 14-6 record and a 4-0 mark in duals. He faced GMU’s Mitch Webster, who countered with 9-9 and 1-0 marks. With neither wrestler able to mount any offense, the match went to overtime knotted at one before Webster scored a takedown with just six seconds remaining in the first extra period, putting Mason on the scoreboard at 11-3.
GMU took the next two matches as well, with Tyler Tisdell scoring a 5-2 decision over Chris Hardy at 165 and Randy Oates pinning Dustin McCabe in 1:29 to give the Patriots their first lead at 12-11.
That lead lasted for 26 seconds, as VMI junior Corry Murray needed only that long to pin Ken Jackson at 184. Murray, wrestling in his first dual match of the season, posted his fourth win in five matches and second pin of the season.
Mason rallied back to tie the match at 197 with Joel Caruso’s technical fall victory. At heavyweight, Scott Buhman again gave the Keydets the lead with a narrow, hard-fought 2-1 decision to improve to 14-10 on the season.
With the match moving back to the lightweights, Mason’s Joe Coughlin countered with a major decision, giving the Patriots the 21-20 advantage with only one match remaining. That match would live up to its billing, with VMI’s Brandon Stillo facing off with GMU’s Will Powars in a matchup of the 133 lb. consolation final from last weekend’s Virginia State Championships, where Powars took a 7-6 decision for third place.
In a tight, thrilling match that was not decided until the final horn, Powars took the 6-4 victory to clinch the Patriots’ first victory over the Keydets in their last five meetings.
“I’m disappointed with tonight’s result,” said head coach John Trudgeon. “We need to find a way to win matches like this. It seems like we just haven’t been able to get a solid, 10-man performance yet this year. Give George Mason credit, they did what they needed to do to win tonight. They won all the close matches, if we can take one of those, then we win the match.”
Some Keydets will see action on Saturday, as they compete at the Washington & Lee Invitational. The entire Keydet team will return to action Wednesday evening, when they host their Southern Conference opener, with Davidson coming into the Thunderdome for a 7:30 p.m. match.
George Mason 24, VMI 20
141- Jochen Granja (V) tech. fall Stewart Gonzalez, 17-2, VMI 5-0
149- Sam Alvarenga (V) fall Jay Chichester, 1:11, VMI 11-0
157- Mitch Webster (G) dec. Tommy Cunningham, 3-1 (sv), VMI 11-3
165- Tyler Tisdell (G) dec. Chris Hardy, 5-2, VMI 11-6
174- Randy Oates (G) fall Dustin McCabe, 1:29, GMU 12-11
184- Corry Murray (V) fall Ken Jackson, 0:26, VMI 17-12
197- Joel Caruso (G) tech. fall Niels Madsen, 24-7 (4:51), Tied 17-17
285- Scott Buhman (V) dec. Ryan Kittrick, 2-1, VMI 20-17
125- Joe Coughlin (G) maj. dec. Lam Ly, 14-4, GMU 21-20
133- Will Powars (G) dec. Brandon Stillo, 6-4, GMU 24-20