The Citadel tops Davidson, Franklin & Marshall
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Citadel wrestling team earned two convincing dual victories, over Southern Conference foe Davidson, 26-15, and nonconference opponent Franklin & Marshall, 31-3, on Sunday at the Belk Arena.
The two wins improved the Bulldogs' record to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in SoCon action. Davidson dropped to 4-9 and 0-3 in the conference while Franklin & Marshall fell to 4-4.
The Bulldogs entered Sunday with four wrestlers ranked in the latest Division I Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings, which were released on Jan. 19 – Joaquin Marquez (33rd at 125), Ugi Khishignyam (18th at 141), Matt Frisch (28th at 149) and Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (15th at 165).
Marquez opened both matches with victories as the redshirt junior topped Davidson's Philip Elias (6-1) and Franklin & Marshall's Jason Bing (4-1) to improve his season mark to 18-10.
Aaron Hansen squared off against Anthony Elias in the second bout and avenged a 9-5 loss suffered in the championship match at last season's SoCon tournament with a solid 3-2 win over the Wildcat grappler to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead.
A major decision win by Khishignyam at 141, along with technical fall wins by Aaron Walker and Luvsandorj at 157 and 165, respectively, gave the Bulldogs a 20-6 lead with four matches remaining.
Marshall Haas completed a 6-0 decision over Michael Moore at 197 before freshman Joe Bexley collected his first career dual win with a 6-5 decision over Eddie Isola at heavyweight.
The 141-pound bout in the second match of the day was between two ranked wrestler in Khishignyam and No. 10 Richard Durso of Franklin & Marshall. The two battled it out for seven minutes but Durso was able to earn the 4-3 decision and hand Khishignyam his first career dual loss.
The Citadel cruised to eight straight wins after the loss at 141 to earn the team victory and improve its record against Franklin & Marshall to 3-0 all-time.
Walker and Luvsandorj now lead the team with perfect 7-0 dual records on the season. Luvsandorj is now 24-5 in 2013-14 and has collected 119 career wins. The Mongolia native is just seven shy of becoming the program's winningest wrestler with 126.
The Bulldogs take a break from dual action to compete in the All-Academy Championships on Saturday at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.
The Citadel 26, Davidson 15
125: #33 Joaquin Marquez (The Citadel) won by decision over Philip Elias, 6-1
133: Aaron Hansen (The Citadel) won by decision over Anthony Elias, 3-2
141: #18 Ugi Khishignyam (The Citadel) won by major decision over James McCord, 16-3
149: Kevin Birmingham (Davidson) won by pin over #28 Matthew Frisch at 2:57
157: Aaron Walker (The Citadel) won by technical fall over Nick Pappayliou at 7:00, 16-0
165: #15 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel) won by tech fall over Patrick Devlin at 5:51, 22-6
174: Nathaniel Powers (Davidson) won by pin over Terrell Forbes at 2:48
184: Donald Patrick (Davidson) won by decision over Kenneth Radford, 8-3
197: Marshall Haas (The Citadel) won by decision over Michael Moore, 6-0
285: Joseph Bexley (The Citadel) won by decision over Eddie Isola, 6-5
The Citadel 31, Franklin & Marshall 3
125: #33 Joaquin Marquez (The Citadel) won by decision over Jason Bing, 4-1
133: Aaron Hansen (The Citadel) won by decision over Robert Ruiz, 3-1
141: #10 Richard Durso (Franklin & Marshall) won by decision over #18 Ugi Khishignyam, 4-3
149: #28 Matthew Frisch (The Citadel) won by pin over Sharron Townsend at 6:09
157: Aaron Walker (The Citadel) won by decision over Andrew Murano, 2-1
165: #15 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel) won by decision over Theodore King, 11-6
174: Terrell Forbes (The Citadel) won by decision over Colin Gironda, 2-0
184: Kenneth Radford (The Citadel) won by decision over Paul III Alessandrini, 3-2
197: Marshall Haas (The Citadel) won by major decision over Charles Kerkesner, 15-7
285: Joseph Bexley (The Citadel) won in sudden victory 1 over Alexander Henry, 3-1
Davidson falls to The Citadel, Franklin & Marshall
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Kevin Birmingham pinned a nationally ranked grappler, while Scott Patrick and Nathaniel Powers each went 2-0 on the day as the Davidson wrestling team dropped a pair of home contests, falling to SoCon foe The Citadel by a score of 26-15 and taking a 27-7 loss to Franklin & Marshall on Sunday afternoon at Belk Arena.
Birmingham, who is among the national leaders with 12 pins this season, took down No. 28 Matt Frisch of The Citadel (5-3, 2-1 SoCon) at 149 pounds in 2:57 in helping the Wildcats (4-10, 0-3 SoCon) rally from a 10-0 deficit.
The Bulldogs earned tech. falls at both 157 and 165 to stretch their lead to 20-6 entering the 174-pound bout. Powers then came up with his second consecutive pin of a SoCon opponent, sending Terrell Forbes to the mat in 2:48 to make it an 8-point Wildcat deficit at 20-12.
Davidson got an 8-3 decision from Patrick at 184 to bring the ‘Cats within five at 20-15, but the Bulldogs countered with a win by decision at 197. Ed Isola then put up a strong effort in the heavyweight bout, dropping the match to Joe Bexley by just one point at 6-5 despite a 50-pound advantage on Bexley’s part as the Wildcats took the 26-15 SoCon loss.
It was again Powers and Patrick who came through for the Wildcats vs. The Diplomats. Powers picked up his third straight victory with a 7-2 decision over Colin Gironda, again at 174. Patrick followed suit at 184 with a 14-6 major decision over Adam Schroeder. However, the ‘Cats couldn’t make up any more ground and fell 27-7 in nonconference action to FMC.
The Wildcats will travel to Buies Creek, N.C., on Saturday for a SoCon match up with in-state foe Campbell at 5:30 p.m.
Franklin & Marshall 27, Davidson 7
125: Jason Bing (F&M) maj. dec. Philip Elias (DC), 8-0
133: Scott Stevens (F&M) dec. Anthony Elias (DC), 4-1
141: Robert Ruiz (F&M) dec. Alex Palinski (DC), 4-2
149: Richard Durso (F&M) dec. Kevin Birmingham (DC), 8-7
157: Andrew Murano (F&M) dec. Nick Pappayliou (DC), 11-4
165: Rob King (F&M) maj. dec. Patrick Devlin (DC), 10-2
174: Nathaniel Powers (DC) dec. Colin Gironda (F&M), 7-2
184: Scott Patrick (DC) maj. dec. Adam Schroeder (F&M), 14-6
197: Chuckie Kerkesner (F&M) maj. dec. Michael Moore (DC), 11-2
HWT: Alex Henry (F&M) dec. Ed Isola (DC), 5-1