Franklin & Marshall 22, Duquesne 21
Somers' Technical Fall Defeats Duquesne
Jan 30, 2009
LANCASTER, Pa. - Down 21-17 with only one bout remaining, senior heavyweight Nico Somers defeated John Simmons 19-4 to earn five points for the technical fall and give Franklin & Marshall's wrestling team a 22-21 victory over Duquesne on Friday night.
Somers used six takedowns and earned the crucial extra point for 4:56 riding time for the 15-point margin to help the Diplomats (4-9) record their second straight win over the Dukes (3-6). Last year, F&M defeated Duquesne by a score of 23-21.
The Diplomats won four of the last five bouts to fight back from an 18-4 deficit. Al Gianforti collected the first win for F&M at the 149 weight class with a 12-2 major decision over Alex Martinez.
After intermission, Anthony Bongarzone stepped to the mat and posted a 7-1 decision against Dan Pauley to make the match, 18-7. At 174, Justin Herbert earned his 32nd career fall and second consecutive pin with just four seconds left in the first period.
James Schulz followed Herbert at 184, scoring 10 points in the third period to get the 18-9 major decision against Matt Gregg. With the score at 18-17 in favor of the visitors, Scott Black tallied a 6-4 decision at 197 to push the lead to 21-17.
Somers came out in the final bout knowing what he had to do and kept up the intensity for the entire seven minutes, working Simmons any way to get points to give his team the win. He took a 9-2 lead into the third period and continued to take Simmons down time and time again until the buzzer sounded.
F&M returns to action tomorrow for senior day against American, beginning at 12 p.m.
Franklin & Marshall 22, Duquesne 21