Lehigh 27 Rutgers 6; Lehigh 25 Rider 9
No. 9 Lehigh rolls past Rutgers, 27-6
12/20/2008
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - In its first action in two weeks, No. 9 Lehigh won eight
of ten bouts in a convincing 27-6 win over Rutgers Saturday afternoon at the
College Avenue Gymnasium. The Mountain Hawks received bonus wins from junior
Matt Fisk, senior Trevor Chinn and freshman Joe Kennedy as they moved to 9-0 on
the dual season and picked up their second dual win over an EIWA opponent.
Rutgers falls to 11-4 with the loss.
The host Scarlet Knights picked up the win in the dual's opening match, as Matt
Fusco earned a 5-2 decision over sophomore Mitch Berger, who was subbing for
John McDonald.
At 133, Fisk gave Lehigh a lead it would not relinquish as he won by major
decision, 10-2 over Brian Bollette.
Lehigh captured the next two bouts as well, as Seth Ciasulli beat David
Greenwald 5-0 at 141 and Chinn picked up the Mountain Hawks second win of the
day with an 11-3 major over David Seidenberg. Ciasulli scored a first period
takedown and added a three-point nearfall for the only scoring in his bout,
while Chinn scored a pair of takedowns in the first period and two more in the
third in his win.
Rutgers picked up its second win at 157 as Scott Winston bested Sean Bilodeau
9-6, but Lehigh captured the final five bouts to win its ninth straight dual to
open the season. Junior Mike Galante, sophomore Alex Caruso and junior David
Craig all won by decision, while Kennedy used a big third period, including a
late takedown, two-point near fall combination in a 12-1 win over Karim Mahmoud.
Freshman Zach Rey was victorious in the final bout of the dual, with riding time
advantage being the deciding point in a 3-2 win over D.J. Russo.
125 Matt Fusco (Rutgers) dec. Mitch Berger (Lehigh) 5-2
133 Matt Fisk (Lehigh) maj. dec. Brian Bollette (Rutgers) 10-2
141 Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) dec. David Greenwald (Rutgers) 5-0
149 Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) maj. dec. David Seidenberg (Rutgers) 11-3
157 Scott Winston (Rutgers) dec. Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) 9-6
165 Mike Galante (Lehigh) dec. Matt Pletcher (Rutgers) 9-3
174 Alex Caruso (Lehigh) dec. Mike Whalen (Rutgers) 2-0
184 David Craig (Lehigh) dec. Chris Orzechowski (Rutgers) 6-0
197 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) maj. dec. Karim Mahmoud (Rutgers) 12-1
285 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. D.J. Russo (Rutgers) 3-2
Lehigh moves to 10-0 with two wins in New Jersey
12/20/2008
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - No. 9 Lehigh continued its impressive start to the dual
season by sweeping a pair of duals Saturday in New Jersey. After downing Rutgers
27-6 earlier in the day the Mountain Hawks moved to 10-0 for the first time in
41 years with a 25-9 win over Rider Saturday night at Alumni Gymnasium. The
Mountain Hawks captured eight wins against the Broncs to complete the Saturday
sweep and match the program's best start since the 1966-67 season.
“We have a great group of guys who are working very hard,” said Lehigh head
coach Pat Santoro. “I'm very proud of how they have wrestled so hard but as a
group they know that they still need to get better.”
The same eight wrestlers who picked up victories earlier in the day against the
Scarlet Knights emerged victorious against Rider. After dropping the opening
bout at 125, junior captain Matt Fisk put Lehigh on the scoreboard with bonus
points, as he earned an 11-3 major decision over Matt Bradley. Fisk's second
major decision win of the day helped offset a shocking loss by sophomore Mitch
Berger at 125. Berger was leading Filiberto Colon 15-4 late in the third period
when Colon hit a cement job and pinned Berger at the 6:29 mark.
“That was kind of an early surprise,” said Santoro. “Berger went from
going for a tech fall to getting pinned, but Fisk really stepped up. He did not
touch a mat for two weeks but came out and wrestled hard and found a way to
win.”
Fisk's win was followed by back-to-back wins by decision as Seth Ciasulli edged
Fred Rodgers 3-2 at 141 and Trevor Chinn won 6-2 over Nick Weaver at 149.
Rider's second and final win came at 157, before the Mountain Hawks won the
final five bouts, all by decision to cement their tenth straight win to open the
season.
After junior Mike Galante and sophomore Alex Caruso earned wins by decision for
Lehigh, the stage was set for the featured bout of the night between junior
David Craig and Rider's Doug Umbehauer at 184. The lead went back and forth and
the match ended up in overtime. After neither wrestler scored in the sudden
victory period, Craig rode out Umbehauer in the first 30 second tiebreaker and
then reversed him in the final seconds of the second tiebreaker period en route
to an 8-6 win.
The final two bouts went the Mountain Hawks way as freshman Joe Kennedy was
impressive in a 12-5 win over Tyler Smith at 197 and Zach Rey closed the dual
with an 8-4 win over Ed Bordas.
Earlier in the day Lehigh rolled to a 27-6 victory over Rutgers winning eight of
ten bouts, including wins by major decision for Fisk, Chinn and Kennedy.
The Mountain Hawks will now have another break of nearly two weeks before they
return to the mats on Friday, January 2, when Lehigh visits West Virginia. The
match is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. from the WVU Coliseum in
Morgantown. Lehigh's first dual of the new year will be broadcast on ESPN Radio
1230 and 1320 as well as online at Lehighsports.com with streaming powered by
Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
125 Filiberto Colon (Rider) Fall Mitch Berger (Lehigh) 6:29
133 Matt Fisk (Lehigh) maj. dec. Matt Bradley (Rider) 11-3
141 Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) dec. Fred Rodgers (Rider) 3-2
149 Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) dec. Nick Weaver (Rider) 6-2
157 Mike Kessler (Rider) dec. Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) 7-1
165 Mike Galante (Lehigh) dec. Jason Lapham (Rider) 3-2
174 Alex Caruso (Lehigh) dec. Mike Ward (Rider) 4-2
184 David Craig (Lehigh) dec. Doug Umbehauer (Rider) 8-6, t.b.
197 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) dec. Tyler Smith (Rider) 12-5
285 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. Ed Bordas (Rider 8-4