Sunday, December 3
Allentown, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
19
vs
23
Penn State
Record crowd sees No. 5 Lehigh's upset bid fall just short against No. 1 Penn State at PPL Center
12/3/2017 5:16:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A Lehigh home dual meet record crowd of 9,896 saw the fifth-ranked Mountain Hawks race to a 15-0 lead over No. 1 Penn State only to see the upset bid thwarted as the Nittany Lions won six of the final seven bouts to rally past the Mountain Hawks 23-19 Sunday at PPL Center. The match was presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
Anthony Cassar's 8-3 decision over freshman Jake Jakobsen at 197 gave Penn State a 20-19 lead with one bout remaining, and with the dual decided at heavyweight, third-ranked Nick Nevills edged freshman Jordan Wood 2-0 to clinch the dual for the visitors.
Three of Lehigh's four bout wins produced bonus points, with back-to-back falls from senior Darian Cruz and junior Scott Parker bringing the PPL Center crowd to its feet, but ultimately, the Mountain Hawks could not pick up the win over a ranked wrestler in the final four bouts needed to knock off the Nittany Lions.
(12/3/2017) Wrestling vs. Penn State at PPL Center
The loss is Lehigh's first of the season, as the Mountain Hawks fall to 4-1. Penn State, the two-time defending NCAA Champions, improves to 4-0. The Nittany Lions have now won eight straight duals in the series to take a 69-34-3 lead after this, the 106th meeting.
Penn State was without two of its ranked regulars including one of its five returning NCAA Champions, but got victories from its other four defending champions to help spearhead the comeback.
"It was a good effort," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We were in a position to win. It came down to us hitting their horses at the end. We knew we had to steal one from one of their big guys. We were close, but we really need to pin that down and be able to close out.
"I thought our guys competed really hard," he continued. "It's going to sting for a little bit. We need to create more opportunities late in the match to get those takedowns."
Cruz got things started for Lehigh in the opening bout at 125, taking down Devin Schnupp and then locking up a cradle for his first fall of the season in 1:13. Parker was next, taking on Domenic Giannangeli at 133. He led 2-1 after one period before taking Giannangeli down to his back for the fall at the 4:12 mark. The pin is Parker's fourth straight this season.
Freshman Luke Karam extended Lehigh's lead to 15-0 with a solid 2-0 win over Jered Cortez at 141. Karam fought off a good shot late in the first period to keep the bout scoreless, then escaped early in the second and used a strong performance on top to ride out the third period.
"They did exactly what we needed them to do," Santoro said. "We knew we needed bonus points early and they went out and they got them. Luke went out and beat a really good kid, so we were in good position. Being up at the break, we knew that was a good spot. We felt really comfortable at 165 and we really thought we were going to steal a couple in the last four. We came up short, but we have to get better and we know we have to get better. These guys will work hard to get better."
Penn State crept within 15-11 at intermission following back-to-back bonus wins from their returning national champions at 149 and 157. Zain Retherford needed just 1:27 to pin junior Cortlandt Schuyler at 149, while Jason Nolf posted a 23-8 technical fall in 6:40 over junior Ian Brown at 157.
The Nittany Lions were without national champion Vincenzo Joseph at 165 and junior Gordon Wolf took advantage with a high-scoring 24-12 major decision over Bo Pipher. Wolf recorded eight takedowns and three reversals, but was never able to turn Pipher to give himself a chance at a fall or technical fall.
Penn State claimed both matchups pairing top-5 wrestlers at 174 and 184 to climb within 19-17. At 174 NCAA Champion Mark Hall scored a slick second period takedown that provided the only offensive points in a 3-2 win over sophomore Jordan Kutler. The loss is just the second of Kutler's career and snapped an 11-bout dual win streak. Bo Nickal used a first period takedown at 184 to hold off junior Ryan Preisch.
Cassar, ranked 11th at 197, scored two first period takedowns to go up 4-1 on Jakobsen. The Lehigh freshman rode out Cassar in the second period and escaped to open the third, but couldn't muster a takedown. Cassar added two more takedowns in the third to complete the 8-3 decision.
With the dual meet hanging in the balance, Wood fought off a quality Nevills shot in the first period and following a Nevills escape in the second got onto a single leg shot but could not convert his best opportunity of the match. Nevills rode tough in the third period and kept Wood down the entire period to secure the 2-0 decision and complete the Nittany Lions' comeback.
Prior to Sunday's match, Lehigh's home dual attendance record was 5,909 from Penn State's visit to Stabler Arena on Feb. 12, 2016.
The Mountain Hawks will close out the fall semester with two road duals in Philadelphia next Sunday. Lehigh will face Penn at 1 p.m. in the Palestra and then will head across the street to face Drexel at 4 p.m.
No. 1 Penn State 23, No. 5 Lehigh 19
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Devin Schnupp (Penn St.) 1:13
133 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) Fall Domenic Giannangeli (Penn St.) 4:12
141 – Luke Karam (Lehigh) dec. Jered Cortez (Penn St.) 2-0
149 – Zain Retherford (Penn St.) Fall Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) 1:27
157 – Jason Nolf (Penn St.) tech fall Ian Brown (Lehigh) 23-8, 6:40
165 – Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) major dec. Bo Pipher (Penn St.) 24-12
174 – Mark Hall (Penn St.) dec. Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) 3-2
184 – Bo Nickal (Penn St.) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 3-2
197 – Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) 8-3
285 – Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 2-0
Attendance – 9,896
Officials – Scott Bricker and Craig Salvatore
Anthony Cassar's 8-3 decision over freshman Jake Jakobsen at 197 gave Penn State a 20-19 lead with one bout remaining, and with the dual decided at heavyweight, third-ranked Nick Nevills edged freshman Jordan Wood 2-0 to clinch the dual for the visitors.
Three of Lehigh's four bout wins produced bonus points, with back-to-back falls from senior Darian Cruz and junior Scott Parker bringing the PPL Center crowd to its feet, but ultimately, the Mountain Hawks could not pick up the win over a ranked wrestler in the final four bouts needed to knock off the Nittany Lions.
The loss is Lehigh's first of the season, as the Mountain Hawks fall to 4-1. Penn State, the two-time defending NCAA Champions, improves to 4-0. The Nittany Lions have now won eight straight duals in the series to take a 69-34-3 lead after this, the 106th meeting.
Penn State was without two of its ranked regulars including one of its five returning NCAA Champions, but got victories from its other four defending champions to help spearhead the comeback.
"It was a good effort," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We were in a position to win. It came down to us hitting their horses at the end. We knew we had to steal one from one of their big guys. We were close, but we really need to pin that down and be able to close out.
"I thought our guys competed really hard," he continued. "It's going to sting for a little bit. We need to create more opportunities late in the match to get those takedowns."
Cruz got things started for Lehigh in the opening bout at 125, taking down Devin Schnupp and then locking up a cradle for his first fall of the season in 1:13. Parker was next, taking on Domenic Giannangeli at 133. He led 2-1 after one period before taking Giannangeli down to his back for the fall at the 4:12 mark. The pin is Parker's fourth straight this season.
Freshman Luke Karam extended Lehigh's lead to 15-0 with a solid 2-0 win over Jered Cortez at 141. Karam fought off a good shot late in the first period to keep the bout scoreless, then escaped early in the second and used a strong performance on top to ride out the third period.
"They did exactly what we needed them to do," Santoro said. "We knew we needed bonus points early and they went out and they got them. Luke went out and beat a really good kid, so we were in good position. Being up at the break, we knew that was a good spot. We felt really comfortable at 165 and we really thought we were going to steal a couple in the last four. We came up short, but we have to get better and we know we have to get better. These guys will work hard to get better."
Penn State crept within 15-11 at intermission following back-to-back bonus wins from their returning national champions at 149 and 157. Zain Retherford needed just 1:27 to pin junior Cortlandt Schuyler at 149, while Jason Nolf posted a 23-8 technical fall in 6:40 over junior Ian Brown at 157.
The Nittany Lions were without national champion Vincenzo Joseph at 165 and junior Gordon Wolf took advantage with a high-scoring 24-12 major decision over Bo Pipher. Wolf recorded eight takedowns and three reversals, but was never able to turn Pipher to give himself a chance at a fall or technical fall.
Penn State claimed both matchups pairing top-5 wrestlers at 174 and 184 to climb within 19-17. At 174 NCAA Champion Mark Hall scored a slick second period takedown that provided the only offensive points in a 3-2 win over sophomore Jordan Kutler. The loss is just the second of Kutler's career and snapped an 11-bout dual win streak. Bo Nickal used a first period takedown at 184 to hold off junior Ryan Preisch.
Cassar, ranked 11th at 197, scored two first period takedowns to go up 4-1 on Jakobsen. The Lehigh freshman rode out Cassar in the second period and escaped to open the third, but couldn't muster a takedown. Cassar added two more takedowns in the third to complete the 8-3 decision.
With the dual meet hanging in the balance, Wood fought off a quality Nevills shot in the first period and following a Nevills escape in the second got onto a single leg shot but could not convert his best opportunity of the match. Nevills rode tough in the third period and kept Wood down the entire period to secure the 2-0 decision and complete the Nittany Lions' comeback.
Prior to Sunday's match, Lehigh's home dual attendance record was 5,909 from Penn State's visit to Stabler Arena on Feb. 12, 2016.
The Mountain Hawks will close out the fall semester with two road duals in Philadelphia next Sunday. Lehigh will face Penn at 1 p.m. in the Palestra and then will head across the street to face Drexel at 4 p.m.
No. 1 Penn State 23, No. 5 Lehigh 19
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Devin Schnupp (Penn St.) 1:13
133 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) Fall Domenic Giannangeli (Penn St.) 4:12
141 – Luke Karam (Lehigh) dec. Jered Cortez (Penn St.) 2-0
149 – Zain Retherford (Penn St.) Fall Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) 1:27
157 – Jason Nolf (Penn St.) tech fall Ian Brown (Lehigh) 23-8, 6:40
165 – Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) major dec. Bo Pipher (Penn St.) 24-12
174 – Mark Hall (Penn St.) dec. Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) 3-2
184 – Bo Nickal (Penn St.) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 3-2
197 – Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) 8-3
285 – Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 2-0
Attendance – 9,896
Officials – Scott Bricker and Craig Salvatore
Players Mentioned
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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