Lehighsports.com

Bethlehem, PA – The eighth ranked Lehigh wrestling team began its 2001-02 season on Tuesday evening at Grace Hall when it held its annual Brown and White wrestle-offs. The Brown defeated the White 21-18 as head coach Greg Strobel attempted to make the match close by dividing the teams evenly.
      Highlighting the action were pins by co-captain Jon Trenge and Tommy Rohn. Trenge returned to the Lehigh mat for the first time since his eye injury last season. He pinned Dave Brundage in just 2:49 seconds after leading the match 9-0 with two takedowns and two near falls. Rohn looked strong pinning Joe Goldman in 1:20 after leading 4-1 with a pair of takedowns.
      Co-captain Rob Rohn easily defeated James Moore 20-7 at 184 in the opening bout. Rohn cruised to the major decision recording nine takedowns and sacrificing seven escapes.
      Dan Hyman, a transfer from Arizona State recorded the only technical fall of the evening with an 18-3 win over Andrew Rizzi in 6:06. Hyman looked sharp taking a 9-2 lead into the second period before recording a pair of takedowns and a near fall to lead 16-3. A takedown at the start of the third period gave Hyman the win.
      Several close bouts, including two that went to overtime, entertained the crowd of 909 fans on hand. Terrance Clendenin defeated Mario Stuart 3-1 in overtime at 125 and Troy Minarovic defeated Michael Pirozzola 4-2 in overtime. Lehigh did not follow the normal NCAA rules for overtime due to the wrestle-off format. The Mountain Hawks instead wrestled a two-minute sudden death overtime period.
      Experience proved to be valuable in a number of bouts as all four of Lehigh’s top recruits lost to more experienced upperclassmen. Nate Cote defeated Derek Zink 5-3 at the 157 challenge bout and Brad Dillon defeated Travis Frick 5-2 at 174.
      Aaron Paterson used 1:01 of advantage time to defeat Warren Stout 2-1 in the second bout at 157. Each wrestler recorded an escape in the bout that was a battle for the third string position.
      At 165, co-captain Chris Vitale defeated Troy Letters 4-3 in a match featuring a returning All-American (Vitale) and one of Lehigh’s highly touted recruits (Letters). Vitale recorded a takedown to open the scoring and a reversal in the second period to pick up the win. Letters recorded three escapes in the bout.
      "As I predicted it was a wild, emotional, who knows who’s going to win match," said Strobel with a smile. "There were some upsets based on what we’ve seen in the wrestling room during the preseason. The guys really competed against each other. Win or lose, they all fought hard."
      Lehigh officially opens the season on Thursday November 15^th when it hosts fifteenth ranked Pittsburgh at Grace Hall. The first bout is scheduled to start at 7:00

Attendance: 909