1.7.2005
No. 16 Penn State Wrestlers falls to No. 6 Lehigh, 20-16
Driscoll knocks off No. 3 Cooperman at 141
State College, Pa., Jan. 7, 2005 – Penn State got a big upset victory from junior DeWitt Driscoll and a stunning disqualification of one of Lehigh’s top wrestlers but could not overcome the No. 6-ranked Mountain Hawks as Lehigh posted a 20-16 victory Friday night in Rec Hall. The loss dropped Penn State to 2-2 on the season as they prepare to take on No. 12 West Virginia and No. 25 Pittsburgh in Rec Hall on Sunday. That double-dual starts at 1:00 p.m. The Pittsburgh match will be televised live at 3:00 p.m. by FOX/Sports Pittsburgh (channel 34), WPSX (channel 3) and CSTV (check local listings). Lehigh improved to 8-1 with the win.
Sixteenth-ranked Penn State took the mat on the night without 12th-ranked 149-pounder James Woodall. The senior will likely miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee during the 149-pound final at the Midlands Championship, Dec. 30. Still, the Nittany Lions got two big breaks that could have produced an upset over Lehigh. The first came when Driscoll, ranked No. 18, pulled an impressive upset of No. 3 ranked Cory Cooperman at 141 pounds. Cooperman took the early lead with a first period takedown and after an escape and reversal in the second held a 5-3 lead going into the third. However, in the third Driscoll escaped from the down position and then took Cooperman down to take a 6-5 lead. He then turned the Mountain Hawk in the final 30 seconds for a three-point nearfall to lock up a 9-5 victory. The win marked the highest ranked opponent the Nittany Lion junior has defeated on his career as he improved to 18-6 on the year.
Driscoll’s win gave Penn State a 6-3 lead in the dual as senior Adam Smith, ranked No. 15, won the opening bout at 125 with a 14-9 decision over Andrew Rizzi and Lehigh evened things at 3-3 with an 8-7 win by No. 10 ranked Matt Ciasulli over a game Bryan Heller at 133. Ciasulli appeared to tire late in the match and was hit with three stalling penalties while riding Heller that closed an 8-2 lead to 8-6. Heller then escaped and nearly completed a late shot for the win.
Lehigh got a crucial win at 149 where both team’s regular starters did not compete. Penn State sent true freshman Jack Decker to the mat and he nearly pulled off a big win as he got a takedown and two-point near-fall for the early lead. However, Lehigh’s Dave Nakasone responded with a reversal and two-point near-fall to send the match into overtime where he won, 7-5, with a takedown 20 seconds in.
Lehigh ran off four straight victories as No. 10 Derek Zinck, No. 1 Troy Letters and No. 15 Travis Frick posted wins at 157, 165 and 174, respectively, for a 17-6 Mountain Hawk lead. Penn State responded with a major decision win by No. 6 ranked Eric Bradley at 184. Bradley put on a clinic posting 10 takedowns in a 22-9 defeat of Matt Cassidy.
Then things got interesting. Leading 17-10, Lehigh sent No. 3 ranked Jon Trenge to the mat to take on Nittany Lion junior Joel Edwards at 197 with a chance to close the door on Penn State. Instead the two-time NCAA finalist lost his temper and turned the dual meet into a nail-bitter. Trenge was hit in the first 30 seconds with a penalty for ripping Edwards headgear off. Then after a failed takedown attempt off the edge of the mat near the Nittany Lions bench, Trenge again got in deep on Edwards near the Lehigh bench. This time the two went off the edge of the mat and referee Bob Derr blew the whistle. However, Trenge did not stop action and instead tossed the Nittany Lion on his head on the Rec Hall hardwood. At that point, Derr had seen enough and disqualified Trenge at 1:08 into the match. Derr also deducted a team point from Lehigh for unsportsmanlike conduct knotting the dual meet at 16-16.
That brought the heavyweights to the mat to decide the contest. Lehigh’s Paul Weibel took Penn State’s Josh Walker down twice in the first period and collected two near-fall points for an early 6-2 lead. It would be enough as Walker’s attempts to come back resulted in scoring opportunities for Weibel as he posted a 12-3 major decision and delivered Lehigh the win in the 92nd meeting between the two schools.
#6 Lehigh 20, #16 Penn State 16
L PS
125 #15 Adam Smith (PS) dec. Andrew Rizzi (L), 14-9 0 3
133 #10 Matt Ciasulli (L) dec. Bryan Heller (PS), 8-7 3 3
141 #18 DeWitt Driscoll (PS) dec. #3 Cory Cooperman (L), 9-5 3 6
149 Dave Nakasone (L) dec. Jack Decker (PS), 7-5;sv 6 6
157 #10 Derek Zinck (L) dec. #11 Nate Galloway (PS), 3-2 9 6
165 #1 Troy Letters (L) tech fall Steve Troup (PS), TF21-5;6:54 14 6
174 #15 Travis Frick (L) dec. James Yonushonis (PS), 5-2 17 6
184 #6 Eric Bradley (PS) Maj. Dec. Matt Cassidy (L), 22-9 17 10
197 Joel Edwards (PS) DQ over #3 Jon Trenge (L), DQ;1:08 16* 16
* Lehigh deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
Hwt. Paul Weibel (L) Maj. Dec. Josh Walker (PS), 12-3 20 16
Penn State: 2-2 Lehigh: 8-1
Attendance: 2,528
Ridge Riley Award: DeWitt Driscoll (141)
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