| No. 5 Phil Davis posted a 14-2 major decision in Penn State??s 22-9 win over Bloomsburg in the quarterfinals of the Virginia Duals. |
HAMPTON, Va.; January 12, 2007 ?C The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 10 nationally, continued its early dominance in the 2007 Virginia Duals by posting a sound 22-9 win over Bloomsburg in the quarterfinals. The Lions won seven of ten bouts and will move on to face Rider in tomorrow??s 2 p.m. semifinals.
The dual began at 125, where Penn State??s Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) met Bloomsburg??s Mike Sees of Bloomsburg in a battle of ranked wrestlers. McKnight, who beat No. 16 Eric Hoffman of North Dakota State in the opening round, entered the bout No. 2 while Sees entered as the No. 10 ranked wrestler at this weight. McKnight wasted no time in getting a lead, notching a takedown just :15 in to take an early 2-1 lead. Sees fought off McKnight??s offensive work for the remainder of the period, but did get hit with a stall warning before the period ended. Sees chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 2-2 tie. McKnight got in on Sees?? right leg with :30 left and worked hard to finish the two point takedown, getting the call with :12 left. The Nittany Lion junior maintained his control for the remainder of the period to carry a 4-2 lead into the third period. McKnight chose down to begin the third period and escaped to a 5-2 lead. Neither wrestler would score a takedown in the final period as McKnight went on to grab the 5-2 decision. The victory gave Penn State an early 3-0 lead.
At 133, No. 6 Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) met Bloomsburg??s Ricky Donald. Strayer got a takedown and two near-fall points to go up 4-0 a minute into the bout. Strayer was dominant on top and rode Donald out for the final two-plus minutes to lead 4-0 (with 2:02 in riding time) heading into the second period. Donald chose down to begin the second and escaped, only to give up another Strayer takedown to trail 6-1. Strayer continued to dictate action from the top position and closed out the period with a 6-1 lead and 2:54 in riding time. He chose down to begin the final period and reversed Donald to up his lead to 8-2 (after the Donald escape). Looking for a major decision and team bonus points, Strayer nearly go the takedown as time expired, but Donald did a nice job of fighting off the move. Regardless, Strayer??s 9-2 win put Penn State up 6-0.
Nittany Lion junior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) faced Bloomsburg??s Daren Kern at 141. Kern got in on Heller early, grabbing his right ankle. But Heller did a nice job of fighting off the shot attempt and the bout remained scoreless until Heller got his first takedown at the :20 mark. The quick double-leg move and ensuing ride-out gave Heller a 2-0 lead after one period. Kern chose down to begin the second period and escaped to cut the lead to 2-1. Kern took a 3-2 lead with a nice double-leg takedown only to have Heller reverse him to retake a 4-3 lead with :38 left in the middle period. Leading by one entering the final two minutes of wrestling, Heller chose down and used another reversal to go up 6-3 with 1:18 left to wrestle. The Nittany Lion grappler did not let Kern up off the mat, posting an impressive 7-3 win (getting a riding time point). The victory gave the Nittany Lions a 9-0 lead after three bouts.
Red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) tangled with Matt Moley of Bloomsburg at 149. Vallimont broke open the scoring, getting a takedown on the edge of the mat with :36 left in the first to take a 2-0 lead. He rode Moley out to carry that lead into the middle period. Moley chose down to start the second period and escaped to cut the lead to 2-1, but not before allowing Vallimont to build up a 1:11 riding time cushion and getting a stall warning. Neither wrestler managed any scoring in the rest of the period. Vallimont, leading 2-1 heading into the third, chose down to begin the final stanza but could not break free of Moley??s grasp until the 1:03 mark, giving up his riding time edge but leading 3-1. Vallimont would fight off Moley??s last second scoring efforts to get away with the 3-1 decision and push Penn State??s lead to 12-0.
Fresh off a pin in his collegiate debut, true freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) met Bloomsburg??s Dennis Bermudez at 157. The first three minutes passed without any scoring and Bermudez chose down to begin the second period. Jenkins remained in control of the Huskie grappler, not giving up the escape until :41 had passed. The escape gave Bermudez a 1-0 lead with 1:19 to wrestle in the middle period. Jenkins could not break through Bermudez??s defenses and trailed by one after two. The true freshman chose down to begin the final period and escaped to a 1-1 tie after just :18 seconds. After Jenkins took a second injury timeout, Bermudez got to choose position and took down. He quickly escaped to grab a 2-1 lead with :50 left. Jenkins, however, was not to be denied and notched a go-ahead takedown with :18 left. He would manage to maintain control just long enough for the final buzzer to sound, grabbing a 3-2 decision and putting Penn State up 15-0.
Another Nittany Lion true freshman, 165-pounder Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), met Bloomsburg??s Ricky Schmelyun. Schmelyun nearly got the first takedown on the edge of the mat, but Rella worked his way out of a single-leg to force a reset. A thrilling scramble ensued as Rella nearly pinned Schmelyun twice but did not finish off the move. After over a minute??s worth of work, Rella got the takedown to grab a 2-0 lead at the :35 mark. He maintained control for the rest of the period and carried that lead into the second stanza. Schmelyun chose down to start the second but did not escape until Rella had worked up 1:43 in total riding time. Leading by one with a RT point in hand, Rella deftly fought off Schmelyun??s offense and led 2-1 entering the third period. He chose down to begin the final two minutes but was turned to his back for two near-fall points. The Schmelyun move put the Huskie up 3-2. needing an escape with under a minute to wrestle, Rella could not break free of the Bloomsburg wrestler??s grip and dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision. The Schmelyun win cut Penn State??s lead to 15-3.
Penn State??s James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 6 in the nation at 174, met Bloomsburg??s Andrew Jordan. After three minutes of scoreless wrestling through the first period, Jordan chose down to begin the second period. Yonushonis used the opportunity to build up two minutes worth of riding time as he rode the Huskie out. The Nittany Lion All-American chose down to begin the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead with a guaranteed riding time point in hand. A quick takedown allowed Yonushonis to move on to a 4-1 decision. The victory gave Penn State an 18-3 lead.
At 184, Mike Ward (Perry, Ohio) met Bloomsburg??s Nate Shirk. Shirk got up early with a quick takedown to lead 2-0 just over :10 into the bout. Ward escaped to cut the lead to 2-1 at the 2:00 mark only to give up a takedown on the edge of the mat to fall behind 4-1 with 1:15 to wrestle in the first period. The Nittany Lion red-shirt freshman escaped to cut the lead to 4-2. Down by two heading into the third, Ward chose down to begin the final period and quickly escaped to trail 4-3. Ward went on the offensive for much of the second period but could not break through Shirk??s tough defense. Shirk chose down to begin the final period and escaped to a 5-3 lead. Ward again applied the offensive pressure only to be successfully blocked off by Shirk. With :30 left, Ward shot hard for Shirk??s ankles and the Huskie grappler side-stepped the move and clinched the bout with a takedown of his own. Shirk went on to post a 7-4 win over Ward, cutting the Penn State lead to 18-6.
Defending national runner-up Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 197, took on Bloomsburg??s P.J. DeStefano. Davis got the first takedown at the 1:14 mark but got reversed by DeStefano, tying the score at 2-2 with under a minute to wrestle. Davis could not break free of DeStefano??s low single leg control and the period ended tied at 2-2. DeStefano chose down to begin the second period. Davis took advantage of the decision, deftly turning DeStefano to his back and getting two near-fall points for a 4-2 lead. Still maintaining control, Davis completed a cradle on the DeStefano and added three more back points to lead 7-2 after two periods. Davis chose top to start the final period, looking to turn the Huskie grappler and pick up team bonus points in the process. After adding three more near fall points (to lead 10-2), Davis nearly got the pin as time expired. Still, three more back points were added and, with a riding time point, Davis posted a 14-2 major decision. The major gave the Nittany Lions a 22-6 lead heading into the final bout.
Senior HWT Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.), ranked No. 13 in the country, took on No. 20 Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg in the dual??s final bout. After a scoreless first period, Spaid chose down to begin the second, looking to get an early lead. The Huskie junior quickly broke free of Anspach??s control to lead 1-0. The talented duo battled evenly throughout the second period, with neither wrestler managing to break through the other??s defense. Trailing 1-0 heading into the third, Anspach chose down to start the final period. The Nittany Lion senior tied the bout with an escape at the 1:35 mark and immediately began looking for an offensive opening. His first shot was countered by Spaid, who nearly turned it into two points of his own. But Anspach fought off the move and forced a reset with :55 left to wrestle. Anspach got in on a low single leg with :33 left to wrestle and worked hard to finish off the move. Spaid broke out of his grasp, however, and a scramble ensued. No one could finish off a scoring attempt and the bout went into a sudden victory period. Anspach got in on a single leg quickly, but Spaid countered the move and got a winning takedown of his own. The 3-1 victory made the team final Penn State 22, Bloomsburg 9.
The Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts and, combined with a 9-1 show in the first round, went 16-4 in day one of the Virginia Duals. Penn State got the only bonus point of the match via Davis?? major decision at 197. The win moves Penn State to 8-1 overall while Bloomsburg falls to 5-6.
Penn State moves on to the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m., where it will meet Rider. The Broncs downed Arizona State 23-13 in their quarterfinal match-up. The finals and third place match is set for 8:30 p.m. Saturday night.
Penn State??s next action after the Virginia Duals will be a two-dual road swing to open up Big Ten action. Penn State will visit Wisconsin for an 8 p.m. Eastern match on Friday, Jan. 19, and then head to Minnesota for 3 p.m. Eastern dual on Sunday, Jan. 21. Penn State??s next home dual is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 26, when Ohio State comes to Rec Hall. All Penn State duals will be heard live on WBLF AM and WKVA AM as well as streamed for free at GoPSUsports.com. Season and single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. This year??s season ticket prices are $24 for adults and $18 for students. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth.
No. 10 Penn State 22, Bloomsburg 9
Friday, Jan. 12, 2007 ?C Virginia Duals ?C Hampton, Va.
125: #2 Mark McKnight PSU dec. #10 Mike Sees BU, 5-2 3-0
133: #6 Jake Strayer PSU dec. Luke Donald BU, 9-2 6-0
141: Bryan Heller PSU dec. Daren Kern BU, 7-3 9-0
149: Dan Vallimont PSU dec. Matt Moley BU, 3-1 12-0
157: Bubba Jenkins PSU dec. Dennis Bermudez BU, 3-2 15-0
165: Ricky Schmelyun BU dec. Dave Rella PSU, 3-2 15-3
174: #6 James Yonushonis PSU dec. Andrew Jordan BU, 4-1 18-3
184: Nate Shirk BU dec. Mike Ward PSU, 7-4 18-6
197: #5 Phil Davis PSU maj. dec. P.J. DeStefano BU, 14-2 22-6
HWT: #20 Mike Spaid BU dec. #13 Aaron Anspach PSU, 3-1 (sv) 22-9
Records: Penn State 8-1, Bloomsburg 5-6
Next up for Penn State: Vs. Rider in semifinals, Saturday, 2 p.m.