Jan. 12, 2008
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa; January 12, 2008 - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, the latest national No. 1 to fall in a dual meet, took out its frustrations No. 19 Cornell in the consolation bracket at the 2008 National Duals, crushing the Big Red 31-9. The top-ranked Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts to claim the rematch with CU, a team they beat last Friday in Rec Hall by a 35-10 score.
True freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) was superb for the Lions, posting a technical fall over Eric McGill at 141 (16-0 in only 3:35). Other Penn State wins came from No. 7 Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), a 12-4 major at 125; No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (Alexandria, Pa.), a pin of Adam Frey at 149; No. 10 Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), a 13-1 major at 157; No. 14 Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.), a 7-4 decision at 184; and No. 2 Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), another quick pin at 197. Heavyweight John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.) got a win in the dual's final bout as well.
In eight days, the Nittany Lions have beaten Cornell twice by a combined scored of 66-19 and have won 14 of 20 bouts. The Nittany Lions racked up nine bonus points to none for the Big Red. Penn State has now beaten Cornell five straight times.
Penn State, now 7-1 on the year, will face No. 4 Iowa State in the consolation semifinals tonight at 8 p.m. (Eastern). The Nittany Lions will also be in action tomorrow, wrestling for either fifth (with a win vs. ISU) or seventh (with a loss) place.
#1 Penn State 31, #19 Cornell 9
Saturday, January 12, 2008 - National Duals - Cedar Falls, Iowa
| 125: #7 Mark McKnight PSU maj. dec. Mike Rodriguez CU, 12-4 | 4-0 |
| 133: #7 Mike Grey CU dec. Tim Haas PSU, 7-3 | 4-3 |
| 141: Garrett Scott PSU tech. fall Eric McGill CU, 16-0 (3:35) | 9-3 |
| 149: #4 Bubba Jenkins PSU pinned Adam Frey CU, WBF (4:55) | 15-3 |
| 157: #10 Dan Vallimont PSU maj. dec. Drake Hovis CU, 13-1 | 19-3 |
| 165: #3 Mack Lewnes CU dec. Dave Rella PSU, 5-3 | 19-6 |
| 174: #8 Steve Anceravage CU dec. #17 David Erwin PSU, 4-3 | 19-9 |
| 184: #14 Phil Bomberger PSU dec. Justin Kerber CU, 7-4 | 22-9 |
| 197: #2 Phil Davis PSU pinned Matt Panasevich CU, WBF (4:10) | 28-9 |
| HWT: John Laboranti PSU dec. Maciej Jochem CU, 4-2 | 31-9 |
Final Score: #1 Penn State 31, #19 Cornell 9
Records: 7-1, Cornell 1-4
Up next: #1 Penn State vs. #4 Iowa State, tonight, 8 p.m.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: Senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 7 at 125, looked to bounce back from a loss against Nebraska when he took the mat against Cornell's Mike Rodriguez. McKnight, who pinned Rodriguez last Friday, got the first takedown of the bout, getting two points on the edge of the mat with :52 left in the first period, and led 2-1 after a Rodriguez escape. The late period takedown accounted for the only offense of the first period and McKnight led 2-1 after one period. The Penn State senior chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. He added four more points with a two-point takedown and two near fall points. A Rodriguez escape cut the lead to 7-2 with just over :30 left in the period, but McKnight held that lead into the third. Rodriguez chose down to start the final stanza and eventually escaped to a 7-3 deficit. But McKnight was relentless, adding on another takedown on the edge of the mat with under a minute left to take a 9-4 lead (after another CU escape). Looking for bonus points, McKnight got the key takedown with just :12 left and rode Rodriguez out. With a riding time bonus point, the Nittany Lion senior notched a 12-4 major decision and put Penn State up 4-0 early.
133: Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) faced off against #7 Mike Grey of Cornell at 133 pounds. Grey handed Haas a 6-1 defeat last Friday night in Rec Hall. Like last week, Haas was the equal to Grey early on, battling his highly-rated opponent evenly throughout the first part of the opening stanza. But Grey got on the board with a solid takedown on the edge of the mat to lead 2-0 at the 1:14 mark. Haas escaped to a 2-1 deficit in short order and began looking for a scoring opportunity. None was to be had, however, and Haas trailed by one heading into the second stanza. Grey chose down to begin the middle period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Haas gave up a stall point just over a minute into the period and found himself down 4-1 with over a minute to wrestle. Grey added another takedown at the :40 mark to go up 6-1 with :40 left in the period. He then rode Haas out to close out the second stanza with the 6-1 lead. Haas chose neutral to begin the third period. The Penn State co-captain began looking for openings in Grey's defense and got his first takedown at th3 :33 mark to cut the lead to 6-3. Needing multiple takedowns, Haas cut Grey loose but ran out of time and dropped a hard-fought 7-3 decision. The CU win cut Penn State's lead to just one, 4-3.
141: Freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) took on Cornell's Eric McGill at 141. Seizing his opportunity on the mat, Scott quickly took McGill down and turned the Big Red wrestler to his back for a five point move less than :30 into the bout. Dominating the match from up top, Scott turned McGill once more for three more back points and broke out to an 8-0 lead with 1:22 left. Two more three-point near falls later and Scott led 14-0 after one period with nearly three minutes of riding time. McGill chose neutral to begin the second period and :35 later, Scott ended the bout with a takedown, posting a 16-0 technical fall at the 3:25 mark. The five team points put the Nittany Lions up 9-3.
149: Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) took the mat against Cornell's Adam Frey at 149. Frey, who did not wrestle last Friday night at Penn State, got an early takedown to lead 2-0. But Jenkins calmly stepped out from underneath Frey, lifted the Big Red grappler to his feet set him back down on the mat, nearly pinning him in the process but getting the two point reversal nonetheless. Frey escaped to a 3-2 lead at the 1:00 mark, but Jenkins began pressuring the Big Red grappler. Jenkins took the lead just before the first period ended with a textbook takedown on the edge of the mat to lead 4-3 after one period. Frey chose down to begin the second stanza and quickly escaped to knot the score at 4-4. Jenkins nearly turned Frey to his back :30 into the bout, but Frey managed to break free of the move in time to send action back to the inner circle. With Frey working Jenkins' right leg, the Nittany Lion sophomore reached behind Frey and completed a cement mixer to send the Cornell wrestler to his back. Jenkins then calmly planted him with a pin at the 4:55 mark, putting Penn State up 15-3 and keeping his unbeaten streak alive.
157: Sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 10 at 157, looked to remain unbeaten on the year and faced off against Cornell's Drake Hovis. Vallimont quickly got out to a 2-1 lead with a swift takedown just seconds into the bout. Another takedown at the 2:00 mark put the Penn State sophomore up 4-1 and the Lion began looking for back points. While Vallimont could not turn Hovis, he did ride him out to lead 4-1 after one period with over 2:00 of riding time. The Penn State sophomore chose down to begin the second stanza, quickly escaped and then turned in and took Hovis to the mat, upping his lead to 7-1 less than :30 into the middle period. Vallimont rode Hovis out once again and carried that lead with an insurmountable riding time edge into the final two minutes. Hovis chose neutral to begin the period, but Vallimont could sense bonus points. After fighting off a Hovis shot and forcing a reset, Vallimont deftly picked Hovis up off the mat and turned him to his back for a five point move (takedown and near fall). With a 12-1 lead, Vallimont could not finish off the technical fall as the bout ended, but the sophomore remained unbeaten on the year with a resounding 13-1 major decision. The score was nearly identical to Vallimont's 13-2 win last Friday. The win put Penn State up 19-3.
165: Penn State's Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) once again took on No. 3 Mack Lewnes of Cornell at 165. Lewnes majored Rella last Friday by a 12-4 mark. This time, it was Rella who was the aggressor early on, nearly getting a takedown on the edge of the mat midway through the first period. But action moved outside the circle and reset was called. Lewnes took advantage of the opportunity and got in deep on Rella's ankles off the reset. Rella fought the attempt off, however, forcing another reset with just :17 left in the opening period. Neither wrestler challenged after that and the bout entered the second period tied 0-0. Rella chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Rella was equal to everything Lewnes threw at him for the bulk of the second period, although a stall warning was assessed late in the period. Down by one entering the third period, Lewnes chose bottom to start the third and escaped to a 1-1 deadlock. The Cornell grappler nearly managed a takedown on the edge of the mat shortly thereafter, but action moved outside the circle once again. After a reset at the 1:18 mark, Rella got in on Lewnes' left leg and began setting up the Cornell wrestler for a decisive takedown, but Lewnes used a strong upper body move to force Rella back and get a two-point takedown of his own. Rella escaped to cut the lead to 3-2 at the :45 mark and began looking for a winning takedown. But Lewnes was able to counter one last Rella shot attempt and post a hard-fought 5-2 win over the game Rella. The victory cut Penn State's lead to 19-6.
174: Looking to repeat his upset victory of a week ago, Nittany Lion David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) put his new No. 17 ranking on the line against No. 8 Steve Anceravage of Cornell at 174. Anceravage had some revenge of his own on his mind after Erwin's 6-4 win in Rec Hall a week ago. The CU grappler took Erwin down early for a 2-0 lead at the 2:30 mark. Anceravage put together a dominating ride, working Erwin's arm to try and turn the Lion sophomore to his back. While not managing to turn Erwin, he did build up a 2:29 riding time edge and led 2-0 after one period. Erwin chose down to begin the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Erwin appeared to take Anceravage down at the 1:05 mark, but the official ruled action had fully moved outside the circle and a reset ensued with Anceravage still clinking to a 2-1 lead. Up by one, Anceravage chose down to start the final period. Needing multiple takedowns to grab the win, Erwin let the CU grappler up to a 3-1 lead and began pressing the issue on offense. Each Erwin shot was rebuked by Anceravage until the final seconds, when Erwin took the Big Red grappler down to briefly tie the bout at 3-3 as time expired. But the first period ride led to a riding time point and Anceravage exacted a small amount of revenge with a hard-fought 4-3 win. The victory cut PSU's lead to 19-9.
184: No. 14 Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) met Cornell's Justin Kerber at 184. With a victory clinching the dual, Bomberger opened up a 2-1 lead late in the first period with a workmanlike takedown. Kerber, however, nearly took Bomberger down to lead after one period, but the Nittany Loin junior scrambled out of trouble as the period ended to hold a 2-1 lead after one period. Bomberger chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. The Port Royal native continued to pressure Kerber throughout the second period, but the CU wrestlers defense was solid enough to keep Bomberger's lead to 3-1 after five minutes of wrestling. Kerber chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 deficit. With the next takedown being critical, Bomberger countered a Kerber shot and notched a solid takedown to up his lead to 5-2 with 1:25 left to wrestle. A Kerber escape cut the lead to two, but Bomberger was too much for the Big Red grappler, icing the bout with a takedown at the :13 mark to lead 7-4 (after a quick Kerber escape). The 7-4 decision clinched the dual for Penn State, putting the Nittany Lions up 22-9 with just two bouts left to wrestle.
197: Penn State All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 197 and undefeated on the year, met Cornell's Matt Panasevich in the next bout. Davis pinned Panasevich in the first period last Friday. This time, Panasevich was a bit more leery against the three-time All-American and the Big Red grappler kept his distance until the 1:00 mark. Davis got his first takedown with a strong single leg and began working for a pinning combination on top. But Panasevich managed to stay off his back and Davis led 2-0 after one period. Panasevich chose neutral to begin the middle stanza, but Davis quickly added another takedown at the 1:30 mark to push out to a 4-0 lead. This time, Davis managed to turn Panasevich and after a brief tussle, got the pin at the 4:10 mark. The victory, Davis' eighth straight to start the year, put Penn State up 28-9.
HWT: Junior John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.) met Cornell's Maciej Jochem in the dual's final bout. Jochem scored a takedown in the waning seconds of last Friday's dual to grab a tight win over Laboranti. After being somewhat cautious offensively last Friday, Laboranti kept the pressure on Jochem from the start, staying in the middle of the mat and forcing the his opponent in red towards the edge of the mat. After a scoreless first period, Jochem chose down to start the second stanza and found himself nearly turned to his back for a near fall. But the CU grappler fought off Laboranti's strong ride, got to his feet, and forced a reset at the 1:29 mark. Jochem then escaped after the reset to a 1-0 lead, but Laboranti continued to pressure him and force the tempo of the match. Neither big man managed a takedown in the second period as well. Laboranti, however, gave up a stall point in the process of winding down the period. Down by two, Laboranti chose down to start the final period and escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Keeping the pressure on his opponent, the Nittany Lion big man forced a scramble in the center of the mat and after a battle, worked out from underneath Jochem, moved behind him and got the go ahead takedown with under :30 left in the bout. He then rode Jochem out and, with the riding time point, posted a 4-2 decision. The win gave Penn State a 31-9 win, very similar to its 35-10 victory over CU a week ago.