Jan. 20, 2008
IOWA CITY, Iowa; -
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 7 nationally, fell at No. 1 Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the Big Ten opener for Penn State. Iowa won seven of the dual's ten bouts to post the 27-13 win.
Head coach Troy Sunderland was without two starters and saw the home standing Hawkeyes win the dual's first two bouts. Iowa never trailed in the match. Nittany Lion senior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) and sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) both remained undefeated with wins at 197 and 157 respectively. Davis, ranked No. 2, got a pin over Iowa's Chad Beatty (4:57) and improved to 11-0 on the year. Vallimont, ranked No. 4, downed No. 16 Ryan Morningstar 6-2 and moved to 18-0. Sophomore Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) got Penn State's other win, posting an 11-3 major over Iowa's Aaron Janssen at 165.
Penn State is now 8-3 on the year, 0-1 in Big Ten duals. Iowa moves to 13-1, 2-0 in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions will continue Big Ten action next weekend with two key duals. Penn State will visit No. 6 Ohio State on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then return home to host No. 17 Indiana in Rec Hall for a 1 p.m. match-up. Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free! Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual or season tickets. All Penn State duals will be broadcast locally on WBLF 970 AM and WKVA 920 AM and streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com. All home duals will feature a live video webcast and live scoring at www.GoPSUsports.com as well.
 Senior Phil Davis pinned Iowa's Chad Beatty at 197 to remain undefeated on the year. Davis, ranked No. 2 nationally, moved to 11-0 on the year.  | |
#7 Penn State 13, #1 Iowa 27
Sunday, January 20, 2008 - Iowa City, Iowa
174: #3 Jay Borschel IA dec. Mark Friend PSU, 11-4 0-3
184: #8 Phillip Keddy tech. fall #15 Phil Bomberger PSU, 19-3 (TF, 6:10) 0-8
197: #2 Phil Davis PSU pinned Chad Beatty IA, WBF (4:57) 6-8
HWT: #6 Matt Fields IA dec. #15 John Laboranti PSU, 7-3 6-11
125: #3 Charlie Falck IA dec. #8 Mark McKnight PSU, 2-0 6-14
133: #4 Joe Slaton IA maj. dec. Tim Haas PSU, 14-6 6-18
141: #10 Dan LeClere IA dec. Garrett Scott PSU, 4-3 6-21
149: #3 Brent Metcalf IA pinned #6 Bubba Jenkins PSU, WBF (5:33) 6-27
157: #4 Dan Vallimont PSU dec. #16 Ryan Morningstar IA, 6-2 9-27
165: Dave Rella PSU maj. dec. Aaron Janssen IA, 11-3 13-27
Final Score: #7 Penn State 13, #1 Iowa 27
Records: Penn State 8-3, 0-1 Big Ten; Iowa 13-1, 2-0 Big Ten
Attendance: 7,525
Up next: at #6 Ohio State, Friday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m.; home vs. #17 Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 27, 1 p.m.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
174: With No. 16 David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) nursing a slight injury, Nittany Lion junior Mark Friend (Libertyville, Ill.) stepped in at 174 to face Iowa's Jay Borschel, who entered the bout ranked No. 3 nationally. Borschel got in on Friend's right leg :45 into the bout and finished off the takedown at the 2:00 mark to give the Hawkeye sophomore an early 2-0 lead. Friend escaped to a 2-1 deficit and began looking for a takedown of his own. Setting the pace early, Friend had two solid scoring attempts but Borschel managed to keep his lead with good defense and carried his 2-1 lead into the second period. Borschel chose down to begin the second stanza and reversed Friend to up his lead to 4-1. Friend got his escape with under a minute left, only to get taken down as the period wound down to trail 6-2 after two periods. Friend chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 6-3 deficit. Borschel added another takedown with 1:15 left to up his lead to 8-4 after letting Friend up. Borschel, with a clinched riding time point, got another takedown to up his lead to 10-4 and began looking for a major decision clinching takedown in the bout's final :30. Friend nearly notched a takedown as the bout ended, helping keep the bout a regular decision. Borschel's 11-4 win put the Hawks up 3-0.
184: Junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.), ranked No. 15 at 184, took on Iowa's Phil Keddy, who was ranked No. 8 nationally. Bomberger got the bout's first points with a solid takedown on the edge of the mat. Keddy quickly escaped to cut the lead to 2-1 and then, countering a solid Bomberger shot, went ahead 3-2 with his first takedown. Bomberger could not escape a strong Keddy ride and the Hawkeye rode the Lion junior out for the final 1:58 of the period to hold a 3-2 lead after one period. Keddy chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. Both wrestlers tried to throw each other to their backs and it was Keddy who managed to put Bomberger down and for the five point move (two points for the fall, three points for the near fall). Once again, Keddy managed to turn Bomberger to his back and pick up three more near fall points as the second period ended. Down 12-2 with Keddy assured a riding time point, Bomberger chose neutral to start the final stanza. Bomberger gave up a stall point and then Keddy took the Lion junior down to go up 15-2 with 1:36 left to wrestle. Another stall warning gave Keddy a 16-2 lead. After a reset, Bomberger managed to escape to a 16-3 deficit, but Keddy took the Lion junior down at the 6:10 mark to finish off a 19-3 technical fall and put Iowa up 8-0 after just two bouts.
 Sophomore Dan Vallimont, ranked No. 4 at 157, downed No. 16 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa 6-2 to move to 18-0 on the year. | |
197: Three-time Nittany Lion All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 197, put his perfect 10-0 record on the line against Iowa's Chad Beatty at 197. Needing not just a win but a fall to get Penn State back into the dual, Davis spent the bout's first two minutes looking for his opening. Beatty shot low on Davis' right ankle, but the Lion senior countered the move and forced a stalemate with :45 left in the opening period. Tied 0-0 after one, Beatty chose down to begin the second stanza. The decision would lead to the inevitable Davis cradle and two near fall points. After resetting himself with :45 left, Davis once again finished a cradle for two more near fall points. Then with just :03 left in the period, the Penn State senior planted Beatty for a pin at the 4:57 mark, cutting Iowa's lead to 8-6.
HWT: Junior John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.), ranked No. 15 nationally at HWT, met Iowa's Matt Fields, who entered the bout ranked No. 6. Fields had the bout's first scoring attempt with a single-leg that he finished on the edge of the mat for a 2-0 lead with 2:00 left. Laboranti escaped to cut Fields' lead to 2-1 with 1:35 left and neither grappler would score for the rest of the period. Down by one, Laboranti chose down to start the middle stanza and, after a first stall warning, escaped to a 2-2 tie with 1:37 left in the period. Laboranti gave up a stall point with :30 left in the period, giving Fields a 3-2 lead heading into the final period. With a one point lead, Fields chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. Laboranti shot low towards Fields' ankle, but the sixth-ranked Hawkeye countered the move to get his own takedown and led 6-3 after a Laboranti escape with 1:20 left in the bout. Laboranti tried to cut into Fields' lead as the period wound down, but the Hawkeye's strong defense allowed him to post a hard-fought 7-3 win (with riding time) and give Iowa an 11-6 lead after four bouts.
125: In another bout pitting ranked grapplers against each other, Nittany Lion senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) took on Iowa's Charlie Falck at 125. McKnight entered the bout ranked No. 8 while Falck was ranked No. 3. Falck got in high on McKnight's right thigh and had the first scoring chance of the bout. But the Penn State senior managed to scramble enough to force a stalemate at the 1:46 mark. McKnight held off another Falck offensive push and then had his first chance to score, getting in on Falck's right leg and working to get in behind Falck for a takedown. But the Hawkeye countered McKnight's efforts and managed to hold him off to send the bout to the second period tied 0-0. Falck chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. McKnight kicked out of a quick Falck shot and immediately got in on Falck's thigh in a swift counter move. But Falck forced a stalemate and reset with 1:20 to go in the period. With :45 left, McKnight got hold of Falck's right ankle and began working to finish off the move for the bout's first takedown. But Falck managed just enough defense to maintain his 1-0 lead heading into the final period. McKnight chose down to start the final period, needing an escape to tie the score. McKnight worked hard to break free, but Falck hung on top, keeping his advantage for the entire period to claim a hard-fought 2-0 win (with the riding time point). The victory put Iowa up 14-6.
133: Penn State senior Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) took on No. 4 Joe Slaton of Iowa at 133 pounds. Slaton took an early 2-1 lead, taking Haas down quickly. The fourth-ranked Hawkeye added a second takedown to lead 4-2 with 1:52 left in the first period. A dominating first period ended with Slaton holding a 6-3 lead with a :45 riding time advantage. Haas chose down to start the second period and escaped with 1:20 left to cut Slaton's lead to 6-4. Another Slaton escape put the Hawkeye up 8-5 with :20 left. The Hawkeye then worked to finish another takedown as the period ended, but Haas fought off the move to stay close, down 8-5, with two minutes to wrestle. Slaton chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 9-5 lead. The Hawkeye sophomore took Haas down and cut him loose to lead 11-6 (with a bonus point in hand) and began looking for a major decision. Slaton got the important takedown with :35 left, upping his lead to 13-6. He then maintained his control of Haas until the bout ended and posted a 14-6 major decision. The four points put Iowa up 18-6 with only four bouts to wrestle.
141: With No. 5 Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) out due to the passing of his grandmother, freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) took to the mat at 141 against No. 10 Dan LeClere of Iowa. Scott fought off two quick LeClere shots and began working for his own opportunity. LeClere gained control of Scott's right leg and nearly took the Lion freshman down. After a long scramble, LeClere got the two points to take the lead at the :31 mark. Holding a 2-0 lead, LeClere chose neutral to start the second period and Scott zeroed in on his Hawkeye foe. Scott tied the bout 2-2 at the 1:42 mark and, like Davis, began working for back points. Using a solid cross face, Scott nearly turned the Hawkeye sophomore to his back. But LeClere managed to fight off the near-fall attempt and keep the bout tied at 2-2. LeClere got his first stall warning and forced a reset with :15 left. Tied 2-2 but holding a 1:13 riding time edge, Scott chose down to start the final period. LeClere managed to keep control of Scott long enough to erase the riding time edge, but Scott escaped to a 3-2 lead with 1:40 left in the bout. LeClere got in deep on Scott's right ankle and took a 4-3 lead with a takedown at the :22 mark. Needing an escape to force overtime, Scott could not break free of LeClere's ride and the Hawkeye escaped with a hard-fought 4-3 win. The decision put Iowa up 21-6.
149: Perhaps the dual's marquee match-up pitted No. 6 Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) against Iowa's Brent Metcalf, who was ranked No. 3 at 149. Jenkins wasted no time in getting a lead, using a strong double-leg to go up 2-1 just :12 into the bout. Metcalf tried to score off Jenkins on the edge of the mat, but Jenkins threw Metcalf to the mat for a two-point takedown and two near-fall points. Metcalf cut the lead to 6-3 with a reversal, however, and forced a reset on the edge of the mat. Jenkins escaped to a 7-3 lead, only to see Metcalf take him down to cut the lead to 7-5 with :45 left in the opening period. Jenkins reversed Metcalf as the period ended, but was only awarded an escape and led 8-5 after one period. Metcalf chose down to start the second and escaped to an 8-6 deficit, then immediately took Jenkins down. Jenkins briefly escaped and Metcalf then added another takedown plus three near-fall points to storm back and take a 13-9 lead with 1:04 left to wrestle in the middle stanza. After a reset, Metcalf cut Jenkins loose and the Lion sophomore trailed 13-10. But the Hawkeye was relentless and added another takedown. Jenkins gave up two more points by calling for an injury timeout on the bottom and with just :47 left, Jenkins was down 17-10. Metcalf continued to dominate Jenkins during the second period and held a 22-12 lead with just :20 left to wrestle. Jenkins chose down to start the third and was allowed up but Metcalf. The Hawkeye sophomore continued his dominating performance and eventually pinned Jenkins at the 5:33 mark. The win clinched the dual for the Hawkeyes, giving Iowa up 27-6 with just two bouts left to wrestle.
157: Undefeated Nittany Lion Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) put his No. 4 national ranking at 157 and 17-0 record on the line against No. 16 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa. Vallimont steadily worked a double-leg into a go-ahead takedown with 1:11 left in the opening period. Morningstar escaped with :45 left, cutting the lead to 2-1. Morningstar chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 2-2 deadlock. But Vallimont continued his steady style with another takedown, this one with one minute left, to up his lead to 4-2. With a big riding time edge in hand, Vallimont chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Neither wrestler would post another takedown and Vallimont posted a strong 6-2 win, cutting Iowa's lead to 27-9.
165: Penn State sophomore Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) took on Iowa's Aaron Janssen at 165. Top-ranked Mark Perry was out for Iowa. Neither wrestler mounted a serious scoring attempt in the first period and Janssen was hit with one stall warning. The Hawkeye chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 1-0 lead just :15 into the second stanza. Rella, however, managed to take Janssen down and grab a 2-1 lead with just over 1:00 left in the period. The Nittany Lion sophomore then rode Janssen out to keep the 2-1 lead. Up by one, Rella chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. With Janssen looking for a tying takedown, Rella countered the Hawkeye's offensive efforts and got his own takedown to lead 5-1 with 1:15 left in the bout. Janssen escaped to cut the lead to 5-2, but Rella had built up enough riding time to get a time advantage. After Janssen gave up a stall point, Rella took the Hawkeye down once more, let him up and began working towards a major decision with an 8-3 lead and a bonus point in hand. Rella got the takedown with just :04 left and, with riding time, posted a hard-fought 11-3 major. Still, Iowa posted a 27-13 win in the dual.