Dec. 1, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 5 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll, will take part in the 2010 Nittany Lion Open on Sunday, Dec. 5, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Over 400 wrestlers are expected to compete in the open event, which features numerous attached and unattached grapplers from around the nation. No team scores are kept at the event and live result updates will be available at Escape Sports' results website once the event begins. Escape sports online results can be found at http://test.escapesports.com/Results/Results.php .
Penn State heads into the tournament, which is not a team-scored event, with a 5-0 mark. The Nittany Lions last competed on Nov. 21. Penn State won seven of ten bouts against No. 24 Rutgers to down the Scarlet Knights 22-10 and closed out the 2010 Sprawl and Brawl Duals with a 3-0 mark on Nov. 21. The Nittany Lions opened the event by shutting out Harvard 45-0. It was Penn State's first shut-out since the Lions blanked rival Lehigh 33-0 on Dec. 7, 2007 and it was Penn State's most lopsided win since a 47-0 win over Clarion on Nov. 19, 2006. Penn State won the takedown battle with RU 19-7 and posted a daunting 60-10 edge in takedowns over the course of the day's three duals. Penn State's 5-0 start to the season is its best since it began the 2007-08 season 6-0.
While the final list of competitors is subject to change up until tournament time, 17 attached Nittany Lions and 13 unattached grapplers could see action at the event. All eight of Penn State's ranked grapplers are expected to compete, including No. 2 Frank Molinaro at 149, No. 5 David Taylor at 157, No. 6 Quentin Wright at 184, No. 7 Cameron Wade at HWT, No. 11 Jake Kemerer at 165, No. 12 Andrew Alton at 141, No. 14 Ed Ruth at 174 and No. 18 Frank Martellotti at 125.
Numerous teams are set to send wrestlers to Rec Hall for Sunday's event. While noting that entrants can and usually do change up until the morning of the event, some of the teams set to send wrestlers to the event include Army, Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Boston, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Columbia, Drexel, Edinboro, Hofstra, Lehigh, Lock Haven, Maryland, Navy, North Carolina, NC-Greensboro, Ohio, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Rider, Rutgers, The Citadel and Virginia Tech among others.
With the final tournament set up yet to be finalized, action is set to take place on 14 mats (10 in the Rec Hall main arena and four in the South Gym). For all weight classes, winners bracket action from the quarterfinals on will take place in the main Rec Hall arena (unless tournament continuity dictates slight changes).
Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 12, when it hosts Lock Haven at 2 p.m. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Updates from the Nittany Lion Open will air on WRSC AM (1390) and WSQV FM (92.1). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
br> POSSIBLE COMPETITORS As of November 29, 2010
#5 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
*SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
ATTACHED..
Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2010-11 Record
125 #18 Frank Martellotti Fr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side 5-0
Eric Caschera Sr. South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport 11-3
133 Bryan Pearsall So. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 3-2
141 #12 Andrew Alton Fr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 5-0
Adam Lynch Sr. Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg 0-0
149 James English So. York, Pa./Central York 3-1
#2 Frank Molinaro Jr. Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional 1-0
157 #5 David Taylor Fr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 5-0
Nick Fischer So. Unionville, Pa./Unionville 6-0
James Vollrath Fr. Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South 8-1
165 #11 Jake Kemerer Fr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 4-1
174 #14 Ed Ruth Fr. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township 5-0
Andrew Church Fr. Erie, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf 5-4
184 #6 Quentin Wright So. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area 4-1
197 Nick Ruggear Fr. Oxford, Pa./Oxford 7-2
Justin Ortega So. Oxford, Pa./Oxford 0-2
285 #7 Cameron Wade Jr. Twinsburg, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel 3-2
UNATTACHED...
Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2010-11 Record
125 Cameron Kelly Fr. Pittsford, N.Y./Shady Side 4-4
Nate Morgan Fr. McCook, Neb./McCook 10-2
133 Seth Beitz Fr. Juniata, Pa./Juniata 7-3
Sam Sherlock Fr. West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin 10-1
Rob Vollrath Fr. Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South 4-3
141 Kyle Moran Fr. Oxford, Pa./Oxford 2-2
149 Dylan Alton Fr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 5-0
David Church Fr. Erie, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf 0-2
157 Thomas Gorman Fr. East Patchogue, N.Y./Admiral Farragut (Fla.) 7-4
165 Dirk Cowburn Fr. Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport 11-1
Justin Haug Fr. Galeton, Pa./Columbia 0-2
174 Brandon Phillips Fr. Timonium, Md./Delany 2-2
285 Jon Gingrich Fr. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area 2-2
NOT COMPETING...
Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2010-11 Record
125 Brad Pataky Sr. Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield 0-0
174 Michael Lorenzo Sr. Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte 1-1
197 Clay Steadman Jr. McKean, Pa./General McLane 0-0
Indiv. rankings Intermat/Team rankings NWCA
THIS WEEK
No. 5 Penn State (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will take part in the 2010 Nittany Lion Open on Sunday, Dec. 5, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Rec Hall. The event is not part of Penn State's season ticket package and tickets are available at the door the day of the event.
UP NEXT
Penn State will host neighbor Lock Haven on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m.
ON THE AIR
TV - None
Live Web Video -- None
Radio - None
Web -- None
ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
For information or credentials, contact me, Pat Donghia, Wrestling SID Phone: 814-865-1757 -- Email: pad11@psu.edu
FOLLOW PSU WRESTLING @ GoPSUSPORTS:
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/psu-m-wrestl-body.html
FOLLOW PSU WRESTLING ON FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling
FOLLOW PSU WRESTLING ON TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/pennstatepat
Also, check out the Blog staff at GoPSUsports...
THE ALL-SPORTS BLOG AT GOPSU:
http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/wrestling
HEAD COACH Cael Sanderson
Cael Sanderson comes to Penn State after three extremely successful years as the head coach at his alma mater. Sanderson's teams did not finish any lower than fifth at the NCAA Championships and never had a wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers through to the championship tournament. In 2007, Sanderson's rookie campaign, he led ISU to a 13-3 dual meet record and the first of three straight Big 12 Championships. An NCAA Runner-Up finished in Detroit capped off a wildly successful year as the Cyclones crowned one national championship and Sanderson was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Rookie Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. The next year, Sanderson led ISU to a 16-4 dual meet mark, another Big 12 title and a fifth place finish at nationals. Iowa State's seven All-Americans in 2008 were the most at the school since 1993. This past season, Sanderson's team went 15-3 in duals, won its third straight Big 12 title and took third place at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis (just 12 points out of first place). The Cyclones also crowned another national champion. In three years, Sanderson's teams went 44-10, won three conference crowns, qualified all 30 wrestlers for nationals, and earned 15 All-America awards and two individual national titles. In his first year at Penn State, he guided the Lions to a 13-6-1 dual meet mark, 5-3 in Big Ten action, and crowned his first Big Ten Champion. Sanderson now sports a 62-16-1 dual meet mark in this, his fourth year as a collegiate head coach. He is 18-6-1 in his second year at Penn State.
LION FRESHMEN SHINE AT SPRAWL AND BRAWLS WHILE FOUR PENN STATE ROOKIES REMAIN UNDEFEATED
Penn State started six freshmen in each of its three duals at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Nov. 21 and the outstanding group posted a superb 16-2 record. Four of those six freshmen remain undefeated for the year. Frank Martellotti went 3-0 at 125 and stands at 5-0 on the year; Andrew Alton went 3-0 at 141 (with two more pins) and is 5-0 on the year (with four pins); David Taylor went 3-0 at 157 and is 5-0 on the year (with two pins, a TF and two majors); Ed Ruth went 3-0 at 174 and is 5-0 on the year (with two pins and a TF); Jake Kemerer went 2-1 at 165 and is 4-1 on the year and Nick Ruggear went 2-1 at 197 and is 7-2 on the year.
TAYLOR AND RUTH LEADING DUAL TAKEDOWN RACE
Red-shirt freshmen David Taylor and Ed Ruth are leading the dual meet takedown race with 17 each. Taylor has yet to be taken down in a collegiate dual and has a 17-0 TD mark while Ruth owns an impressive 17-2 mark. True freshman Andrew Alton has also not been taken down and has a 9-0 edge in his duals.
RUGGEAR WINS PSU DUAL DEBUT
True freshman Nick Ruggear made his Penn State dual meet debut at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Nov. 21 and won his first two bouts (an 12-1 major over Harvard's Bryan Panzano and a 4-2 win over WVU's Cameron Gallaher) before losing to Rutgers' Mike Wagner.
ALTON WINS FIRST FOUR BY FALL
True freshman Andrew Alton won his first four collegiate bouts in fine fashion, getting a pin in each bout. Alton won each of those four bouts with falls in the first period by a combined time of only 3:57.
ENGLISH OUTSTANDING AT SPRAWL AND BRAWLS
Sophomore James English stepped into the starting line-up at 149 to begin the season as two-time All-American Frank Molinaro rehabbed a pre-season injury and made a national statement at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Nov. 21. English downed two top-ten foes, beating #9 Corey Jantzen of Harvard 4-3 and #8 Brandon Rader of West Virginia 5-3 in back-to-back dual meet wins.
LIONS GO 3-0 AT SPRAWL & BRAWLS, INCLUDING 22-10 VICTORY OVER #24 RUTGERS
The Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts against #24 Rutgers to down the Scarlet Knights 22-10 and closed out the 2010 Sprawl and Brawl Duals with a 3-0 mark on Nov. 21. The Nittany Lions opened the event by shutting out Harvard 45-0. It was Penn State's first shut-out since the Lions blanked rival Lehigh 33-0 on Dec. 7, 2007 and it as Penn State's most lopsided win since a 47-0 win over Clarion on Nov. 19, 2006. Penn State won the takedown battle with RU 19-7 and posted a daunting 60-10 edge in takedowns over the course of the day's three duals. Penn State's 5-0 start to the season is its best since it began the 2007-08 season 6-0.
Dylan Alton, COWBURN AND VOLLRATH CLAIM ESU OPEN CROWNS
Twelve members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the 2010 ESU Open, hosted on Saturday East Stroudsburg University and three of them left with individual titles. Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) and James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) each won their respective weight classes at the crowded event. With action against unrostered wrestlers not counting in the records, Vollrath was one of three Nittany Lions wrestling attached in the Blue and White singlet. The red-shirt freshman went 4-0 at 157 to win his title. Alton and Cowburn were each wrestling unattached. Alton went 5-0 with a pin and a major to with the 149 pound crown while Cowburn went 4-0 with three pins to with the 165 pound weight class. Three other Nittany Lions placed (all wrestling unattached. Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.) went 4-1 at 125 and advanced to the final bout before losing, placing second. Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) went 5-1 at 133 and took third and Thomas Gorman (East Patchogue, N.Y.) went 6-2 at 157 to place fifth.
SHERLOCK AND FISCHER CLAIM W&J TITLES
Seventeen members of the Penn State wrestling team competed, both attached and unattached at the Washington and Jefferson Open on Saturday. Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) and true freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) each won their respective weight classes to lead seven Penn State placers. Fischer was one of five Nittany Lions wrestling attached in their blue and white singlets and he went a perfect 6-0 to claim the 165-pound title. He notched a major and had two pins on his way to the crown. Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) had a solid tournament, advancing to the finals at 157 before losing. Vollrath was 4-1 with a major to take second at his weight. Senior 125-pounder Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) went 6-2 with a major to place fifth at 125. Senior Michael Lorenzo (Bellefonte, Pa.) went 1-1 at 174 and freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) went 4-2 with a major and a pin at 174 to round out Penn State's attached grapplers competing at the event. Sherlock was a perfect 5-0 at 133 to win the crown, posting two majors during his title winning run. Classmate Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) picked up the most wins of any Nittany Lion on the day, going 7-1 with two pins and two majors to take third at a crowded 165-pound weight class. Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.), also a first year wrestler, went 6-1 with a major at 125 to take third while fellow first-year wrestler Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) was 5-1 with a major at 197 to place third and round out Penn State's placers at the event.
FIVE FRESHMEN PERFECT IN DEBUT WEEKEND
Penn State's young and talented line-up got an early lift in its opening weekend as five freshmen combined to go 10-0 in the Nittany Lions' two dual meet victories. True freshman Frank Martellotti went 2-0 at 125, true freshman Andrew Alton went 2-0 at 141 with two pins, red-shirt freshman David Taylor went 2-0 at 157 with a tech fall and a pin, red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer went 2-0 at 165 (including a win over No. 11 Brandon Hatchett of Lehigh) and red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth went 2-0 at 174 with a tech fall.
NEARLY 5,300 PACK REC HALL AS LIONS DOWN #15 LEHIGH 21-17
The Penn State Nittany Lions, ranked No. 6 at the time, thrilled nearly 5,300 fans in a packed Rec Hall on 11/14 by beating intra-state rival Lehigh, ranked No. 15, 21-17. Five Penn State freshmen made their Rec Hall dual meet debuts by grabbing exciting wins to spark Penn State to a perfect 2-0 opening-weekend start. The crowd was the largest for a Penn State dual since 5,841 watched Penn State beat Iowa 24-13 on Feb. 4, 2007.
LIONS BEAT HUSKIES BEFORE SRO CROWD
Penn State travelled to Bloomsburg University on 11/13 for the 2010-11 season opener and downed the host Huskies 41-3 in front of a standing-room-only crowd in BU's Nelson Field House. On a night when Bloom was re-dedicating a newly renovated arena, Penn State's fan base turned out in full force to make up a large chunk of over 2,300 fans in the 1,700 capacity venue. Penn State won nine of ten bouts, including getting five wins from freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall got a key pin at 133, sophomore James English stepped in at 149 to grab a win, All-American Quentin Wright got a pin at 184 and sophomore Cameron Wade got a major at HWT to round out PSU's nine wins.
NEARLY 3,000 FANS FILL REC HALL FOR INTRASQUAD
Nearly 3,000 fans rolled into Rec Hall for the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling intrasquad dual meet. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad took part in 12 matches in front of over 2,900 fans. With one of the nation's best and youngest line-ups, 16 of the 24 wrestlers were freshmen.
PENN STATE RANKED #5 IN NWCA/USA TODAY COACHES POLL; 8 LIONS RANKED INDIVIDUALLY BY INTERMAT
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team is ranked No. 5 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. In addition, eight Nittany Lion wrestlers are now ranked individually at their respective weights as two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is now ranked No. 2 at 149. The Nittany Lions continue to see their point total rise in the weekly coaches voting. Cornell checks in at No. 1 with 275 points while Oklahoma State is a close second with 264. Minnesota is ranked No. 3 with 253 while Wisconsin sits at No. 4 with 238. Penn State is right behind that group in fifth with 232 points. Boise State (T6th, 214 points), Iowa (T6th, 214), Oklahoma (8th, 201), Illinois (9th, 188) and Virginia Tech (10th, 155) round out the top ten. Ohio State (19), Northwestern (20), Michigan (21) and Purdue (23) are also ranked in the top 25, giving Penn State nine teams on the list with Indiana receiving votes. Penn State, 5-0 on the year, already owns wins over now-12th ranked Lehigh and now-18th ranked Rutgers. Molinaro is 1-0 on the year and sits at No. 2 at 149, leading the charge of eight ranked Penn State individuals. Freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is 5-0 on the year and ranked No. 5 at 157 while sophomore Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), 4-1 at 184, is ranked No. 6. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 3-2 at heavyweight, with each loss being to one of the top three big men, and is ranked No. 7. Freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) is ranked No. 11 at 165 and sports a 4-1 mark while true freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 5-0 and ranked No. 12 at 141. Freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), 5-0 at 174, is ranked No. 14 while true freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) moved up two spots and is now ranked No. 18 at 125 with a 5-0 mark.
EIGHT NITTANY LIONS RANKED BY THEOPENMAT.COM
Eight Nittany Lions are currently ranked in the top 20 at their respective weights by TheOpenMat.com and Penn State is ranked No. 2 as a team. The eight ranked Lions are Frank Martellotti (#20 at 125), Andrew Alton (#9 at 141), Frank Molinaro (#2 at 149), David Taylor (#2 at 157), Jake Kemerer (#12 at 165), Ed Ruth (#14 at 174), Quentin Wright (#5 at 184) and Cameron Wade (#8 at 285).
EIGHT NITTANY LIONS RANKED BY W.I.N.
Eight Nittany Lions are currently ranked by W.I.N. Magazine in their latest rankings. Senior Brad Pataky holds a #12 ranking but has not wrestled as of yet, Andrew Alton is ranked #12 at 141, Frank Molinaro is #3 at 149, David Taylor is #5 at 157, Jake Kemerer is #15 at 165, Ed Ruth is #14 at 174, Quentin Wright is #7 at 184 and Cameron Wade is #7 at HWT.
SINGLE DUAL MEET TICKETS ON SALE
Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. This year's home schedule continues when Lock Haven invades Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 12, for a 2 p.m. match-up. The Big Ten season begins early when conference rival Ohio State comes to Happy Valley for a 2 p.m. dual on Sunday, Dec. 19. The Pittsburgh Panthers close out Penn State's non-conference schedule in Rec Hall on Friday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. The Iowa Hawkeyes come to town on Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m., followed by a match-up with the Illinois Illini on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions close out their dual meet schedule with a home meeting with the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.
PENN STATE WRESTLING RADIO NETWORK EXPANDS
The Penn State wrestling radio network is expanding with the addition of a second station carrying all live action during the 2010-11 season. In addition, PA Sports Now will carry the Cael Sanderson Show on over 10 stations state-wide (see side panel note). Once again, Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) will serve as the flagship station for the entire dual meet schedule as well as tournament action from the Nittany Lion Open, the Southern Scuffle, the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships. This year, Clinton County's WSQV (92.1 FM) has signed on to carry the live schedule as well. Jeff Byers, long-time voice of Penn State wrestling, will once again call the action for Nittany Lion fans. All live broadcasts, dual meets and tournaments, as well as the Cael Sanderson Show, will also be streamed live on GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. Simply got to www.GoPSUsports.com, click on the All-Access icon and follow the steps to sign up.