Jan. 7, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 2 nationally, entered the 2011 Virginia Duals as the top seed and posted a 42-3 dismantling of VMI in the opening round in the Hampton Coliseum. Penn State won all but one bout and will take on eighth-seeded Edinboro in the second round today at 1 p.m. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 7 at heavyweight, dominated No. 14 Josh Wine of VMI in the dual's marquee match-up.
Penn State rolled up three pins, three technical falls and a major in the victory. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) started things off in fine fashion with a 21-4 technical fall win at 125. All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa), ranked No. 6 at 133, made his Penn State debut with a bang, pinning VMI's Luke Todd at the 2:44 mark of the first period and No. 7 Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) got his 14th pin of the year with a fall at the 3:41 mark at 141. All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 7 at 149, picked up a tech fall himself and freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, got a first period pin of his own at 157 (2:27).
Freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) notched a tough 6-5 win over VMI's Joseph Munno at 165 and No. 2 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) posted ten takedowns and two reversals for a 24-9 tech fall. Because Ruth had no near falls, it was a four-point tech fall and put Penn State up 35-0. VMI got its lone win at 184 with Chris Dommert posted an 8-4 decision over freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.). Sophomore Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) posted a strong 8-0 major at 197, setting up the heavyweight battle between No. 7 Wade and No. 14 Wine. Wade forced the issue from the outside; picking up an early stall point and rolling to a 7-3 win over Wine. The decision gave Penn State the 42-3 win and kept the Lions undefeated on the year.
The win improves Penn State to 8-0, its best start (unbeaten or untied) since beginning the 1988-89 season 8-0. Penn State collected 15 bonus points thanks to the three pins, three techs and a major. Alton's 14th pin now has him alone in sixth place (just one out of fifth) on Penn State's all-time pins-in-a-season list.
The duals continue for Penn State today at 1 p.m. as Cael Sanderson's Lions take on Edinboro in the second round at 1 p.m. Penn State's next home dual is a nationally televised match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. 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. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). 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.
#2 Penn State 42, VMI 3
January 7, 2011 - Hampton Coliseum - Hampton, Va.
125: Brad Pataky PSU 21-4 tech fall Jonathan Pope VMI 21-4 (TF; 7:00) 5-0
133: #6 Andrew Long PSU WBF Luke Todd VMI (2:44) 11-0
141: #7 Andrew Alton PSU WBF David Yost VMI (3:41) 17-0
149: #7 Frank Molinaro PSU tech fall Rennie Merhige VMI 19-4 (TF; 7:00) 22-0
157: #3 David Taylor PSU WBF Nick Emison VMI (2:27) 28-0
165: Jake Kemerer PSU dec. Joseph Munno VMI, 6-5 31-0
174: #2 Ed Ruth PSU tech fall Matthew Brock VMI, 24-9 (TF; 5:09) 35-0
184: John Dommert VMI dec. Andrew Church PSU, 8-4 35-3
197: Justin Ortega PSU maj. dec. Chris Gill VMI, 8-0 39-3
285: #7 Cameron Wade dec. #14 Josh Wine VMI, 7-3 42-3
Attendance: TBA
Records: Penn State 8-0 (1-0 Big Ten), VMI (2-1)
Up Next for Penn State: vs. Edinboro in Round Two, today, 1 p.m.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) got the nod at 125 for Penn State and faced off against Jonathan Pope of VMI. Pataky got the first takedown midway through the first period and quickly added two near fall points to move out to a 4-0 lead at the 1:00 mark. The Lion senior maintained control of Pope for the remainder of the period to carry that lead with 1:23 in riding time heading into the second period. Pataky chose down and quickly escaped to a 5-0 lead, but Pope countered with a takedown. Pataky escaped and then stormed Pope for a takedown and two three point near falls to lead 14-2 after the second period. Pope chose neutral to start the third and quickly took Pataky down to cut the lead to 14-4 with 1:50 left in the bout. Pataky reversed Pope and added two near fall points to up his lead to 18-4, added two near fall points and the buzzer and posted the 21-4 tech fall at the 7:00 mark. The win put PSU up 5-0.
133: All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa), ranked No. 6 at 133, made his Penn State debut against VMI's Luke Todd. Long got his first Penn State takedown early in the first period and tacked on a quick two near fall points to lead 4-0 less than a minute in. Long added a second takedown and two near fall points to up his lead to 8-1 with 1:02 left. Todd notched his second escape after a reset and action resumed in the center circle. Long wasted no time ending the mat, however, with a high takedown that put Todd to his back. The sophomore All-American adjusted nicely and got the pin at the 2:44 mark in his Penn State debut.
141: True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 7 nationally at 141, faced off against VMI's David Yost. Alton quickly took Yost down using a low single, then turned the Keydet grappler for two back points to lead 4-0. Yost escaped after Alton built up a 1:07 riding time edge, only to get taken down by Alton again. Another Yost escape and Alton takedown led to a Lion ride out and Alton led 8-2 with 2:19 in time after one period. Alton quickly took Yost down and after a little work, gained control of his shoulders and turned him to his back for a pin at the 3:41 mark. The fall, Alton's 14th of the year, put Penn State up 17-0 after three bouts.
149: All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 7 at 149, met Keydet Rennie Merhige. Molinaro got the first takedown of the bout a minute into the bout to take a 2-0 lead. The Lion All-American put together a strong ride, maintaining control Merhige and worked his way into a split scissors to take a 5-0 lead at the end of the first period (with 2:01 in riding time). Molinaro chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 6-0 lead. Molinaro countered a Merhige shot for another takedown and an 8-0 lead with 1:00 left in the middle period. He then rode Merhige out to lead 8-0 with more than three minutes in riding time after two periods. Merhige chose down and escaped :30 into the period but got hit with a stall point. Molinaro quickly added two takedowns to up his lead to 13-3 (cutting Merhige loose each time) with :40 left in the bout. Molinaro added two more takedowns, picked up a stall point and a riding time point to post a dominating 19-4 tech fall at the 7:00 mark.
157: Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) looked to remain unbeaten on the year at 157 against VMI's Nick Emison. Taylor, ranked No. 3 nationally, got a quick takedown ad cut Emison loose for an early 2-1 lead. Taylor used a low ankle pick to up his lead to 4-1 with 2:07 on the clock. He added three near fall points, let Emison up and took him down again to lead 9-2 with :50 left. Another turn led to a quick Taylor pin at the 2:27 mark and Penn State led 28-0 after five bouts.
165: Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) met Joseph Munno of VMI. Neither wrestler managed a takedown during the opening period, heading to the second stanza scoreless. Kemerer chose down to start the middle period, quickly escaped and got his first takedown right away to lead 3-0. Munno escaped to cut the lead to 3-1 with 1:10 left. Kemerer carried that lead into the third period. Munno chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 3-2 deficit. But Kemerer added a second takedown and led 5-3 after a Munno escape. Munno got his first takedown at the 1:10 mark to tie the bout at 5-5. Kemerer escaped to lead 6-5 with :50 on the clock. The wrestlers battled evenly for the remainder of the bout and Kemerer escaped with a 6-5 win, keeping the shutout in tact as Penn State lead 31-0.
174: Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 174, met Matthew Brock of VMI. Ruth quickly took Brock down to lead 2-0 out of the gates. He cut Brock loose, took him down, cut him a second time and picked up a third takedown and cut to lead 6-3 with just over 1:00 left in the opening period. Ruth ended the first period with a total of seven takedowns to lead 14-6 with 1:05 in riding time after one period. Ruth chose down to start the second period, reversed Brock and cut him loose to lead 16-7. Ruth stacked up three more takedowns to lead 22-9 with nearly 2:00 in time. Brock chose top, but Ruth quickly reversed him and with that move, notched the 24-9 tech fall at the 5:09 mark. The win, a four-point tech fall, put Penn State up 35-0.
184: With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from injury, Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) took to the mat for Penn State at 184 to face off against VMI's John Dommert. Dommert got in on an early high single leg and took a 2-0 lead with :58 left in the opening period. Church escaped but Dommert took the young Lion down again to lead 4-1 after the opening period. Dommert chose down to start the second period and, after a brief Church ride, reversed Church to take a 6-1 lead. Church continued to battle, however, picking up a reversal of his own to cut the lead to 6-3 with :22 left in the second period. Trailing 6-3, Church chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 6-4 deficit. Church upped the pressure on Dommert and began working his way for a tying takedown. Dommert was able to fight off one strong Church shot at the 1:00 mark and then added a clinching takedown with :15 left to post the 8-4 win and help VMI avoid a shutout.
197: With freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) sidelined for the weekend with a slight injury, sophomore Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) stepped in at 197 for the Nittany Lions and took on Chris Gill of VMI. Ortega got the bout's first takedown at the :44 mark and rode Chris Gill out to lead 2-0 after one period. Gill chose neutral to start the second period but Ortega continued to pressure the Keydet grappler and picked up a second takedown to lead 4-0 with 1:20 left on the clock. Ortega rode Gill out to lead 4-0 with 2:13 in riding time heading into the third. Ortega chose down to start the final stanza and escaped to a 5-0 lead. Hoping to get a major, Ortega gained control of Gill's left leg, pulled the Keydet on to the mat and got the takedown with :20 left. A ride out and the bonus point gave Ortega the 8-0 major and put Penn State up 39-3.
285: Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked 7 at heavyweight, met No. 14 Josh Wine of VMI in the dual's marquee match-up. Wade was the aggressor early in the bout, forcing Wine into a stall warning at the 1:20 mark. Wine continued to work the edge of the mat and keep Wade form finishing one of his many shots and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Wine chose neutral to start the second period and continued to back off the mat. He gave up a stall point at the 1:38 mark and Wade led 1-0. Wade forced a scramble and got his first takedown at the :39 mark to lead 3-0 before Wine took an injury timeout. Wade turned Wine to his back for two near fall points, but in the process of trying to pin him, Wade allowed Wine to reverse him and cut the Lion's lead to 5-2 after two periods. Wade chose down to start the third period and worked his way to a reversal to move out to a 7-2 lead. Wine scrambled his way to an escape at the 1:20 mark and in the process and Wade called for an injury timeout himself at the1:03 mark. Wade returned to action after a brief check from the Penn State medical crew and action resumed in the center circle with Wade up 7-3 with :42 on the clock. That final score would stand and the 7-3 decision gave Penn State the 42-3 win.