Dec. 17, 2014
| PENN STATE VS. VIRGINIA TECH | |
| Friday, Dec. 19 - 7 p.m. ET | |
| Rec Hall | University Park, Pa. | BTN Plus Web Stream | |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 5 Penn State (4-0, 1-0 B1G) returns for a dual in Rec Hall for the first time in over a month when it hosts No. 9 Virginia Tech (4-0). The Lions and Hokies tangle at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19.
A dual meet riddled with potential top-ranked match-ups is on tap as two of the nation's top teams tangle in sold out Rec Hall Friday night. Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, heads into the dual with eight ranked grapplers while Virginia Tech and head coach Kevin Dresser sport six.
Noting that pre-dual line-ups are `possible', collegiate wrestling fans could be in for a treat in this non-conference clash of the titans. At 125, Penn State junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) is set to battle No. 5 Joey Dance in a top-ten match-up. Conaway is 7-0 on the year while Dance is 11-1. Penn State sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) is 7-0 and ranked No. 5 at 133 and matches up with No. 19 Kevin Norstrem, who is 9-5. Virginia Tech senior Devin Carter is ranked No. 3 at 141 with an 11-2 record and could face either Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) or Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) for Penn State.
Penn State sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) is ranked No. 13 at 149 and is 4-1 overall and is set to tangle with Hokie sophomore Sal Mastriani, who is 10-4 overall. At 157, both teams' ranked wrestlers are doubtful for the match. Penn State senior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 9 but has yet to wrestle this year while Virginia Tech junior Nick Brascetta is ranked No. 5 with a 1-0 mark. With the distinct possibility of each wrestler not wrestling, it sets up a meeting between Penn State red-shirt freshman Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) and Tech junior David Wesley. Law is 9-4 on the year while Wesley is 0-2. Nittany Lion Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) is 13-2 at 165 and could meet one of three Hokies; sophomore David Bergida (6-6), senior Chris Moon (1-1) or junior Chad Strube (4-2).
Two-time All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 2 at 174 with a 7-0 record, is set to meet No. 9 Zach Epperly, who will put is 11-2 mark on the line in the top-ten match-up. Lion red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 184 with an 11-3 record, will take on Virginia Tech's Austin Gabel (6-6) and Lion All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197 with an 8-0 mark, meets Hokie freshman Jared Haught (11-4). At heavyweight, Penn State junior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) is ranked No. 8 with a 4-0 mark and senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.) is unbeaten with a 6-0 record. One of the two Lions will step to the mat to face off against No. 6 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech, who is 12-1 on the year.
Penn State leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech 5-0. The Lions own the last meeting, a 26-9 victory at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 8, 2010. Penn State won the last Rec Hall meeting a half century ago. The last time the Hokies visited Rec Hall was a 28-0 Penn State victory on Feb. 8, 1964.
Penn State heads to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the 2015 Southern Scuffle. The event takes place on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 1-2, 2015, at Chattanooga. Penn State's next home dual is set for Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, when Indiana visits for a 7 p.m. match-up. A very limited number of standing room only (SRO) tickets are available for some Penn State's Rec Hall duals. Fans can call the Penn State ticket office at 1-800-NITTANY to purchase. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2014-15 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
#5 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (4-0, 1-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #10 Jordan Conaway Jr. Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford / 7-0
133 #5 Jimmy Gulibon So. Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area / 7-0
141 Kade Moss Fr. South Jordan, Utah/Bingham / 7-4
Michael Waters Jr. Advance, N.C./Davie / 8-4
149 #13 Zack Beitz So. Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata / 4-1
Luke Frey Jr. Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville / 5-1
157 Cody Law Fr. Windber, Pa./Forest Hills / 9-4
#9 Dylan Alton Sr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain / 0-0
165 Garett Hammond Fr. Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg / 13-2
174 #2 Matt Brown Sr. West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus / 7-0
184 #18 Matt McCutcheon Fr. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area / 11-3
197 #4 Morgan McIntosh Jr. Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel / 8-0
285 #8 Jon Gingrich Sr. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area / 4-0
OR Jimmy Lawson Sr. Toms River, N.J./Manchester Township / 6-0
#9 VIRGINIA TECH (4-0)
WT NAME EL HT REC
125 #5 Joey Dance So. Christianburg, Va. / 11-1
133 #19 Kevin Norstrem Fr. Brandon, Fla. / 9-5
141 #3 Devin Carter Sr. Christianburg, Va. / 11-2
149 Sal Mastriani So. Towaco, N.J. / 10-4
157 David Wesley Jr. Richmond, Va. / 0-2
#5 Nick Brascetta Jr. St. Paris, Ohio / 1-0
165 Chris Moon Sr. Fauquier, Va. / 1-1
OR David Bergida So. Belle Meade, N.J. / 6-6
OR Chad Strube Jr. Frederick, Md. / 4-2
174 #9 Zach Epperly Fr. Christianburg, Va. / 11-2
184 Austin Gabel Jr. Parker, Colo. / 6-6
197 Jared Haught Fr. Parkersburg, W. Va. / 11-4
285 #6 Ty Walz So. Cleveland, Ohio / 12-1
Team ranking is Intermat Tournament Power Index (TPI) as of 12/16/14
Individual rankings are Intermat as of 12/16/14
THIS WEEK
#5 Penn State (4-0, 1-0 B1G) returns for a dual in Rec Hall for the first time in over a month when it hosts #9 Virginia Tech (4-0). The Lions and Hokies tangle at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19.
UP NEXT
Penn State heads to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the 2015 Southern Scuffle. The event takes place on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 1-2, 2015, at Chattanooga.
ON THE AIR
TV - None
Live Web Video - BTN-Plus via GoPSU's College Sports Live
Radio All Season - Penn State Wrestling Radio Network (1390 WRSC AM locally); go to http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/102714aab.html for full listing. All audio is streamed live thru GoPSUsports and College Sports Live (CBS).
HEAD COACH Cael Sanderson
Cael Sanderson is in his sixth season as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team. The veteran head coach now has four straight NCAA and four straight Big Ten titles in hand. He has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year four straight times and was named the 2013 National Coach of the Year (his second such honor).
THE PENN STATE YEARS...
In his first year at Penn State (2009-10), 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. The Lions finished No. 10 in the final USA Today/Coaches dual meet poll and placed ninth at NCAAs.
In 2010-11, Sanderson guided the Nittany Lions to its first-ever Southern Scuffle Co-Championship and its first Virginia Duals Championship since 1991. In guiding Penn State to a 6-1-1 conference mark, Sanderson equaled the most Big Ten dual meet wins in Penn State history in just his second year at the helm of the Nittany Lions (Penn State won six Big Ten duals in 1998). Sanderson led Penn State to the school's first ever Big Ten Championship on March 5-6 and was named 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Saving the best for last, he led the Nittany Lions to the 2011 NCAA National Championship in Philadelphia on March 17-19, Penn State's first since 1953 and Sanderson's first as a collegiate head coach.
In 2011-12, Sanderson led Penn State to a school record 7-1 Big Ten dual record and a share of the 2012 Big Ten dual meet championship. Sanderson then made it two in a row by leading Penn State to the 2012 Big Ten Championship at Purdue on March 3-4 and was named 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year, earning the honor for the second straight season. Two weeks later, Sanderson led Penn State to a second straight NCAA crown, helping Penn State to become just the sixth team in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles.
In 2012-13, Penn State went 13-1 overall in dual meets this year and won its third straight Southern Scuffle title in early January. The Nittany Lions followed that up with a third straight Big Ten Championship on March 9-10 at Illinois and a third straight NCAA National Title in Des Moines on March 21-23. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third straight season (sharing this year's honor as a co-CotY) and 2013 National Coach of the Year (the second time he has earned that honor).
In 2013-14, Sanderson led Penn State to a 15-1 overall record, yet another share of the Big Ten dual meet title with a 7-1 mark, a fourth straight Southern Scuffle title, a fourth straight Big Ten title and a fourth straight NCAA Championship. He was once again named Big Ten Coach of the Year, the third time he has been so honored..
In this, his sixth season as Penn State's coach, Sanderson has led the Nittany Lions to four straight Southern Scuffle titles (including this year's), two B1G dual meet co-titles (including this year's), four straight Big Ten Championship titles (including this year's), four straight national titles (including this year's), collected 26 All-Americans, seven national champions, three Gorriaran winners, two NCAA tourney OWs and two Hodge Trophy winners. Coach Sanderson now sports a 119-20-2 dual meet mark in this, his seventh year as a head coach. He is 75-10-2 at Penn State.
GULIBON DOWNS ALEXANDER TO LEAD PENN STATE OVER MARYLAND
Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon reeled off nine unanswered points, including two near falls, on his way to a 9-2 victory over No. 11 Geoffrey Alexander at Maryland on 12/11. The win helped lead Penn State to a 38-3 victory over the Terrapins in the XFINITY Center in the Big Ten opener for Penn State. Matt Brown (1:12) and Morgan McIntosh (0:51) each notched first period pins while Jordan Conaway, Zack Beitz, Garrett Hammond, Matt McCutcheon and Jimmy Lawson tallied majors. Cody Law rounded out Penn State's nine wins in the dual meet.
LIONS CLAIM FIVE TITLES AT NITTANY LION OPEN
Junior Jordan Conaway picked up Penn State's first title of the day. Conaway went 3-0 with two technical falls and a major to advance to the finals, where he handled Dalton Macro, a non-collegiate grappler. While the finals victory doesn't count in his record, the win gave Conaway the 2014 Nittany Lion open title at 125. Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon won the 133-pound title with a 3-1 win over Rutgers' Anthony Giraldo in the finals. Gulibon went 3-0 to win the crown. Two Nittany Lions met in the finals at 157. True freshman Jason Nolf took on red-shirt freshman Cody Law, with Nolf posting the 21-8 major decision to take the 2014 NLO crown at 157. Nolf went 5-0 with three pins, a tech fall and a major to win the crown while Law was strong with a 3-1 mark, including a pin, to take second. Likewise, at 174, two Nittany Lions met in the finals with All-American Matt Brown taking on true freshman Bo Nickal. The duo put on quite a show with Brown posting a thrilling 10-7 win to win the crown. Brown posted a 3-0 mark to take first place while Nickal was 2-1 to finish second. Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon won his first Nittany Lion Open title. The Apollo native posted a 4-0 mark with a pin, a tech fall and a major to win the title. Junior Morgan McIntosh posted a perfect 4-0 mark and took second place at 197 (he did not compete in the finals). McIntosh had two pins and two majors. At 285, the finals bout between Nittany Lions Jimmy Lawson and true freshman Nick Nevills was not contested and the duo split second place. Lawson was 1-0 (with two more wins over non-collegiate grapplers) and Nevills was 2-0 with a pin (and another pin over a non-collegiate).
LAWSON RETURNS TO THE MAT, WINS MAT-TOWN TITLE
Senior Jimmy Lawson won the 285-pound title at the 2014 Mat Town Open at Lock Haven University today. In all, six Nittany Lion wrestlers competed at the event, both attached and unattached. Lawson returned to the mat for the first time this season. The heavyweight, who injured his knee on Jan. 19, 2014, in a Rec Hall dual against Northwestern then competed in the season finale last year, went 4-0 to win the crown, including two majors, one tech fall and a pin. He downed Lock Haven's Brad Emerick in the finals, posting an 18-3 technical fall.
MOSS, LAW, McCUTCHEON GET FIRST DUAL WINS AS NITTANY LIONS SHUT-OUT CLARION 44-0
Red-shirt freshmen Kade Moss, Cody Law and Matt McCutcheon each picked up their first dual meet wins as Penn Staters in the Nittany Lions' 44-0 shut-out win at Clarion on 11/22. Moss posted a 12-1 major over John Pezze, Law notched a 5-1 decision over Even Delong and McCutcheon majored Danny Sutherland 12-3. The shut-out win was Penn State's first sine a 34-0 victory at Rutgers on Feb. 24, 2013.
McINTOSH PINS #10 BONACCORSI IN PENN STATE'S WIN AT PITTSBURGH
Junior All-American Morgan McIntosh pinned #10 Nick Bonaccorsi at the 4:05 mark at 197 pounds to clinch Penn States 24-12 victory in the Petersen Events Center on 11/21. McIntosh's win was one of two Penn State victories over ranked grapplers as Zack Beitz dominated #13 Mike Racciato 11-5 at 149 pounds as well. The dual, in Pitt's basketball venue, was wrestled in front of over 7,100 fans.
HAMMOND, NOLF, NEVILLS WIN ESU OPEN TITLES
Three members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team claimed titles at the 2014 ESU Open, concluded late Sunday evening at East Stroudsburg University. Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond and true freshmen Nick Nevills and Jason Nolf all took first place at the event. Twelve Penn Staters competed in the Poconos, split between attached and unattached status. Hammond went a perfect 6-0 with two pins, a tech fall and a major to improve his record to 7-0 on the year and win the 165-pound crown. One of Hammond's pins came in just 0:43. Nevills and Nolf made their open tournament debuts at the event. Nevills went 5-0 at 285, with three pins (including one at the 1:00 mark), to roll through the big man bracket. Nolf was equally impressive, going 6-0 with two pins and two tech falls to win the 157-pound title. Two other Nittany Lions took third place at the event. Junior Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) went 5-1 with a major and a tech fall to take third place at 141 while red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon was 5-1 with a pin and a tech fall to take third at 184. He downed #5 Ophir Bernstein of Brown in the third place match by a 12-5 score and his lone loss was a 4-2 decision to #4 Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the semifinals. Red-shirt freshman Kade Moss posted a 3-0 mark at 141 before bowing out of the tourney and classmate Cody Law went 4-1 with a major at 157 before ending competition as well.
GULIBON DOWNS #2 BECKMAN; NAMED B1G WoW
Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Jimmy Gulibon has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Nov. 9, 2014. The honor is the first such weekly laurel for the Nittany Lion sophomore. Gulibon thrilled a sold out, standing room only Rec Hall crowd of 6,237 with a dominating 8-3 win at 133 over No. 2 Mason Beckman of Lehigh in Penn State's season opener on Sunday. He used a swift four-point move at the end of the first period (a takedown with two back points) and a late second period takedown to roll to victory. Gulibon's win helped spur Penn State on to a 24-10 victory over the Mountain Hawks. Gulibon is coming off an 18-15 freshman campaign in which he qualified for the NCAA Championships and helped Penn State win its fourth straight national title.
BROWN PINS PEPPLEMAN TO LEAD LIONS OVER #17 LEHIGH
Senior Matt Brown pinned Lehigh's Marshall Peppleman at the 4:01 mark at 174 to lead Penn State to a 24-10 season-opening win in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd on 11/9. Brown's fall was the 23rd of his career, tying him for 19th all-time on Penn State's all-time falls list.
HAMMOND WINS LION DUAL DEBUT AS FOUR RS-FRESHMEN MAKE COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond downed Lehigh's Santiago Martinez 8-3 at 165 in his first collegiate dual meet. Hammond's win helped spark Penn State to a 24-10 victory on 11/9. Hammond was one of four Penn State red-shirt freshmen making their collegaite debuts: Kade Moss at 141, Cody Law at 157 and Matt McCutcheon at 184.
NICKAL CLAIMS 174-POUND CROWN AT BINGHAMTON OPEN
Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal went a perfect 5-0 at the Binghamton Open on Sunday, claiming his second straight open tournament title. Nickal led a contingent of six Nittany Lions competing, all unattached, at the event. Nickal's 5-0 mark at 174 included one technical fall and one pin. Nickal, who is red-shirting and wrestling unattached, is 9-0 on the year with two tourney titles to his credit.
THE 2015 BJC DUAL VS. IOWA IS SOLD OUT!
The 2015 BJC Dual, pitting the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, Feb. 8, is sold out. This marks the second straight year that the Penn State wrestlers have sold out the near-16,000 seat venue. This time the event sold out three months in advance. Tickets for the event began selling quickly when Penn State's 5,000-plus season ticket holders were given first opportunity to purchase additional seats. The general public was able to begin buying tickets in groups of 20 or more on Nov. 4 and that allotment was gone on its first day of sale. Nittany Lion Club members were then given an opportunity to purchase a limited number of remaining tickets today and those seats sold out in less than an hour. Penn State students will be admitted on a first come, first serve basis on the day of the event to the reserved student sections. Due to the overwhelming response to the dual, and with the event now at capacity, there will be no further sales for the meet. The dual meet, which begins at 1 p.m., will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. A limited number of standing room only tickets are available for select Penn State Rec Hall dual meets. For ticket inquiries, call 1-800-NITTANY Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
NICKAL CLAIMS 174-POUND TITLE AT CLARION OPEN
Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Bo Nickal posted a perfect 4-0 mark in his debut event at the collegiate level to win the 174-pound title at the Clarion Open late Sunday. Nickal led a contingent of five Nittany Lion true freshmen, all wrestling unattached at the event. Nickal posted four wins at 184, including an 11-2 major in the semifinals. He downed Edinboro's Nick Mitchell in the championship bout by a 3-2 score.
REC HALL SRO'S ON SALE
A limited number of Standing Room Only (SRO) tickets for some of Penn State's remaining Rec Hall duals are on sale. Fans may purchase the single-match SRO tickets only by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Certain duals have already had the SROs sell-out. Only about 300 SROs will be made available for each dual meet. Penn State students are admitted for free on a first-come, first-serve, basis.
LIONS RANKED #5 ON INTERMAT'S TPI
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team is ranked No. 5 on the latest Intermat Tournament Power Index (TPI). Eight Nittany Lions are ranked nationally at their respective weights as well: Jordan Conaway is No. 10 at 125; Jimmy Gulibon is No. 5 at 133; Zack Beitz is No. 13 at 149; Dylan Alton is No. 9 at 157; Matt Brown is No. 2 at 174; Matt McCutcheon is ranked No. 18 at 184; Morgan McIntosh is No. 4 at 197 and Jon Gingrich is No. 8 at 285.