UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – For the first time in 2019 Vincenzo Joseph took to the mat for the Nittany Lions in a dual meet and he didn't disappoint. Top-ranked Joseph took on Nebraska's Isaiah White, ranked sixth at 165 pounds, in a tightly contested showdown. Joseph's hard-fought win helped lead Penn State to a 25-6 win over No. 7 Nebraska.
The match began with a slow first period, both wrestlers feeling each other out from the start. Joseph took a few shots, but White was able to defend them. Beginning the second period, White chose to start down. Joseph put on a hard-ride, maintaining his position on White for the entire second period.
"If they aren't doing anything on the bottom it's not that difficult," Joseph said. "Sometimes you just have to mat return a few times, break them down a few times and they're content just lying there but a guy that wants to get up and is going to work hard to get up for two minutes straight, it's really hard."
Joseph began the third period down and was able to escape with 1:06 left to take a 1-0 lead. Neither wrestler was able to land a shot in the third and Joseph held on for a 2-0 win with 1:06 in riding time.
"It was good to see Vincenzo be able to win a match on a riding time point," Sanderson said. "I don't think that's something we would've seen a couple of years ago, so I think he's improving in those areas."
"They're going to see each other again, possibly more than once, but Isaiah White is definitely a contender. He's a tough match for anybody in the country and he's definitely one of the top guys in the country. I was happy with Vincenzo, we weren't even sure if we were going to get him back this weekend, but he's a tough kid and figured it out."
Last year, Joseph and White met in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship tournament. Joseph won a thriller, 4-2, in sudden victory and went on to earn his second NCAA title.
"I think the match went a little differently this time," Joseph said. "I'd like to get to my offense more and I'm sure we'll be wrestling again in the future. I knew I could ride him on top so I just tried to put a tough ride on and it worked out for the best."
Joseph says these two familiar foes also met multiple times in high school.
"He's a good wrestler, and we've been wrestling for years," Joseph said. "He beat me in high school a few times. He's fast and he's good at it, so it just makes me kind of a little cautious, so I don't want to run in there because he can dart in and get to my legs. So I kind of played it a little safer, but next time I'd like to open it up a little more."
In general, Sanderson was happy with his team's performance but knows there is still room for improvement.
"You always have to think you can do better," Sanderson said. "Otherwise you're probably going to move backward, but I think Nebraska is a very strong team. Going into this dual meet, it could've been a very close score if we didn't win those close matches. It's good to see our guys win close matches. It's good preparation for them to be in battles like that. I think we could've wrestled with a little more enthusiasm and a little more fire, but they looked better than they did a week ago."
