BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh split ten bouts with No. 13 Pittsburgh Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall but a major decision at 184 and an overtime win at heavyweight propelled the visiting Panthers to a 16-15 win over the Mountain Hawks. The dual came down to the second sudden victory period at heavyweight where P.J. Tasser scored the decisive takedown after a wild scramble with sophomore Doug Vollaro to win 4-2.

 

The Mountain Hawks rebounded from a loss in the first bout of the night to win five straight matches, building a 15-3 lead before Pittsburgh responded with the final four bouts of the dual.

 

The loss, LehighÂ’s second one-point setback in four duals this month, drops the Mountain Hawks to 1-3 on the season while the Panthers improve to 2-0.

 

“It was a great match tonight,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “Both teams wrestled hard and both teams wrestled really well. I’m proud of our guys tonight. Everybody went out there and fought. The difference was a bonus point win. Everyone went out and gave everything they had. We’re growing still. We’re getting better each week. I’m pleased with the way we’re improving each week.”

 

The dual started at 125 where true freshman Darian Cruz put forth a spirited effort in a 7-6 loss to seventh-ranked Anthony Zannetta. The Pitt senior scored the opening takedown only to see Cruz answer with one of his own to tie the match at three after one period. Both wrestlers scored takedowns in the second period, but ZannettaÂ’s came late enough that Cruz was unable to escape. Zannetta closed out the scoring with a third-period escape as Cruz was unable to secure a go-ahead takedown.

 

Sophomore Mason Beckman pulled Lehigh even with a 5-3 decision over Shelton Mack in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 133. Both wrestlers seemed hesitant to create offense at times as referee Gary Kessel called double stalling on three occasions, resulting in two penalty points per man. Following the third double stall call, Beckman collected the only takedown of the bout in the third period and rode out Mack to improve to 4-0 on the season.

 

One of the most exciting bouts of the night took place at 141 where sophomore Laike Gardner rallied from an early 8-2 deficit to defeat Edgar Bright. Gardner gave up three takedowns and a two point near fall in the first period before getting one of his own late in the stanza. Trailing 9-6 entering the second period, Gardner earned an escape after an injury timeout by Bright to cut the deficit to 9-7 after two period. Gardner escaped to open the third and then posted two takedowns plus a penalty point for stalling against Bright to complete the comeback.

 

“Laike’s down 8-2 and he just keeps going and keeps going,” Santoro said. “He’s got a great motor and he just keeps believing. We want everybody to have that mentality and its starting to catch on a little bit.”

 

Freshman Mitch Minotti made it three straight wins for Lehigh with an 8-2 win over good friend Mikey Racciato at 149. Minotti posted a pair of first period takedowns and a reversal in the second plus 3:09 of riding time to give Lehigh a 9-3 lead after four bouts.

 

Senior Joey Napoli downed Cole Sheptock 5-2 at 157 with a first period takedown, third period reversal and 3:27 riding time advantage to put Lehigh up 12-3 at intermission. Coming out of the break freshman Brian Brill made a first period takedown stand in a 3-2 win over Geno Morelli at 165.

 

Pittsburgh began its comeback at 174 as eighth-ranked Tyler Wilps held off freshman Elliot Riddick 4-2. Fifth-ranked Max Thomusseit then followed with the only bonus win of the night for either side, building a 7-1 first period lead en route to a 13-1 major over freshman Zach Diekel at 184.

 

Lehigh entered the final two bouts needed just one win to clinch the dual, but sophomore John Bolich gave up the decisive takedown 22 seconds into sudden victory in a 3-1 loss to No. 17 Nick Bonaccorsi and Vollaro fell to Tasser 4-2 at heavyweight. Vollaro and Tasser traded to escapes through regulation and the first set of overtime periods. In the second sudden victory scramble it appeared for a moment like Vollaro might end up on top for the decisive takedown, but just as quickly positions flipped and it was Tasser recording the winning score for the Panthers.

 

The Mountain Hawks will take to the road for the first time this season with three matches November 30 at the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. Lehigh will face No. 25 Central Michigan at 11:15 a.m., No. 15 Virginia at 1:30 p.m. and Columbia at 3:30 p.m.

 

No. 13 Pittsburgh 16, Lehigh 15

125 – Anthony Zannetta (Pitt) dec. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 7-6

133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Shelton Mack (Pitt) 5-3

141 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. Edgar Bright (Pitt) 13-11

149 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Mikey Racciato (Pitt) 8-2

157 – Joey Napoli (Lehigh) dec. Cole Sheptock (Pitt) 5-2

165 – Brian Brill (Lehigh) dec. Geno Morelli (Pitt) 3-2

174 – Tyler Wilps (Lehigh) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 4-2

184 – Max Thomusseit (Pitt) major dec. Zach Diekel (Lehigh) 13-1

197 – Nick Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 3-1, s.v.

285 – P.J. Tasser (Pitt) dec. Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) 4-2, s.v. 2

Attendance – 1,761

Referee – Gary Kessel

--
Steve Lomangino
Media Relations Director - Lehigh University Athletics
sjl304@lehigh.edu
610-758-3174