Notes from Coach Doyle
Sean Doyle, Head Coach
Wheeling Jesuit University
February 9, 2014
Saturday was a successful day for the team, as we picked up two victories. We started the day off with a win over Mount St. Josephs 33-12 and finished the day with a solid win over Case Western 28-14. The team has now won 3 in a row for the 2nd time this season and moved our overall record to 6-7. I am extremely proud of this team for their ability to weather unexpected injuries, sickness and their first collegiate season, while picking up wins in the grind of the season. To think 12 months ago, we didn't have a wrestling team at Wheeling Jesuit and we just picked up our 6th win is very exciting. A huge huge thank you to the fans. It was clear, once again, that we were the dominating presence in the gymnasium. That will continue to grow! On a side note, most were unaware that we had a musician on the team. As we waited for the bus after the match, TJ graced us with his saxophone skills...
125
Brad Kakos (11-19 5th Mount Union Inv., 4th WV Invitational)
Brad went 1-1 on the day. He lost a tough match against Case Western where he outwrestled his opponent for about 6 minutes of the 7 but gave up backpoints. Brad will continue to improve and with maturity win a lot of the close matches he's currently losing.
133
Scott Lopez (24-12, 3rd BW Open, 2nd W&J Inv, 5th Mount Union Inv, 2nd Spartan Mat Classic, WV Invitational Champion)
Scott went 2-0 on the day and looked strong. Scott won't be a good draw for anyone at regionals and with a good weekend, could be wrestling at the National Tournament next month.
141
Damon Outward (25-14, 5th BW Open, 5th W&J Inv, 4th Mount Union Inv, 3rd Spartan Mat Classic)
Damon continued his solid season going 1-1 and losing to a national qualifier in a very competitive match. Damon did a great job against an opponent that dominated him earlier this year and was within a point with 45 seconds left. Damon took an attempt and got put on his back, but I was happy with Damon's strong effort in the third period.
149
Dominic Nania (18-15, 5th BW Open, 7th Midwest Classic, 2nd Spartan Mat Classic)
Dom is still out with no timetable on his return.
Jonathan Barrett (5-8, 3rd WV Collegiate Invitational)
Jon was under the weather yesterday but did a good job to win a hard fought match against Mt. St. Joe's in overtime. Jonathan has done a good job at winning matches that tight and that will be something valuable to him as he progresses in his career. He wrestled a very good wrestler in his second match and was defeated.
157
John Gershom (10-21, 7th Mount Union Inv, 6th WV Collegiate Invitational)
John experienced an injury late in the week and unable to compete Saturday. John will be day to day.
Hans Rogerson (6-5, 7th Spartan Mat Classic, 2nd WV Collegiate Invitational)
Hans was not expecting to wrestle Saturday and on Friday found out we may need him. He did a great job getting his weight off for the team and competing Saturday. Hans went 1-1 recording a fall in his first match. Having not wrestled for two years, Hans has done a good job this year.
165
Anthony 'TJ' Smith (6-18, 4th Spartan Mat Classic)
TJ went 2-0 on the day and wrestled a great match against Case Western. TJ is recovering from an injury and this was his first time back since mid January. He has been focused on improving his technique and mat awareness and it showed Saturday. TJ continues to be a leader in the way he carries himself and will continue to see improving results on the mat.
Cody Eggers (2-18, 6th Spartan Mat Classic, 5th WV Collegiate Invitational)
Cody bumped up to get a match at 165 and was defeated. Once we get Cody adjusted to the frigid Alaskan like weather, he'll be just fine. Being from North Carolina, he's been in a form of shock for the past 3 months!
174
Sawyer Leppla (26-11, 1st BW Open, 4th W&J Inv, 4th Mount Union Inv, 3rd Spartan Mat Classic, 2nd WV Collegiate Invitational)
Sawyer looked very strong in two victories Saturday and is positioning himself for a great last month. Sawyer has the key attributes that a successful college wrestler needs and if he puts an emphasis on improving his weaknesses, he'll be tough to beat in the post season.
184
Nate Hupp (12-9, 4th BW Open, 6th Mount Union Inv)
Nate wrestled for the first time in about a month and won a hard fought decision against Case Western. Nate is getting healthy and trying to get back to 100% for the last month.
Ryan Winslow (11-3, 4th Mount Union Invitational, WV Collegiate Invitational Champion)
Ryan won his match and is 6-1 this semester, with his only loss coming to the #2 ranked wrestler in the country 9-7.
197
Maxwell Lacey (20-18, 6th W&J Inv, 7th Mount Union Inv, 2nd WV Collegiate Inviational)
Max went 1-1 on the weekend losing his match to his Mt. St. Joe's opponent, that defeated him earlier in the year. When Max struggles to get to his offense early, he has a lot of trouble winning. When he's confident on his feet and attempts to score early, he's very dangerous. Max has shown this year that he can beat the guys ranked in the region, but he'll have to be fully committed to his offense.
Jake Haynes (2-14)
Jake went 1-0 and wrestled very hard picking up his 2nd victory of the season. Jake is extremely supportive of his team, so much that he stays after practice every day to help them. In the process, Jake has improved greatly the past 3 months and showing great signs of improvement. He also doesn't miss a day in the weight room with Coach Ramsey and his strength gains are apparent too!
285
Logan Bowman (17-13, 4th BW Open, 5th Mount Union Invitational, 5th Spartan Mat Classic, 3rd WV Collegiate Invitational)
Logan went 1-1 on the day losing to his Mt. St. Joe's opponent. Logan wrestled him earlier this year and the match was much closer yesterday with Logan having a chance to win it late. Logan has been getting a lot of extra work in and it's starting to show. If he can find his go to takedown he'll begin to be a very good heavyweight.
Have a great week! We wrestle in two weeks at New Kensington before heading to the Regionals on March 1-2. We'll be training hard until then! Go Cards!
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