NO.9 WVU PLAYS HOST TO NO.13 IOWA STATE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (January 1, 2003) – The ninth-ranked West
Virginia University wrestling team will play host to 13th-ranked Iowa
State on Saturday, January 4, at noon in the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers are 0-9 all-time against the Cyclones,
including a close 24-16 loss in Ames, Iowa, last year.
Several lower-weight classes will feature ranked wrestlers from
both squads. Twelfth-ranked Brandon Lauer will battle No.6 Zach Roberson
at 133, No.14 Shane Cunanan will take on No.1 Aaron Holker at 141 and
No.6 Billy Smith will go against No.18 Nate Gallick. Between the two
teams, 15 wrestlers are ranked by either Intermatwrestle.com or Amateur
Wrestling News.
After competing against Iowa State, the Mountaineers will host
another ranked team on Thursday, January 9, when No.5 Ohio State visits
the WVU Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.
Match Notes -- West Virginia is 0-9 all-time against Iowa State ...
matches that feature ranked wrestlers from both teams will be 133, 141,
149, 165 and 184 ... if WVU wins, it will be the program's 500th victory
... the Mountaineers opened the season last year at Iowa State, a 24-16
loss ... the last time WVU lost a home-opener was in 1999 against
Oklahoma State ... two No.1-ranked wrestlers will be in action on
Saturday with ISU's Aaron Holker (141) and WVU's Greg Jones (174) ...
between the two teams, 14 of the 20 wrestlers are ranked by one of the
two major polls ... ISU's match with WVU is one of three for them on the
day as they head to Pittsburgh for two duals with Pitt and Slippery
Rock.
Last Time Out -- Ryan Wilman (184) finished fifth and Shane Cunanan
(141) placed eighth to lead No.9 West Virginia at the 40th annual
Midlands Tournament this weekend.
Wilman scored a major upset in the match for fifth place by
defeating second-seeded and fifth-ranked Greg Parker of Princeton, 8-5.
He advanced to the quarterfinals before losing a 3-1 tiebreaker to
No.10-seed Gerald Harris of Cleveland State. He then picked up four wins
in the consolation bracket before defeating Parker.
Cunanan, seeded sixth, advanced to the quarterfinals before
dropping a 5-3 decision to third-seeded Dylan Long. He then defeated
Iowa's Luke Moffitt, the fifth-seed, 3-0 before losing a 1-1 tiebreaker
to defending national champion and top-ranked Aaron Holker of Iowa
State.
Senior Tom McMath did not place but finished among the top 12 in
his first appearance this season after missing the first month of
competition with an injured wrist. McMath picked up two wins, including
a win over sixth-seed Drew Kelly 4-3, before losing 8-0 to third-seeded
Troy Letters of Lehigh and fifth-seeded Noel Thompson of Hofstra.
The Mountaineers did not take a full squad to the tournament as
starters Brandon Lauer (133), Billy Smith (149), Matt Lebe (157), Greg
Jones (174), and Brent Miller (HWT) rested nagging injuries.
Last Year At Iowa State -- WVU, ranked 25th in the nation, lost a 24-16
decision to No.6 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa.
Greg Jones scored the first points for the Mountaineers by
earning a major decision over Nick Passolano at 174 after an Iowa State
win at 165 to start the match. The Cyclones the scored a major decision
and a technical fall at 184 and 197, to make the score 12-4. Senior Ryan
Kehler got the Mountaineers back into the match with a last-second
takedown against No.17 Mark Knauer to close the gap to 12-7. WVU lost
that momentum when in the next match Ricky LaForge took an early 4-0
lead, but got reversed and pinned at 1:53 by Ty Malia at 125.
The Mountaineers' Shane Cunanan (ranked 12th at 141), recorded
the day's only upset by defeating No.7 Aaron Holker 10-5. No.19 Billy
Smith battled ISU's Billy Maldonado but lost 6-4 on a takedown in
overtime.
Here are the complete results from last year's match:
Iowa State 24, West Virginia 16
165-#1 Joe Heskett (I) dec. Tom McMath (W), 10-6
174-#10 Greg Jones (W) maj.dec. Nick Passolano (I), 12-4
184-#12 Austen Palmer (I) maj.dec. Ryan Wilman (W), 14-4
197-#1 Cael Sanderson (I) tech. fall Brent Miller (W), 20-5
HWT-#13 Ryan Kehler (W) dec. #17 Mark Knauer (I), 3-1
125-Ty Malia (I) pinned Ricky LaForge (W), F 1:53
133-#4 Zach Roberson (I) dec. Brandon Lauer (W), 11-4
141-#12 Shane Cunanan (W) dec. #7 Aaron Holker (I), 10-5
149-#6 Billy Maldonado (I) dec. #19 Billy Smith (W), 6-4 sv
157-#14 Joe Carr won by forfeit
Scouting the Cyclones -- Iowa State, the 2002 NCAA runner-up, enters
today's match with a 2-3 dual record ...
ISU shows victories against
Millersville and Tennessee-Chattanooga and losses against No.2 Iowa,
No.8 Lehigh and EWL member Lock Haven ...
the Cyclones are extremely
young listing seven underclassmen in their probable starting lineup ...
Iowa State's strength is in its lower weight classes (125-141) where
those three wrestlers have double-digit victory totals ...
ISU finished
seventh at The Midlands last weekend ...
the Cyclones are led by Aaron
Holker (141), the returning NCAA champion and unanimous No.1-ranked
wrestler in the nation ...
however, Holker dropped a match to Derek
Phillips last weekend at the Midlands ...
Holker narrowly defeated Shane
Cunanan in a tiebreaker in the consolation bracket (1-1) at the
tournament ...
Cunanan defeated Holker 10-5 in last year's dual with
Iowa State ...
Zach Roberson (133) is also a leader for the Cyclones ...
ranked sixth in the country, Roberson was an All-American last year and
finished runner-up at Midlands last week ...
Nick Passolano (165) and
Austen Palmer (184) lead ISU in the middle/upper weight classes with 9-4
and 12-5 records, respectively ...
ISU recently declared its two
heavyweights, Wade McLeod and Joe Brewer inelgible for academic reasons
Quick Rematches -- While the WVU team is looking for a re-match from
last year's contest, several individual ISU and WVU wrestlers will be
taking on each other for the second consecutive weekend. At Midlands
three bouts featured possible starters for today's match:
125 - Jessee Sundell (ISU) pinned Seth Lisa, 3:42
141 - Aaron Holker (ISU) dec. Shane Cunanan, 1-1 (tb)
184 - Ryan Wilman dec. Austen Palmer, 4-3
Mountaineer Milestone -- Defending national champion Greg Jones earned
his 25th consecutive at the Navy Classic, setting the school record.
Jones surpassed the record of 24 which was set by his brother, Vertus,
in 1999-2000. Jones' current winning streak stands at 30.
Last season, Jones and senior Tom McMath each strung together 22
and 23 wins, respectively, but saw their streaks snapped short of the
record. Jones lost 9-8 to then-No.1 Otto Olson in Las Vegas while McMath
dropped a tough match against Mark Fee of Appalachian State in the first
round of the NCAA tournament.
30 Something -- Returning NCAA champion Greg Jones has a school-record
30-match winning streak dating back to last season. Here is a closer
look at Jones' streak:
Won by decision: 15
Won by major decision: 5
Won by technical Fall: 2
Won by fall: 8
Won in overtime: 3
Won in a tournament: 20
Won in a dual: 10
Won over ranked opponents: 10
McMath Returns -- Senior Tom McMath returns to the WVU starting lineup
after missing the first month of the season due to a wrist injury he
suffered wrestling in China over the summer. McMath began the season
last weekend at Midlands, going 2-2.
Getting Offensive -- WVU prides itself on its aggressive and offensive
style of wrestling and scoring bonus points whenever possible. Among the
WVU starter's 104 victories this season, over a third have produced
extra points for the Mountaineers (34.6%). Individually, Brandon Lauer
has the highest percentage of extra-point victories with eight of his 11
wins this season coming by major decision or fall (72.7%).
Scrappy Smith -- Senior Billy Smith may not have two good knees, but he
is still one of the top wrestlers in the nation at 149. Smith missed his
sophomore season due to an ACL injury and competed at the end of last
year with a MCL injury. He has started the season 11-1 and is ranked
sixth by Intermatwrestle.com, with his only loss coming to top-ranked
Jared Lawrence of Minnesota.
The Wilman Beast -- Sophomore Ryan Wilman, fresh off a strong
fifth-place finish at Midlands, has already racked up 15 wins this
season (six shy of his total from last year) and leads the team in
victories. Wilman also recorded his biggest victory as a Mountaineer
with a win over No.5 Greg Parker of Princeton at Midlands and is ranked
12th in the nation at 184, the highest ranking of his career.
500 On The Horizon -- With West Virginia's next dual victory, the
Mountaineers will have 500 for the program. For the record, head coach
Craig Turnbull has accounted for nearly 40 percent of those wins with
his 203 career victories, followed by 155 for Steve Harrick. WVU's
overall program record stands at 499-354-14.
Lisa Named EWL Wrestler Of The Week -- West Virginia University wrestler
Seth Lisa was named the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) wrestler of the
week for his efforts at the Navy Classic on November 23.
Lisa, a redshirt freshman from Northampton, Pa., defeated two
nationally-ranked wrestlers on his way to winning the 125 weight class.
He defeated Jared Opfer of Kent State 6-4 in the semifinals and then
earned a 4-1 decision over former ACC champion George Cintron in the
finals. Lisa, who is 9-0 on the year, also won his bracket at the WVU
Open last week.
WVU Signs Fryling -- West Virginia University wrestling coach Craig
Turnbull announced the signing of Zac Fryling for the 2003-04 season.
Fryling, rated by Intermatwrestle.com as the nation's
seventh-best high school recruit, owns a 111-20 career record in just
three seasons at North Penn High under coach Robert Shettsline. As a
junior, Fryling went 42-1 with 14 pins on his way to the sectional,
regional and Pennsylvania state championship at 160-pounds.
The Lansdale, Pa., native finished third in the state as a
sophomore on his way to a 39-10 record with 20 pins. Fryling is a
three-time PIAA state qualifier and Intelligencer and Record all-area
selection as well as a two-time The Report wrestler of the year. He also
has a third- and fourth-place finish at the "Beast of the East"
tournament the past two years. Fryling has excelled in the classroom as
well carrying a 3.6 GPA.
The West Virginia coaches project Fryling to wrestle at 165 for
the Mountaineers.
Ranked Opponents -- Three of West Virginia's opponents are ranked in the
latest Intermatwrestle.com poll. Ohio State is ranked fifth, Iowa State
is ranked 7th and Cleveland State is 24th. In addition, four other WVU
opponents received votes in that poll. With the Mountaineers going to
the NWCA National Duals in January, WVU has a chance to face six or
seven ranked teams by season's end.
Last year against ranked opponents, West Virginia was 4-2.
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