NINTH-RANKED MOUNTAINEERS CRUISE PAST HOKIES

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (February 9, 2003) - Ninth-ranked West Virginia (5-3, 4-0) scored two falls, four major decisions and a technical fall to cruise past Virginia Tech (0-11, 0-4), 36-12, Sunday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers won eight of the 10 bouts to pick up their 11th consecutive Eastern Wrestling League victory (dating back to last season), a school record.

West Virginia raced out to an early 19-0 to lead winning the first four bouts of the day. Seth Lisa (125) opened the day with a 9-1 major decision over Geoff Head. Brandon Lauer (133), who was back in action for the first time in three weeks, pinned Dalton Head in 1:04 to extend WVU's lead. Lauer was trailing 2-1 in the match before taking Head straight to his back for the fall. Shane Cunanan (141) scored four takedowns and two reversals in a 12-7 decision over Jim Miller. Billy Smith (149) worked Reed Carpenter for the entire match before finally tilting him and recording the pin with just six seconds remaining in the match.

Virginia Tech's Chris Stith (157) got the Hokies first win of the day with a pin of Mike Torriero at the 4:25 mark of the match. Senior Tom McMath (165) and sophomore Greg Jones (174) put the match well out of reach at 27-6 with major decisions. McMath racked up four takedowns in the third period for the 16-4 win over Mike Cox while Jones recorded four takedowns and two near fall points in his 14-3 victory over Steve Borja.

The Hokies Scott Justus (184) picked up the other Tech win on the day by pinning Ryan Wilman after over six minutes of action. The Mountaineers closed out the dual in convincing fashion as Adrian Thompson (197) picked up a 12-4 major decision over Steve Guttridge and Brent Miller scored a technical fall over Pete Pool.

"We are at the point of the season where we can't adjust our intensity either up or down depending on our opponent, and I was pleased to see that the guys came out and wrestled hard," head coach Craig Turnbull said. "It was a good match for us because it allowed us to use a good diversity of techniques."

West Virginia will be back in action next weekend with an EWL match at Pitt on Friday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. before returning home for a non-conference matchup with Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m.

#9 West Virginia 36, Virginia Tech 12
125 - #17 Seth Lisa (WV) maj. dec. Geoff Head (VT), 9-1
133 - #14 Brandon Lauer (WV) pinned Dalton Head (VT) , 1:04
141 - #13 Shane Cunanan (WV) dec. Jim Miller (VT), 12-7
149 -#7 Billy Smith (WV) pinned Reed Carpenter (VT), 6:54
157 - Chris Stith (VT) pinned Mike Torriero (WV), 1:05
165 -#7 Tom McMath (WV) maj. dec. Mike Cox (VT), 16-4
174 - #1 Greg Jones (WV) maj. dec. Steve Borja (VT), 19-7
184 - #14 Scott Justus (VT) pinned #12 Ryan Wilman (WV), 6:04
197 - Adrian Thompson (WV) maj. dec. Steve Guttridge (VT), 12-4
HWT -#13 Brent Miller (WV) tech. fall Pete Pool (VT), 22-6 (5:12)


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