WVU Ties Edinboro
By Tim Goodenow
WVU Sports Information Office
February 17, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 21st-ranked Mountaineer wrestling team battled to a 20-20 tie with defending Eastern Wrestling League dual meet champion Edinboro on Thursday evening at the WVU Coliseum.
An NCAA rule change prior to this season gave West Virginia its first tie since a 19-19 score when the Mountaineers hosted Bloomsburg in 2000. The new rule only uses criteria for a tie for dual meet advancement.
West Virginia (4-6-1, 3-1-1) split five bouts each on the night with the Fighting Scots. The two teams traded matches for the first six bouts before Edinboro (8-5-1, 2-2-1) grabbed two in a row at 165 and 174 pounds.
Mountaineers Greg Jones (184) and Jared Villers (197) responded with 11 team points to bring WVU back into the lead at 20-17. Edinboro’s Joe Hennis tied the dual meet at 20-20 with tough bout at heavyweight.
West Virginia’s Shawn Cordell started the night off with a win at 125 pounds over Edinboro’s Greg Sill. True freshman Cordell carried a 2-0 lead into the final period where he tallied a reversal with 33 seconds remaining. He added riding time for a 5-0 decision.
The country’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 133 pounds displayed his quickness and athletic ability in posting a 20-7 major decision victory. Edinboro’s Shawn Bunch raced out to an 8-3 lead on WVU’s Codie Gustines. Bunch collected four more takedowns in the final stanza for a 19-7 score. Gustines, one of four freshmen in the lineup, fought hard to not give up backpoints and finished the match without giving up further bonus points.
Vince Gioiella put West Virginia up 6-4 with his 10-6 decision over Rick McLaughlin. Gioiella took a 4-1 lead after one period of action on two takedowns. He increased his lead to 7-2 in the middle period before adding riding time for his tenth of the season.
Edinboro regained the lead at 10-6 behind Ron Doppelheuer at 149 pounds. The junior led 2-0 before turning WVU’s Teddy Adams on his back for a fall at 1:53.
Junior Matt Lebe won his sixth straight match in posting a 7-5 decision against Edinboro’s Matt Hill. WVU’s 157-pounder Lebe scored the bouts’ first takedown on the edge of the mat for a 2-0 lead. An escape and riding time in the final period allowed Lebe to remain unbeaten in EWL action at 5-0.
WVU sophomore Zac Fryling gave 2004 All-American Nate Yetzer a scare at 165 pounds. Fryling scored three takedowns in the opening three minutes for an early 6-2 lead. Yetzer, a defending EWL champion, countered with a strong second period to take an 8-6 advantage. With 12 seconds remaining, Yetzer successfully turned Frlying over and collected backpoints as time expired for a 15-7 major decision.
Nineteenth-ranked Eric Ring extended Edinboro’s lead with his 9-2 decision at 174 pounds. Ring scored an early takedown and collected two near falls for a 7-0 lead after one period. West Virginia’s Eric Mullen continued fighting to avoid bonus points and hit a takedown with 6 seconds left in the match to avoid the major decision.
Trailing 17-9, West Virginia’s Greg Jones quickly showed a crowd of 665 why he is a two-time national champion and three-time EWL champion. Jones used his quickness for a takedown just seconds into the match before turning Edinboro’s Jim Gibson on his back. The Mountaineer senior collected his team-leading fifth fall of the season in just 13 seconds to bring the crowd to their feet.
Jared Villers carried the momentum over into his bout at 197 pounds. He took an 8-0 lead on the Scots’ Paul Burger with a takedown and three two-point near falls in the opening period. Freshman Villers turned Burger twice more in the middle period for his first career technical fall at 4:34 and give WVU a 20-17 team lead.
Edinboro’s Joe Hennis escaped with an 8-6 decision at heavyweight for the tie. WVU’s Matt Holsopple led 2-0 on a single-leg takedown in the opening minute of action. Hennis, a 24-match winner, responded with a pair of takedowns for a 5-4 lead after three minutes. Leading 6-4 after two periods, Hennis was called for stalling before holding on to an 8-6 victory.
Jones’ victory extended his winning streak to 42 straight matches; four shy of tying is own career record of 46 from 2001-2003.
West Virginia closes out the regular season against Cleveland State tomorrow night in the WVU Coliseum at 8 p.m.
No. 21 West Virginia 20 (4-6-1, 3-1-1 EWL)
Edinboro 20 (8-5-1, 2-2-1 EWL)
125: Shawn Cordell (WVU) DEC Greg Sill (EDIN), 5-0
133: #1 Shawn Bunch (EDIN) MAJOR Codie Gustines (WVU), 20-7
141: Vince Gioiella (WVU) DEC Rick McLaughlin (EDIN), 10-6
149: Ron Doppelheuer (EDIN) FALL Teddy Adams (WVU), 1:53
157: #7 Matt Lebe (WVU) DEC Matt Hill (EDIN), 7-5
165: #11 Nate Yetzer (EDIN) MAJOR Zac Fryling (WVU), 15-7
174: #19 Eric Ring (EDIN) DEC Eric Mullen (WVU), 9-2
184: #1 Greg Jones (WVU) FALL Jim Gibson (EDIN), 0:13
197: Jared Villers (WVU) TECH (5pt) Paul Berger (EDIN), 16-0 4:34
285: Joe Hennis (EDIN) DEC Matt Holsopple (WVU), 8-6
Official: Jim Sterner
Attendance: 665
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