Wrestling Downed by the Scarlet Knights
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Jan. 25, 2013) – Despite winning two of the dual’s first three matches that earned them a 6-4 lead, the West Virginia University wrestling team was defeated by Rutgers, 26-10, on Friday evening at the WVU Coliseum.
With the loss, the Mountaineers fall to 1-6 this season, while the Scarlet Knights improved their ledger to 14-2.
“This was a very frustrating match for us. We beat this team last year with them sending out essentially the same lineup,” said coach Craig Turnbull “A healthy Colin Johnston and Brutus Scheffel probably make the difference in this match. With the youth of this team, we can’t affored to have any of our experienced guys out of the lineup.”
Senior Shane Young (125) and junior Nathan Pennesi (141) spotted WVU an early lead with decision victories. Young scored a 4-3 decision win over Joseph Langel, while Pennesi was in control through the duration of his 7-2 victory over No. 20 Trevor Melde. Rutgers was able to sandwich a major decision win in between the two decisions by the Mountaineers.
“Shane’s win and Nathan’s win were good wins,” Turnbull said. “Nathan was able to get another win against a nationally ranked opponent. Nathan will need to be ready again tomorrow, because he has another nationally ranked opponent to wrestle.”
Rutgers would turn the momentum of the match with bonus point wins at 149 and 157 pounds. Ken Theobold (149) majored the Mountaineers’ Roman Perryman, while No. 16 Scott Winston (157) earned a win by fall at the 1:58 mark of the first period.
Freshman Ross Renzi (165) looked to stop the bleeding for WVU at 165 pounds, however, he was on the losing end of a 12-5 decision against the Scarlet Knights’ Nick Visicaro.
At 174 pounds, Bubba Scheffel also had an opportunity to slow Rutgers’ momentum, but he was unable to upset No. 12 Greg Zannetti. Scheffel was on the brink of converting a takedown at the end of the first period, but the end of the period buzzer helped Zannetti avoid the takedown. After allowing an escape point to begin the third, Scheffel was unable to work out of the down position until the final five seconds of the third period, which locked up the riding time point and the match for Zannetti.
“Those are the types of matches that we need to win as a team,” Vizcarrondo said. “My confidence was definitely helped last weekend after I won at Oklahoma. I have been managing my weight a little bit the last couple of week, so my energy level has been pretty high.”
A decision win by No. 11 Dan Rinaldi over WVU’s Lance Bryson gave the Scarlet Knights a 23-6 lead in the match, which gave them the win in the dual match.
Despite the final outcome of the team score having been determined, freshman A.J. Vizcarrondo was able to earn a victory at 197 pounds. Vizcarrondo collected two takedowns in the first period to build 4-0 lead in the first period. In the final two periods, Vizcarrondo tallied two takedowns, two near fall points, the riding time point and an escape point that gave him the 12-4 major decision win.
The Mountaineers return to the mat tomorrow afternoon, as they take on Iowa State (4-3, 0-1 Big 12) in the program’s first home Big 12 dual meet. Action is set to begin at 3 p.m .
Fans unable to attend Saturday’s match can follow the Mountaineers via a free WebStream presented by Kroger at WVUsports.com.
In addition, the match will be shown on tape delay on ROOT Sports on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.
Results
125: Shane Young (WVU) dec. Joseph Langel III (RU), 4-3
133: Vincent Dellefave (RU) maj. dec. Sean Fee (WVU), 11-3
141: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (WVU) dec. No. 20 Trevor Melde (RU), 6-3
149: Ken Theobold (RU) maj. dec. Roman Perryman (WVU), 12-3
157: No. 16 Scott Winston (RU) win by fall Jason Luster (WVU), 1:58
165: Nick Visicaro (RU) dec. Ross Renzi (WVU), 12-5
174: No. 12 Greg Zannetti (RU) dec. Bubba Scheffel (WVU), 2-1
184: No. 11 Dan Rinaldi (RU) dec. Lance Bryson (WVU), 6-0
197: A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU) maj. dec. Hayden Hrymack (RU), 12-4
HWT: Bill Smith (RU) dec. Phil Mandzik (WV), 5-0
Team Score: 26-10, Rutgers
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