From the WVU Wrestling Website


WVU Stumbles in Home Finale

February 1, 2019

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Three Mountaineers came away with wins, as the West Virginia University wrestling team fell to Army, 28-10, Friday evening, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown.

Redshirt junior Devin Brown (125) and redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133) each won by decision for the Mountaineers (4-13, 3-5 Big 12), while redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149) claimed his fifth bonus-point victory of the season in his final match at the Coliseum.

"We have to get smarter, and we have to get a little bit better," said first-year coach Tim Flynn. "We had some opportunities. We lost three close ones. We had a chance, but we just have to get a little bit better to get over the hump."

Brown earned the starting role at 125 pounds for the first time this season, grinding out an 11-5 decision over Ryan Hetrick to put the Mountaineers on the board first. Brown used a trio of takedowns, as well as a reversal, for the 8-3 lead heading into the final period. Hetrick started the third on bottom, which allowed him to escape and cut his deficit to four. Brown continued to roll though, scoring another takedown to ride him through the period for the 11-5 decision.

At 133 pounds, Schmitt and Army's Lane Peters were knotted at two points apiece following five minutes of action. Peters started the third in the defensive position, which allowed him to escape and take a one-point advantage with under a minute to go. However, a hands to the face call on Peters gave Schmitt the upper hand, as he used a takedown with three seconds left for the 5-4 decision.

Army tied the match at 6-6 following a second-period pin from Corey Shie at 141 pounds.

However, Monserrat helped the Mountaineers regain the lead, as he claimed a 13-3 major decision over Noah Hanau at 149 pounds. Holding a 4-1 lead into the final frame, Monserrat earned the escape and never looked back, as he capitalized on a trio of takedowns in the final three minutes to put the Mountaineers back on top at 10-6.

At 157 pounds, the Black Knights captured an 11-1 major decision to knot the team score at 10-10.

Out of the break, sophomore Nick Kiussis dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Cael McCormick at 165 pounds. From there, Army claimed back-to-back bonus-point victories at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, for the 22-10 advantage with two bouts remaining.

At 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Noah Adams, who is ranked at No. 19 by FloWrestling, dropped a heartbreaking 8-7 decision to No. 4 Rocco Caywood in the final seconds. Following a scoreless first period, Caywood started the second on bottom, earning the escape and a quick takedown for the 3-0 lead. Adams countered with a reversal to cut his deficit to one, but Caywood escaped once again to take a 4-2 advantage into the final frame. Adams elected to start the third in the defensive position, which allowed him to escape and score a takedown for the 5-4 lead. Adams then used another takedown for the 7-5 advantage, but Caywood escaped to cut his deficit to one with less than 15 seconds on the clock. With both wrestlers on their feet, time was winding down. Caywood capitalized on a last-second takedown for the 8-7 decision over Adams.

Army capped the dual with a 7-2 decision in the heavyweight bout for the 28-10 win.

Of note, the Mountaineers celebrated the careers of Joe Wheeling and Monserrat prior to Friday's match. Wheeling and Monserrat have been part of the WVU wrestling program for five seasons, with both wrestlers experiencing a significant amount of time in the starting lineup throughout their careers.

Looking ahead, the regular season will come to a close on Sunday, Feb. 24, in Brookings, South Dakota, where the Mountaineers and Jackrabbits square off in a 7 p.m. ET match. South Dakota State, who finished 12th at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series.

Army 28, West Virginia 10
125: Devin Brown (WVU) dec. Ryan Hetrick (Army), 11-5
133: No. 15/19/18 Matthew Schmitt (WVU) dec. Lane Peters (Army), 5-4
141: Corey Shie (Army) wins by fall Luke Martin (WVU), F 4:13
149: No. 17/19/16 Christian Monserrat (WVU) major dec. Noah Hanau (Army), 13-3
157: Luke Weiland (Army) major dec. Hunter Jones (WVU), 11-1
165: Cael McCormick (Army) dec. No. 17/19/19 Nick Kiussis (WVU), 2-1
174: No. 18/-/- Ben Harvey (Army) major dec. Josh Ramirez (WVU), 12-2
184: No. -/20/- Noah Stewart (Army) tech. fall Jackson Moomau (WVU), 16-0 [TF – 4:52]
197: No. 4/4/4 Rocco Caywood (Army) dec. No. -/19/- Noah Adams (WVU), 8-7
HWT: Ben Sullivan (Army) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU), 7-2

Rankings are listed as follows: The Open Mat/FloWrestling/Intermat

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.


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