WVU Wins EWL Road Opener
February 8, 2004
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The 20th-ranked West Virginia (6-4, 4-0) wrestling team routed Virginia Tech (7-7, 1-3), 39-13, in their conference road opener on Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va.
The Mountaineers took eight of ten matches from the Hokies with Casey Brewster setting the tone during the contest’s first match at 125.
Brewster, a senior, took a 6-1 lead over Ryan Broughman after one period of action. After opening the middle period with a reversal, Brewster scored another near fall to extend his lead to 11-3. Brewster won 15-5 for WVU’s first win of the day.
“I knew it was important for me to set a good tempo in my match,” says Brewster. “Opening with the first win set the pace for our team to do well and I think we did just that.”
After a forfeit win at 133-pounds, Mountaineer Drew Joseph (141) notched his first career pin at 2:36 in the first period against Chris Smolko.
Senior Mike Torriero wrestled to a 3-2 first period lead with Johnny Gallagher. Torriero would win by medical forfeit in the second period.
Lebe notched fall number three on the year at 2:39 against Michael Liss. Lebe raced out to an 11-0 lead using a takedown and three near falls in the first period.
West Virginia dropped its only two matches of the afternoon at 165 and 174-pounds. Zac Fryling fell to 16th-ranked Chris Stith and Eric Mullen was pinned by Steve Borja.
Number one ranked Greg Jones (184) picked up his fifth major decision victory of the season. Jones tallied six takedowns in the match and scored five points on four Hokie stalls. The junior Mountaineer’s 18-5 win pushed WVU’s team lead to 32-9.
Matt Daddino (197) rushed out to an 8-3 lead after posting four takedowns against Tomas Ovalle in the opening period. WVU’s junior scored five points in the final period in earning a 16-5 major decision win.
“The gym was kind of cold but it only took a minute or so to get warmed up,” says Daddino. “The offense kept coming after that and I was able to take him down a few times.”
The final bout of the afternoon saw Lanfer Simpson hang on to a 6-5 decision over Kris Wiedegreen.
West Virginia returns home to the WVU Coliseum for their final home contest on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m.
West Virginia 39 (6-4, 4-0 EWL)
Virginia Tech 9 (7-7, 1-3 EWL)
125: Casey Brewster (WVU) Major Ryan Broughman (VT) 15-5
133: #20 Seth Lisa (WVU) by Forfeit
141: Drew Joseph (WVU) Fall Chris Smolko (VT) 2:39
149: Mike Torriero (WVU) Med Forfeit Johnny Gallagher (VT)
157: #8 Matt Lebe (WVU) Fall Michael Liss (VT) 2:32
165: #16 Chris Stith (VT) Dec Zac Fryling (WVU) 8-3
174: Steve Borja (VT) Fall Eric Mullen (WVU) 5:25
184: #1 Greg Jones (WVU) Major Shaun Guttridge (VT) 18-5
197: #14 Matt Daddino (WVU) Major Tomas Ovalle (VT) 16-5
285: Lanfer Simpson (WVU) Dec Kris Wiedegreen (VT) 7-5
Referee: Bruce Haselrig
Return to the WV-Mat Front Page
Return to the WV-Mat WVU Main Page