WVU Wins 19th Straight
February 12, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 19th-ranked West Virginia (7-4, 5-0) wrestling team won its 19th consecutive regular season Eastern Wrestling League contest on Thursday evening, posting a 29-10 victory over Lock Haven (3-8, 0-4) at the WVU Coliseum.
Senior Mike Torriero upset ninth-ranked Matt Maney at 149-pounds. (All-Pro Photogrpahy/Dale Sparks)
Setting the tone for the Mountaineers on “Senior Night” was veteran Casey Brewster. The Mountaineer senior opened the 125-pound match with a single-leg takedown for 2-1 lead over Jim Collins. Brewster would score again on a reversal to open second period in taking a 4-1 lead. The reversal turned Collins on his back leading to a pin at 3:49.
Junior Seth Lisa wrestled to a scoreless first period with Dave Predko at 133-pounds. Predko took an early 3-0 lead in the second until Lisa notched an esacpe and reversal to knot the score at 3-3. Predko escaped with under :10 seconds remaining to take a 4-3 decision.
Mountaineer junior Drew Joseph (141) won his second consecutive EWL match. Joseph, a Connellsville, Pa., native scored the first takedown of the match for a 2-0 lead over John Holsinger. Joseph tallied a takedown and escape in the middle period to lead 5-1. After securing riding time, Joseph held on for a 6-5 decision.
“I think we had some guys perform very well for us tonight,” says head coach Craig Turnbull. “Our wins at 125 and 141 kept us out of a hole and Casey (Brewster) and Drew (Joseph) did a tremendous job.”
In the most exciting match of the night, West Virginia’s Mike Torriero raced out to an 8-1 lead on two-time All-American Mike Maney. Torriero, a Sound Beach, N.Y., native scored two takedowns and two near falls in the opening period. Torriero tallied five points in the second and third periods to upset ninth-ranked Maney with a 14-4 major decision victory.
“Until that final buzzer rings, I don’t count anything as a win,” says Turnbull of Torriero’s upset win. “Mike is very talented and he hasn’t had the opportunity to wrestle a whole lot because of some talented people in front of him. He is very capable of turning it on and he did that for us tonight.”
Matt Lebe extended WVU’s team lead to 16-3 with a 6-3 decision over Charlie Brenneman. Lebe, the nation’s No. 8 ranked wrestler at 157-pounds, notched a takedown and reversal to lead 4-0 after two periods. The 6-3 win was the sophomore’s team-leading 23rd victory of the season.
Lock Haven picked up two victories at 165 and 174-pounds to narrow the team deficit to 16-10. Jason Gilligan and Ryan Summers scored 12-2 and 8-1 decisions over WVU’s Zac Fryling (165) and Doug Studenic (174).
The Mountaineers turned to a pair of nationally ranked juniors at 184 and 197-pounds to seal the win. Greg Jones (184), the nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler, picked up his team-leading sixth fall of the season at 1:26 over Mike Greenberg. Matt Daddino (197), holding a No. 14 ranking, picked up five takedowns in dominating Carlos Ponce for a 14-3 major decision.
Filling in at heavyweight, West Virginia’s Ryan Wilman scored a mild 4-1 upset over Steve Itterly. Despite giving up nearly 85 pounds, Wilman scored a three-point near fall in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Junior Wilman traded points in the final period with Itterly to earn a 4-1 decision.
West Virginia travels to Athens, Ohio on Sunday, Feb. 15, to face Mid-American Conference member Ohio University at 2 p.m.
West Virginia 29 (7-4, 5-0 EWL)
Lock Haven 10 (3-8, 0-4 EWL)
125: Casey Brewster (WVU) Fall Jim Collins (LH) 3:49
133: Dave Predko (LH) Dec Seth Lisa (WVU) 4-3
141: Drew Joseph (WVU) Dec John Holsinger (LH) 6-5
149: Mike Torriero (WVU) Major #9 Mike Maney (LH) 14-4
157: #8 Matt Lebe (WVU) Dec Charlie Brenneman (LH) 6-3
165: Jason Gilligan (LH) Major Zac Fryling (WVU) 12-2
174: Ryan Summers (LH) Dec Doug Studenic (WVU) 8-1
184: #1 Greg Jones (WVU) Fall Mike Greenberg (LH) 1:26
197: #14 Matt Daddino (WVU) Major Carlos Ponce (LH) 14-3
285: Ryan Wilman (WVU) Dec Steve Itterly (LH) 4-1
Referee: Roy Phillis
Attendance: 572
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