Bloomsburg Takes Down WVU

By Brian Kuppelweiser
WVU Sports Information Office

January 21, 2012

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – With Bloomsburg building a dominating 19-3 lead to start the match, the West Virginia University wrestling team lost its Eastern Wrestling League opener to the Huskies, 25-10, in front of 561 fans at the Coliseum.

The quick start’s foundation was constructed through five decision victories and one major decision in the meet’s first seven matches.

“That was probably as poor a wrestling match as I have seen from a team as good as ours,” said coach Craig Turnbull. “Their lineup was probably inferior, but you have to give them a lot of credit. They outfought us and had a game plan that frustrated us. We just didn’t react to what they did.”

After junior Shane Young (125) was upset in the opening match of the contest, redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi looked to have steadied the ship, as he took a 9-3 decision at 133 pounds.

Pennesi jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in the second period and kept the Huskies’ Nick Wilcox from creating any offensive opportunities throughout the rest of the match.

“I felt like I needed to come out and set the tempo for the rest of the team after a slow opening match,” said Pennesi. “With my win, I thought that was going to happen, but we just didn’t have it. I don’t know what happened – something just wasn’t there for us tonight.”

Bloomsburg’s run began at the 141-pound weight class as Derek Shingara started a stretch of five straight victories for the visiting team.

“There are some lessons to take out of this loss,” Turnbull said. “We feel badly about not getting a good wrestling match out at home.”

With the Huskies leading 19-3 and the Mountaineers chances fading, redshirt senior Matt Ryan (184) looked as though he would give WVU a chance to comeback with a major decision. A reversal in the last 10 seconds of the match by Sam Shirey, however, put the final score at 9-2 and ended any hopes for a comeback.

Redshirt senior Brandon Williamson (HWT) scored the lone other victory for the Mountaineers, as he defeated Bloomsburg’s Zach Walsh in an impressive 10-1 major decision.

The loss now moves WVU to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the EWL. Bloomsburg is 13-4 overall and their record within the EWL stands at 1-1.

The Mountaineers will have a quick turnaround, as they will take on No. 21 Clarion on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Coliseum.

“If I wanted to put medicine together for what we need, it would be finding a wrestling match somewhere, and luckily, we have one scheduled tomorrow against Clarion,” Turnbull said. “Clarion has some excellent wrestlers, so this is not going to be an easy match. We better have a lot more intensity and a lot more passion tomorrow.”



Bloomsburg 25 WVU 10
125: Sean Boylan (BU) def. Shane Young (WVU), 2-0
133: Nathan Pennesi (WVU) def. Nick Wilcox (BU), 9-3
141: Derek Shingara (BU) def. Michael Morales (WVU), 4-3
149: Bryce Busler (BU) def. Brutus Scheffel (WVU), 14-6
157: Frank Hickman (BU) def. Dom Prezzia (WVU), 2-0
165: Kevin Hartnett (BU) def. Kyle Eason (WVU), 6-3
174: Mike Dessino (BU) def. Lance Bryson (WVU), 2-1
184: Matt Ryan (WVU) def. Sam Shirey (BU), 9-2
197: Richard Perry (BU) def. Nicholas Hylton (WVU), fall 2:51
HWT: Brandon Williamson (WVU) def. Zach Walsh (BU), 10-1


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