West Virginia Wrestling

Three Claim Wins in Loss to No. 3 NC State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (January 31, 2016) – Three Mountaineers earned victories as the West Virginia University wrestling team suffered a 24-9 setback at the hands of No. 3 NC State at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday.

Bubba Scheffel’s upset win over No. 15 Pete Renda in sudden victory at 184 was one of the highlights. He took a 7-5 decision with a takedown in the overtime period.

“Bubba scrapped. I was proud of him” said WVU coach Sammie Henson of Scheffel, who was injured in the third period. “For him to continue to wrestle, to come back and not only battle but win in dramatic fashion… I think it lit a fire under our team.”

No. 13/14 Zeke Moisey won a 7-2 decision over No. 24 Sean Fausz at 125 pounds, while Ross Renzi claimed a 4-1 win by decision over Nicky Hall at 174. Three bouts on the day went to overtime, including the 157-pound match between No. 15/16 Dylan Cottrell and No. 4 Tommy Gantt as the Mountaineers faced their fifth top-10 program of the season.

“It’s been a tough month. We’ve had a good stretch here and today, our guys battled. They fought,” said Henson. “They were wanting to win for the team; for each other. That’s what you call a team. I feel that we were very much a team today.”

Moisey got WVU off to a 3-0 lead with a decision at 125. He used a pair of first-period takedowns for a 4-1 advantage, adding another in the second to lead 6-2 after five minutes of action. Though Fausz, who started on top, was able to ride Moisey through the third, Moisey claimed the riding time point in taking the 7-2 win.

Cory Stainbrook dropped a tough 5-2 decision to No. 28 Jamal Morris at 133 before Tony DeAngelo suffered a 9-0 loss by major decision to No. 3 Kevin Jack at 141 pounds. James Dekrone saw his first dual-match action of the season at 149, losing a hard-fought 5-4 decision to Beau Donahue at 149 pounds as NC State took a 10-3 lead over West Virginia.

Cottrell got off to a hot start against Gantt at 157, taking a 2-1 lead in the first before padding his advantage with a reversal in the second. Gantt was awarded a penalty point on a stalling call to cut Cottrell’s lead to 4-2 at the end of the second. Starting on top in the third, Cottrell yielded an escape to Gantt before scoring a takedown for a 6-3 lead. Gantt escaped, then struck with his first takedown of the day to tie the score at 6-6. Cottrell escaped again, but Gantt scored another takedown to grab an 8-7 lead. However, the riding time point went in Cottrell’s favor to knot the score, 8-8, and send the bout into sudden victory. Gantt was awarded a takedown that was upheld following a challenge by WVU to win the match in a 10-8 decision.

NC State took another decision at 165 pounds for a 13-3 lead with four bouts remaining. Ross Renzi squared off with Nicky Hall at 174, with neither wrestler scoring in the first period. With Renzi on top, Hall got on the board with an escape in the second for a 1-0 lead. However, Renzi matched his feat at the start of the third to knot the score. A penalty point for locked hands gave Renzi a 2-1 advantage, and he added a late takedown to earn the 4-1 decision and cut into WVU’s deficit, 13-6.

Scheffel made it two in a two for WVU with a thrilling win at 184 pounds. Renda scored first for a 2-0 lead, adding an early second-period escape to make it 3-0. Scheffel registered a takedown of his own in the second, but Renda scored a reversal to keep the score in his favor, 5-2. Scheffel escaped to close the second trailing 5-3. Pushing through an injury, Scheffel tied the score with a third-period takedown to send the bout to sudden victory, where he added his third takedown of the match for the 7-5 upset win as the Mountaineers came within seven, down 16-9.

NC State went on to win in sudden victory at 197 pounds before taking a tech. fall at heavyweight to claim the 24-9 win.

West Virginia will host rival No. 16 Pitt on Sunday, Feb. 7, at the WVU Coliseum in a 1 p.m. match. This season’s edition of the Backyard Brawl, dubbed “SuperBrawl Sunday,” will feature $1 admission for all fans.

No. 3 NC State 24, West Virginia 9
125: No. 13/14 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. No. 24 Sean Fausz (NCSU), 7-2
133: No. 28 Jamal Morris (NCSU) dec. Cory Stainbrook (WVU), 5-2
141: No. 3 Kevin Jack (NCSU) major dec. Tony DeAngelo (WVU), 9-0
149: Beau Donahue (NCSU) dec. James Dekrone (WVU), 5-4
157: No. 4 Tommy Gantt (NSCU) dec. Dylan Cottrell (WVU), 10-8 SV-1
165: No. 7 Max Rohskopf (NCSU) dec. Connor Flynn (WVU), 5-0
174: Ross Renzi (WVU) dec. Nicky Hall (NCSU), 4-1
184: Bubba Scheffel (WVU) dec. No. 15 Pete Renda (NCSU), 7-5 SV-1
197: No. 17 Michael Boykin (NCSU) dec. No. 7 Jacob A. Smith (WVU), 5-3 SV-1
HWT: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) tech. fall A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU), 17-0 (5:36)

** Rankings via InterMat/FloWrestling

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