Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Nebraska Kearney
Nationally Ranked Wrestling Posts 1-2 Record on First Day of Virginia Duals
1/9/2015 6:58:00 PM | Wrestling
HAMPTON, Va. – The Bucknell wrestling team posted a 1-2 record against a difficult schedule Friday on the first day of the Virginia Duals. The 25th-ranked Bison opened with a 33-6 win over Nebraska Kearney to extend their winning streak to five matches, but then lost to No. 24 Old Dominion 27-10 and West Virginia 19-15.
This year's Virginia Duals features 12 teams that were divided into four three-team pods. A round-robin schedule within each pod started the day. The four first-place teams advanced to the Gold bracket to determine the event's champion, while the second-place finishers moved on to the Silver bracket with a chance to still finish as high as fifth place. Third-place teams were slotted into the Bronze bracket and will wrestle to finish as high as ninth place.
Bucknell's first two bouts Friday were against fellow York River Pool members. Thanks to a 1-1 record against the Lopers and Monarchs, the Bison ended up in the Silver bracket to face the Mountaineers. West Virginia advanced on to Saturday's fifth-place match vs. Arizona State, while the Bison will take on No. 17 Rider Saturday at 10 a.m. with the winning team finishing in seventh place in the tournament.
Grim Gonzalez and 18th-ranked Joe Stolfi were the standouts for Bucknell (5-3, 1-0 EIWA) on Friday as both won all three of their bouts. Wrestling at 133 pounds, Gonzalez posted each win by decision, winning by two points each time. He needed to go to overtime to win against both Nebraska Kearney and West Virginia as he improved to 10-7 on the year. Stolfi had an easier day, pinning his first opponent and scoring a major decision against Old Dominion's Matt Tourdot. The 285-pounder then won by a tight 3-2 decision in the final bout of the day to extend his personal winning streak to 10.
Paul Petrov, who is ranked 14th nationally at 125 pounds, Victor Lopez and Rustin Barrick each posted two wins on the day for the Bison.
Bucknell dominated the opening match of the day against Nebraska Kearney (0-3) as it won the first five weight classes to open a 18-0 cushion and cruised to the 27-point win. Petrov (tech fall), Tyler Smith (major decision), Tyler Lyster (fall) and Stolfi (fall) posted bonus-point wins as the Bison equaled their highest point total of the season.
In a matchup of the final two teams in this week's top 25, Bucknell and Old Dominion (5-2) were relatively close halfway through the match as the Monarchs held a 13-6 advantage through the 157-pound bout. However, Old Dominion, which had four nationally ranked grapplers in its lineup, won the next four bouts before Stolfi ended with a major decision. The Bison victories came from Gonzalez, Barrick and Stolfi as their five-match winning streak came to an end.
The loss to ODU dropped Bucknell to the Silver bracket, where it faced West Virginia (5-5), which also went 1-1 in its initial pod. The Bison got off to a good start with back-to-back decisions by Petrov and Gonzalez. Lopez recorded a pin at 149 to stake Bucknell to a 12-3 lead, but the Mountaineers then won the next five bouts in a row. A one-point win by Jake Smith at 197 clinched the match for West Virginia.
Bucknell will wrap up the Virginia Duals Saturday at 10 a.m. against No. 17 Rider (7-3), which on Friday defeated The Citadel before falling to Virginia and Arizona State.
Match 1: Bucknell 33, Nebraska Kearney 6
125: No. 14 Paul Petrov (B) tech fall Steven Knoblauch (NK), 19-2.
133: Grim Gonzalez (B) dec. Daniel DeShazer (NK), 7-5 (sv1).
141: Tyler Smith (B) maj. dec. Keith Surber (NK), 19-7.
149: Victor Lopez (B) dec. Destin McCauley (NK), 8-6.
157: Rustin Barrick (B) dec. Chase White (NK), 10-4.
165: Devin Aguirre (NK) dec. Robert Schlitt (B), 6-3.
174: Chance Bila (NK) dec. Rory Bonner (B), 7-3.
184: Tom Sleigh (B) dec. Casey Powell (NK), 8-2.
197: Tyler Lyster (B) pinned Romero Cotton (NK), 6:26.
285: No. 18 Joe Stolfi (B) pinned Ivan DeLeon (NK), 2:49.
Match 2: No. 24 Old Dominion 27, No. 25 Bucknell 10
125: Brandon Jeske (ODU) pinned No. 14 Paul Petrov (B), 4:36.
133: Grim Gonzalez (B) dec. Michael Hayes (ODU), 3-1.
141: No. 13 Chris Mecate (ODU) maj. dec. Tyler Smith (B), 12-3.
149: No. 15 Alexander Richardson (ODU) dec. Victor Lopez (B), 4-2 (sv1)
157: Rustin Barrick (B) dec. TC Warner (ODU), 7-4.
165: No. 15 Tristan Warner (ODU) tech fall Connor Wagh (B), 17-1.
174: Austin Coburn (ODU) dec. Joey Krulock (B), 8-2.
184: No. 3 Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. Tom Sleigh (B), 8-3.
197: Kevin Beazley (ODU) dec. Tyler Lyster (B), 5-3.
285: No. 18 Joe Stolfi (B) maj. dec. Matt Tourdot (ODU), 10-2.
Match 3: West Virginia 19, No. 25 Bucknell 15
125: No. 14 Paul Petrov (B) dec. Zeke Moisey (WVU), 4-3.
133: Grim Gonzalez (B) dec. Cory Stainbrook (WVU), 7-5 (sv1)
141: No. 11 Mike Morales (WVU) dec. Tyler Smith (B), 16-11.
149: Victor Lopez (B) pinned Louis Colonna (WVU), 3:19.
157: Timothy Wheeling (WVU) dec. Rustin Barrick (B), 7-5.
165: Ross Renzi (WVU) dec. Robert Schlitt (B), 8-4.
174: Weston Vonegidy (WVU) maj. dec. Rory Bonner (B), 16-7.
184: Jakob Scheffel (WVU) dec. Tom Sleigh (B), 6-2.
197: Jake Smith (WVU) dec. Tyler Lyster (B), 3-2.
285: Joe Stolfi (B) dec. Anthony Vizcarrondo (WVU), 3-2.
Players Mentioned
