No. 7 Lehigh Tops No. 22 Rutgers Wrestling, 28-3
Feb 20 | Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (Feb. 20, 2010) – The No. 22 Rutgers wrestling team battled No. 7 Lehigh to several close bouts, however the Mountain Hawks (15-3-1) earned a 28-3 victory over the Scarlet Knights (19-5-1) Saturday afternoon in front of 1,806 fans at Stabler Arena in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The dual loss was RU’s first since Dec. 12, 2009 when the Scarlet Knights dropped a 21-18 decision to then No. 24 Pittsburgh. It ended a 15-match dual match winning streak for RU. The 19 dual meet victories this season are the second-most in school history.
“It is all part of what usually happens when you are trying to go from a good team to a great one,” said Rutgers head wrestling coach Scott Goodale. “You need to be able to win close matches to win big matches.”
Rutgers dropped several close decisions, losing by a combined 10 points in six weight classes. Lehigh’s John McDonald used an escape late in his bout to edge redshirt freshman No. 21 Joseph Langel III (Howell, N.J.), 5-4, at 125 pounds. No. 17 Seth Ciasulli of Lehigh topped No. 24 Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) of Rutgers, 6-4, on a late reversal at 141 pounds. The Mountain Hawks’ Joey Napoli decisioned David Greenwald (Union, N.J.), 4-2, also on a late reversal at 149 pounds. No. 19 Robert Hamlin earned a 3-1 decision over No. 28 Daniel Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) at 174 pounds.. No. 16 Joe Kennedy of Lehigh used a takedown in the final seconds to edge No. 20 Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.), 3-2, at197 pounds. In a matchup of two top-10 wrestlers, No. 6 Zach Rey of Lehigh earned a 4-2 decision over No. 10 Dominick Russo (Netcong, N.J.) at heavyweight.
Junior Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) scored a victory for the Scarlet Knights with a 5-1 decision of No. 24 Sean Bilodeau at 157 pounds.
No. 25 Brandon Hatchett of Lehigh posted an 11-4 decision of Greg Zannetti (Edison, N.J.) at 165 pounds and No. 14 David Craig of the Mountain Hawks registered a 14-0 major decision of Jesse Boyden (Kenilworth, N.J.) at 184 pounds.
RU will return to Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. for the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, Saturday-Sunday, March 6-7.
No. 7 Lehigh 28, No. 22 Rutgers 3
Weight Match Team Score
125 John McDonald (Lehigh) dec. #21 Joseph Langel III (Rutgers), 5-4 3-0
133 #14 Matt Fisk (Lehigh) dec. #20 Bill Ashnault (Rutgers), 8-1 6-0
141 #17 Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) dec. #24 Trevor Melde (Rutgers), 6-4 9-0
149 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) dec. David Greenwald (Rutgers), 4-2 12-0
157 Daryl Cocozzo (Rutgers) dec. #24 Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh), 5-1 12-3
165 #25 Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) dec. Greg Zannetti (Rutgers), 11-4 15-3
174 #19 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. #28 Daniel Rinaldi (Rutgers), 3-1 18-3
184 #14 David Craig (Lehigh) maj. dec. Jesse Boyden (Rutgers), 14-0 22-3
197 #16 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) dec. #20 Lamar Brown (Rutgers), 3-2 25-3
285 #6 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. #10 Dominick Russo (Rutgers), 4-2 28-3
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