“The first three guys really came out and got the ball rolling for us,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “That’s what we’re looking for. They built leads and weren’t content to win by just three or four points. They really got us off to a great start.”
McDonald built a comfortable 7-2 lead on Tim Trivisonno after two periods then racked up six third period takedowns to coast to the 20-7 major decision. Fisk followed with an early takedown against Filiberto Colon, then utilized a near-side cradle to rack up 14 points worth of near falls, five in the first period and nine more in the second as she won 16-0 in 4:56. Ciasulli closed out the run with a 17-9 major over Matt Bradley. After giving up a first period reversal and second period takedown, Ciasulli broke open the bout with five points off a Peterson roll.
Rider picked up its only win at 149 as Michael Kessler held off sophomore Brian Tanen 3-2. At 157, sophomore Sean Bilodeau overcame a slow start to beat Zac Cibula 5-1, putting Lehigh up 16-3 at intermission.
The second half of the dual saw Lehigh win all five bouts by decision. At 165, senior Mike Galante found himself in trouble after being ridden out by Rob Morrison in the second period. Galante was able to score a third period takedown to take the lead and prevented Morrison from escaping in the final 20 seconds. Riding time for Morrison sent the match to sudden victory, where Galante scored the decisive takedown just 11 seconds into the period.
Freshman Robert Hamlin made his varsity dual debut with an 8-2 win over Mike Ward at 174. Senior David Craig then followed with a 2-1 win over Mike Miller, with riding time the decisive factor in the bout.
The final two bouts also went to Lehigh as sophomore Joe Kennedy won a 6-1 decision over Tyler Smith and sophomore Zach Rey downed Ed Bordas 5-2 in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 285.
“When there was blood to be had we went after it,” said Santoro. “In a few instances we had some guys in a close matches and we’ll have to a better job opening up, especially with two really tough matches coming up next week.”
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Friday night when they welcome No. 14 Penn State to Stabler Arena in the 98th dual meet between the longtime rivals. Match time is set for 7 p.m. For tickets, call 610-7LU-GAME or visit the Lehigh ticket office located in Grace Hall.
Weight Match-up Result Score/Time
125 John McDonald (Lehigh) maj. dec. Tim Trivisonno (Rider) 20-7
133 Matt Fisk (Lehigh) tech fall Filiberto Colon (Rider) 16-0, 4:56
141 Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) maj. dec. Matt Bradley (Rider) 17-9
149 Michael Kessler (Rider) dec. Brian Tanen (Lehigh) 3-2
157 Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) dec. Zac Cibula (Rider) 5-1
165 Mike Galante (Lehigh) dec. Rob Morrison (Rider) 7-5, s.v.
174 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. Mike Ward (Rider) 8-2
184 David Craig (Lehigh) dec. Mike Miller (Rider) 2-1
197 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) dec. Tyler Smith (Rider) 6-1
285 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. Ed Bordas (Rider) 5-2
Attendance – 1,451
Referee – Jake Llewellyn
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