The University of Pennsylvania wrestling team posted its first EIWA win of the season, knocking off American, 21-14, to improve to 3-5 overall this season and 3-2 on home mats.
The Quakers never trailed in the dual, building a 15-0 lead after four matches and closing the dual with two wins after the Eagles had rallied to within one point after a four-match run of their own.
Once again, it was May Bethea closing out a win for the Red and Blue with a victory in the final bout. The Quakers led by four with one match to go, and Bethea worked a 9-4 decision to seal the final result. He trailed early against Tom Page, but scored a takedown before the end of the first period to send the bout to the second period tied, 3-3. In the second period, Bethea added a takedown for a 5-4 lead. He would close the dual with one final takedown with 0:25 remaining in the third period to provide the final margin of victory.
His win followed an 11-7 win for Joe Oliva over Michael Sprague at 149 pounds. The Eagles had energy after wins in the previous four matches from 285 to 141 to close Penn's lead to 15-14, but Oliva stopped American's momentum, connecting on two takedowns in the first period. Sprague would rally in the second period, sending the bout to the final frame tied at 5-5. Oliva would score two takedowns in the third period to pull away for the win.
Those two victories sealed a team win bolstered by a strong performance to open the dual.
At 165 pounds, Joe Velliquette scored four takedowns and added riding time for a 10-2 major decision over Michael Eckhart.
Returning All-American Casey Kent would follow with a dominant 18-0 technical fall over Joe Salvi at 174. Kent scored a takedown immediately, and added two sets of nearfall for a 10-0 lead after one period. Kent chose top for the second, and executed a fourth set of four-point nearfall to close out the match at 18-0 with 0:04 remaining in the second period.
Joe Heyob added to Penn's lead with a 7-4 decision over Jason Grimes. Heyob had conceded the first points, trailing 2-1 after one period. He would connect on a takedown in the second period to tie the match, 3-3. In the third, period, another Heyob takedown and riding time were the difference.
No. 15 Frank Mattiace capped Penn's four-win run to open the dual with a 5-1 decision over Jeric Kasunic at 197 pounds. Mattiace scored a takedown with 0:03 left in the first period and then added a second with 0:13 left in the third frame to pick up the win.
American would climb back into the dual with a 12-2 major decision from Brett Dempsey at heavyweight, followed by a 6-0 decision from No. 15 Josh Terao at 125 pounds. An 18-6 major decision from Esteban Gomez Rivera and a 2-1 decision from Jack Mutchnik at 141 had the Eagles thinking comeback before Oliva and Bethea slammed the door.
Results:
165: Joe Velliquette (Penn) MD Michael Eckhart (American), 10-2 Penn leads, 4-0
174: No. 13 Casey Kent (Penn) TF Joe Salvi (American), 18-0 (4:56) Penn leads, 9-0
184: Joe Heyob (Penn) DEC Jason Grimes (American), 7-4 Penn leads, 12-0
197: No. 15 Frank Mattiace (Penn) DEC Jeric Kasunic (American), 5-1 Penn leads, 15-0
285: Brett Dempsey (American) MD Tyler Hall (Penn), 12-2 Penn leads, 15-4
125: No. 15 Josh Terao (American) DEC Jeremy Schwartz (Penn), 6-0 Penn leads 15-7
133: Esteban Gomez-Rivera (American) MD Tristin DeVincenzo (Penn), 18-6 Penn leads, 15-11
141: Jack Mutchnik (American) DEC A.J. Vindici, 2-1 Penn leads, 15-14
149: Joe Oliva (Penn) DEC Michael Sprague (American), 11-7 Penn leads, 18-14
157: May Bethea (Penn) DEC Tom Page (American), 9-4 Penn leads, 21-14
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now