November 14, 2006 - #25 Pittsburgh 21 Rider 13
November 14, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Wrestling
#25 University of Pittsburgh 21, Rider University 13
LAWRENCEVILLE—Not yet the mecca of collegiate wrestling but headed in that direction. Before a crowd estimated at 1,200 strong, the Broncs took the number 25 ranked team in the nation to the limit before falling on Tuesday night in Alumni Gym.
Rider (1-1) sold out Alumni Gym (1,650) on November 10, defeating #21 ranked Lehigh. Two duals and over 2,800 fans. Not bad at all.
“The crowd support is very appreciated” said Gary Taylor who is in his 29th season as head coach. “The support is going to help our young team get better. The fans took us over the top against Lehigh and to come out again and support us against another top 25 team, I know it means a lot to the coaches, it means a lot to the kids and we really appreciate it.”
For Rider (1-1), junior 141 Don Fisch (Williamstown/Delsea), who is seventh ranked in the nation, posted a 4-2 decision over Joe Ciampoli with sophomore 149 Mike Kessler (Randallstown, Md./Owings Mills) posting a 10-3 win over Mark Generalovich. Kessler is currently ranked 20th in the nation.
“It is going to help us down the road wrestling in front of large crowds,” Taylor added. “Especially a crowd that’s behind you it means a lot as well.”
With back to back ranked opponents and trips to the Las Vegas Open, Midlands Championship and Virginia Duals as well as the conference schedule Rider has build one of the toughest schedules for its talented but young squad.
“The schedule is setup to get us the best possible competition,” said Fisch who posted his 58th career win. “It’s good for us as a team to face that kind of top notch opponent each time out. I’m still getting back in the flow of things and getting used to the weight but I’ll improve and do better as the season goes along.”
Also for the Broncs, freshman 184 Mike Miller (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) won 6-3 with junior 197 T.J. Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) winning 10-2. Morrison is ranked 20th nationally.
“Fisch will be fine,” said Taylor. “After being away from competition for a year it is going to take a little bit for him to get back but he’ll be fine.”
In the 157 bout that featured two nationally ranked wrestlers, fourth ranked Matt Kocher of Pitt defeated Bronc senior Dave Miller (Southampton, N.J./Lenape) who was ranked 16th.
Rider wrestles at the Keystone Classic, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Sunday, November 19.
“We have a young team,” Taylor added. “And some nights we are going to get it right and some nights we’ll be a little off. With our schedule and a young team, you don’t have the experience to draw off of and for the upperclassmen one slip up and you are depending totally on freshmen. They are wrestling hard and with confidence for how young they are but there are going to be some slipups along the road. And we knew both against Lehigh and Pitt you are looking at matches that could be a 5-5 split and if it swings to 6-4, then you have that problem and that’s what happened tonight. But it wasn’t for a lack of trying. We were young in a few places and Pitt’s wrestlers are very good or they wouldn’t be in the top 25.”
With over 2,800 fans flocking to the new mecca of collegiate wrestling in the past week, they got to witness the first steps as the young Broncs grow and mature into a quality team.
-RU-
#25 Pittsburgh 21 Rider 13
125 Jimmy Conroy-P def. Thomas Lorenzo-R 10-3 0-3
133 #10 Drew Headlee-P wbf Matt Bradley-R 6:24 0-9
141 #7 Don Fisch-R def. Joe Ciampoli-P 4-2 3-9
149 #20 Mike Kessler-R def. Mark Generalovich-P 10-3 6-9
157 #4 Matt Kocher-P def. #16 Dave Miller-R 8-2 6-12
165 Sean Richmond-P def. Rob Morrison-R 6-3 6-15
174 Keith Gavin-P def. Doug Umbehauer-R 8-6 6-18
184 Mike Miller-R def. Mike Heist-P 6-3 9-18
197 #20 TJ Morrison-R major dec. Eric Cassidy-P 10-2 13-18
Hwt.#20 Zach Sheaffer-P def. Nick Ciufo-R 7-2 13-21
