January 12, 2007 - Rider 37 VMI 6 / Rider 23 Arizona State 13 (Virginia Duals)
January 12, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Wrestling
Rider at Virginia Duals
Rider 37, Virginia Military Institute 6
Rider 23, Arizona State 13
HAMPTON, VA--The Broncs won their first two matches at the 16-team Virginia Duals, held at the Hampton Coliseum Friday, defeating VMI and Arizona State. “It was important that we had a strong start today,” said head coach Gary Taylor. “Winning both duals today puts us in the semi-finals.”
On Saturday, in the semi-finals, fourth-seeded Rider (4-3) takes on the top seed, 10th ranked Penn State at 2:00pm.
“Penn State has a great team,” said Taylor. “It’s going to be quite a challenge for a young team like ours to wrestle consistently enough and be competitive.”
Against VMI, Rider won eight of the 10 bouts, led by sophomore 149 Mike Kessler (Randallstown, MD/Owings Mills), who defeated the 20th ranked wrestler in the nation.
“Kessler wrestled well,” said Taylor. “Mike defeated a wrestler who beat him at the Keystone Classic so that was a real good win for him. He posted our best performance of the match against VMI, along with the pin from Dave Miller.”
Senior 165 Dave Miller (Southampton/Lenape), freshman 184 Mike Miller (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) and sophomore heavyweight Peter Reid (Flemington, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) all collected pins against VMI, while junior 141 Don Fisch (Williamstown/Delsea) picked up a major decision.
Against Arizona State, Rider won six bouts, led by junior 197 T. J. Morrison (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff), ranked 13th in the nation, who won a 2-1 decision and sophomore 174 Doug Umbehauer (Shamong/Lenape), ranked ninth in the nation, who posted a 10-0 major decision. Fisch also posted a major decision at 141 for the Broncs by a score of 10-1.
“Any time you defeat a school from the Pac-10, a school which has over 30,000 students, it speaks well for Rider University,” Taylor said. “Arizona State is a major program and I was especially pleased with how Doug Umbehauer and Don Fisch stepped up.”
Freshman 133 Brian Polashuk (Thomasville, Pa./Spring Grove) and Kessler (149) won by decision against the Sun Devils.
“We have to get solid performances from the younger guys on Saturday,” Taylor added. “And our more seasoned guys have to step up and beat some of the top kids in the country. Doug [Umbehauer] is facing the same wrestler that is ranked number three in the country that he defeated out at Midlands and T.J. [Morrison] is facing a wrestler that has been ranked number one in his weight class for most of the season. It’s a tremendous opportunity for Rider to face one of the top teams in the country, a major school out of the Big 10.”
Rider 37 VMI 6
125 Thomas Lorenzo-R dec. Johnathan Pope-VMI 11-8 3-0
133 Tyler Anthony-VMI dec. Matt Bradley-R 8-3 3-3
141 Don Fisch-R major dec. Brandon Franklin-VMI 14-2 7-3
149 Mike Kessler-R dec. Sam Alvarenga-VMI 7-0 10-3
157 Tommy Cunningham-VMI dec. Robbie Morrison-R 11-6 10-6
165 Dave Miller-R wbf Vince Cole-VMI 3:40 16-6
174 Doug Umbehauer-R dec. Dustin McCabe-VMI 8-5 19-6
184 Mike Miller-R wbf Corry Murray-VMI 1:30 25-6
197 TJ Morrison-R won by forfeit 31-6
Hwt Peter Reid-R wbf Eric Olson-VMI 1:28 37-6
Rider 23 Arizona State 13
125 John Espinoza-ASU def. Thomas Lorenzo-R 8-4 0-3
133 Brian Polashuk-R def. Angel Alegre-ASU 6-2 3-3
141 Don Fisch-R maj. dec. Robert Galvan-ASU 10-1 7-3
149 Mike Kessler-R def. Chris Remsen-ASU 6-1 10-3
157 Brian Stith-ASU maj. dec. Robbie Morrison-R 16-5 10-7
165 Dave Miller-R won by forfeit 16-7
174 Doug Umbehauer-R maj. dec. Rick Renzi-ASU 10-0 20-7
184 Jake Crandord-ASU def. Mike Miller-R 4-2 20-10
197 TJ Morrison-R def. Jason Trulson-ASU 2-1 23-10
Hwt Quinton Pruett-ASU def. Nick Ciufo-R 6-0 23-13
