Wrestling: Regular Season Ends at Home
February 17, 2011 06:05 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – With the Eastern Wrestling League Championships just over two weeks away, the West Virginia wrestling team concludes the dual meet season this weekend with matches at home against No. 20 Edinboro and Cleveland State.
The Mountaineers face the Fighting Scots on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. for Senior Night before competing against the Vikings on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
“Edinboro will be a very tough match for us,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “They have a nationally ranked wrestler in most of their weight classes and will present a great challenge for us. Cleveland State has been down a little bit this year and I would like to think that we should be dominant in that match, but you never know what to expect.”
Edinboro leads the all-time series at 13-8-2, with last year’s meeting resulting in a 29-6 victory for Edinboro. The last time the Mountaineers defeated the Fighting Scots was in 2003 by a 19-14 score, but had ties with them in 2005 (20-20) and 2009 (19-19).
Both squads feature five nationally ranked wrestlers with the Mountaineers boasting No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (133 pounds) while Edinboro has the nation’s No. 1 wrestler in 184-pounder Chris Honeycutt. Key matchups include Pennesi against Edinboro’s No. 15 Eric Morrill and No. 20 Brandon Rader against No. 15 Torsten Gillespie.
Morrill wrestled at 125 pounds last year, when he was twice defeated by WVU’s Shane Young. At 197 pounds, senior Kyle Rooney will once again face Edinboro’s Shawn Fendone, who defeated Rooney twice last season.
“Their 133-pounder and their 149 guy are very tough and their 157-pounder has a winning record,” Turnbull says. “At 184 pounds, they have a wrestler who is arguably the best wrestler in the country for that class. That’s a lot of weight classes that they objectively could be favored in.”
Edinboro enters the match with an 8-9-1 record, but is equal to the Mountaineers with a 3-1 EWL tally.
“They have not had the year they were expecting, but how they match up with us is concerning,” Turnbull says. “It’s going to take a well-wrestled match on our part to come out with a win. If they take matches that we expect to win, then that’s going to present a big problem for us. It will be a challenge for us to come out on top.”
Cleveland State will enter the matchup on Saturday night with a 3-12, 0-5 record. They feature a ranked wrestler in No. 29 Robbie Michaels at 165 pounds with a 20-7 record, where he will face WVU redshirt senior Donnie Jones, currently ranked No. 20 with a 15-3 mark.
Friday night’s bout with Edinboro is Senior Night, when WVU will bid farewell to redshirt seniors Rader and Jones, senior Rooney and redshirt juniors Robert DeSano, Kyle Eason, Christian Mory and Matt Weston.
“Whenever you have seniors coming out for their final match at home, you can always attach the word ‘special’ to it,” Turnbull says. “This is such a challenging sport that the people that commit to it for 4-5 years make a lasting impression on the program. Each time we get to Senior Night, it’s a time to reflect for that individual and for us as coaches that these are student-athletes who committed to the program and have contributed significantly. Whether they have a tremendous amount of varsity matches or not, they have put themselves in a position to help us and the program is forever better because of their efforts.
“We’ll miss this class of seniors very much and we’re grateful for the time they put in to helping us improve the program.”
The EWL Championships take place on Sunday, March 6, in Bloomsburg, Pa.
Live footage of the matches this weekend can be seen on Mountaineer TV, accessible from the home page of www.MSNsportsNET.com.
West Virginia vs. No. 20 Edinboro
125: No. 21 Shane Young (So., 24-7) vs. Bijan Banks (r-Fr., 0-20)
133: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (r-Fr., 22-4) vs. No. 15 Eric Morrill (Sr., 18-8)
141: Michael Morales (Fr., 13-10) vs. Kasey Davis (Fr., 18-12)
149: No. 20 Brandon Rader (r-Sr., 11-7) vs. No. 15 Torsten Gillespie (Jr., 17-8)
157: Ryan Goodman (r-Jr., 11-14) vs. No. 23 Johnny Greisheimer (So., 19-11)
165: No. 20 Donnie Jones (r-Sr., 15-3) vs. Ethan Saylor (Fr., 6-18)
174: Alex Meade (r-So., 3-2) vs. Chris Hrunka (Jr., 14-15)
184: No. 20 Matt Ryan (r-Jr., 16-5) vs. No. 1 Chris Honeycutt (Jr., 22-0)
197: Kyle Rooney (Sr., 8-9) vs. No. 24 Shawn Fendone (Sr., 21-9)
HWT: Philip Mandzik (Jr., 8-16) vs. Ernest James (r-Fr., 14-13)
West Virginia vs. Cleveland State
125: No. 21 Shane Young (So., 24-7) vs. Ben Willeford (Fr., 10-19)
133: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (r-Fr., 22-4) vs. Nick Flannery (Fr., 12-16)
141: Michael Morales (Fr., 13-10) vs. Josh Palivoda (Jr., 6-16)
149: No. 20 Brandon Rader (r-Sr., 11-7) vs. Lawrence Cavello (Jr., 12-18)
157: Ryan Goodman (r-Jr., 11-14) vs. Matt Donohoe (Fr., 12-15)
165: No. 20 Donnie Jones (r-Sr., 15-3) vs. No. 29 Robbie Michaels (Sr., 20-7)
174: Alex Meade (r-So., 3-2) vs. Aric Thurn (So., 9-17)
184: No. 20 Matt Ryan (r-Jr., 16-5) vs. Corbin Boone (Fr., 5-17)
197: Kyle Rooney (Sr., 8-9) vs. Nick Anthony (So., 4-17)
HWT: Philip Mandzik (Jr., 8-16) vs. Chris Weber (So., 7-18)
The Mountaineers face the Fighting Scots on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. for Senior Night before competing against the Vikings on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
“Edinboro will be a very tough match for us,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “They have a nationally ranked wrestler in most of their weight classes and will present a great challenge for us. Cleveland State has been down a little bit this year and I would like to think that we should be dominant in that match, but you never know what to expect.”
Edinboro leads the all-time series at 13-8-2, with last year’s meeting resulting in a 29-6 victory for Edinboro. The last time the Mountaineers defeated the Fighting Scots was in 2003 by a 19-14 score, but had ties with them in 2005 (20-20) and 2009 (19-19).
Both squads feature five nationally ranked wrestlers with the Mountaineers boasting No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (133 pounds) while Edinboro has the nation’s No. 1 wrestler in 184-pounder Chris Honeycutt. Key matchups include Pennesi against Edinboro’s No. 15 Eric Morrill and No. 20 Brandon Rader against No. 15 Torsten Gillespie.
Morrill wrestled at 125 pounds last year, when he was twice defeated by WVU’s Shane Young. At 197 pounds, senior Kyle Rooney will once again face Edinboro’s Shawn Fendone, who defeated Rooney twice last season.
“Their 133-pounder and their 149 guy are very tough and their 157-pounder has a winning record,” Turnbull says. “At 184 pounds, they have a wrestler who is arguably the best wrestler in the country for that class. That’s a lot of weight classes that they objectively could be favored in.”
Edinboro enters the match with an 8-9-1 record, but is equal to the Mountaineers with a 3-1 EWL tally.
“They have not had the year they were expecting, but how they match up with us is concerning,” Turnbull says. “It’s going to take a well-wrestled match on our part to come out with a win. If they take matches that we expect to win, then that’s going to present a big problem for us. It will be a challenge for us to come out on top.”
Cleveland State will enter the matchup on Saturday night with a 3-12, 0-5 record. They feature a ranked wrestler in No. 29 Robbie Michaels at 165 pounds with a 20-7 record, where he will face WVU redshirt senior Donnie Jones, currently ranked No. 20 with a 15-3 mark.
Friday night’s bout with Edinboro is Senior Night, when WVU will bid farewell to redshirt seniors Rader and Jones, senior Rooney and redshirt juniors Robert DeSano, Kyle Eason, Christian Mory and Matt Weston.
“Whenever you have seniors coming out for their final match at home, you can always attach the word ‘special’ to it,” Turnbull says. “This is such a challenging sport that the people that commit to it for 4-5 years make a lasting impression on the program. Each time we get to Senior Night, it’s a time to reflect for that individual and for us as coaches that these are student-athletes who committed to the program and have contributed significantly. Whether they have a tremendous amount of varsity matches or not, they have put themselves in a position to help us and the program is forever better because of their efforts.
“We’ll miss this class of seniors very much and we’re grateful for the time they put in to helping us improve the program.”
The EWL Championships take place on Sunday, March 6, in Bloomsburg, Pa.
Live footage of the matches this weekend can be seen on Mountaineer TV, accessible from the home page of www.MSNsportsNET.com.
West Virginia vs. No. 20 Edinboro
125: No. 21 Shane Young (So., 24-7) vs. Bijan Banks (r-Fr., 0-20)
133: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (r-Fr., 22-4) vs. No. 15 Eric Morrill (Sr., 18-8)
141: Michael Morales (Fr., 13-10) vs. Kasey Davis (Fr., 18-12)
149: No. 20 Brandon Rader (r-Sr., 11-7) vs. No. 15 Torsten Gillespie (Jr., 17-8)
157: Ryan Goodman (r-Jr., 11-14) vs. No. 23 Johnny Greisheimer (So., 19-11)
165: No. 20 Donnie Jones (r-Sr., 15-3) vs. Ethan Saylor (Fr., 6-18)
174: Alex Meade (r-So., 3-2) vs. Chris Hrunka (Jr., 14-15)
184: No. 20 Matt Ryan (r-Jr., 16-5) vs. No. 1 Chris Honeycutt (Jr., 22-0)
197: Kyle Rooney (Sr., 8-9) vs. No. 24 Shawn Fendone (Sr., 21-9)
HWT: Philip Mandzik (Jr., 8-16) vs. Ernest James (r-Fr., 14-13)
West Virginia vs. Cleveland State
125: No. 21 Shane Young (So., 24-7) vs. Ben Willeford (Fr., 10-19)
133: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (r-Fr., 22-4) vs. Nick Flannery (Fr., 12-16)
141: Michael Morales (Fr., 13-10) vs. Josh Palivoda (Jr., 6-16)
149: No. 20 Brandon Rader (r-Sr., 11-7) vs. Lawrence Cavello (Jr., 12-18)
157: Ryan Goodman (r-Jr., 11-14) vs. Matt Donohoe (Fr., 12-15)
165: No. 20 Donnie Jones (r-Sr., 15-3) vs. No. 29 Robbie Michaels (Sr., 20-7)
174: Alex Meade (r-So., 3-2) vs. Aric Thurn (So., 9-17)
184: No. 20 Matt Ryan (r-Jr., 16-5) vs. Corbin Boone (Fr., 5-17)
197: Kyle Rooney (Sr., 8-9) vs. Nick Anthony (So., 4-17)
HWT: Philip Mandzik (Jr., 8-16) vs. Chris Weber (So., 7-18)
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