Wrestling: One Mountaineer Earns Victory
March 17, 2011 03:24 PM | General
Bout-by-Bout Results Brackets Team ScoresPHILADELPHIA – With five West Virginia wrestlers competing at the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships, redshirt senior Donnie Jones picked up a victory for the team in the opening session Thursday morning at the Wells Fargo Center.
“It wasn’t quite what we expected to start the tournament,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “Our guys drew difficult opponents, but it was a little frustrating to see us not do as well as we were hoping. Donnie (Jones) got a good win for us, so we hope he can keep the momentum going.”
Jones picked up the win for the Mountaineers with an 8-3 decision over Kent State’s No. 33 Ross Tice. In the match, Jones earned two takedowns in the first period and allowed one escape for an early 4-1 lead. The Slickville, Pa., native earned another takedown in the second period while Tice had two escapes. Jones sealed the win with one more takedown in the final period for final score`. He will face Oklahoma’s third-seeded and No. 3-ranked Tyler Caldwell tonight in the championship bracket second round.
Shane Young, ranked No. 26 heading into the match with Harvard’s No. 27 Steven Keith, lost by a close 1-0 decision in the opening round. While neither wrestler scored points in the first two periods, Keith was able to earn two minutes of riding time and then earned an escape early in the third period for the final score. Young managed to decrease the riding time to below one minute, but could not get a takedown in the final moments of the match. He will face Virginia’s No. 18 Matthew Snyder this evening in the first round of wrestlebacks.
“I don’t know if Shane was wrestling like he does every day in practice,” Turnbull says. “We need him to come back hard in wrestlebacks and go as hard as he usually does.”
For the 133-pound class, redshirt freshman Nathan Pennesi was defeated by a 7-0 decision to Central Michigan’s No. 9-ranked and 11th-seeded Scotti Sentes. Pennesi got behind early as Sentes earned a takedown halfway through the first period and added another in the second period while picking up nearly four minutes of riding time. In the third period, Sentes grabbed another takedown and finished the bout with 5:05 of riding time for the 7-0 final tally. Pennesi will wrestle with Oklahoma’s No. 16-ranked Jordan Keller tonight in a wrestleback match.
“I thought Nathan was giving a full effort and doing his best, but his opponent (Sentes) took control of the match and Nathan struggled to get back in it.”
Ahead by a 9-5 score in the second period, WVU 149-pounder Brandon Rader was placed in a difficult position beneath Michigan’s No. 11 Eric Grajales and lost by a fall in 4:51. The redshirt senior earned three takedowns in the first period and allowed just two escapes by Grajales, but the Wolverine matched Rader’s additional takedown and escape in the second period before picking up the fall. Rader will face UNC-Greensboro’s No. 8-ranked Ivan Lopouchanski this evening in wrestlebacks.
“It was hard to see (Brandon) Rader lose the match because he was so dominant in the two periods,” Turnbull says. “He might have started looking at the clock too soon and Grajales took advantage and put him in a difficult spot.”
WVU redshirt junior Matt Ryan ended the first round of play for the Mountaineers with a 10-0 major decision loss to Nebraska’s No. 9-ranked and 10th-seeded Josh Ihnen. Ihnen grabbed a quick takedown in the opening period and nearly defeated Ryan by fall, earning three near-fall points in the process. Ihnen would add two more takedowns in the match along with 1:57 of riding time for the win. Ryan will grapple with Illinois’ Tony Dallago in a wrestleback match later this evening. Ryan has a 1-1 record against Dallago this season as Dallago pinned Ryan at the Las Vegas Invitational while Ryan defeated Dallago in a dual match at Illinois by a 9-4 decision in January.
“We can still get the guys to the podium at the end of the tournament, but they’ll need to go hard the rest of the way because their backs are to the wall,” Turnbull says. “They will need to battle and find ways to win because they are facing the nation’s best.”
Penn State is in the lead with 20 points while Iowa is close behind with 18 points. Cornell stands in third with 16.5 and Wisconsin is in fourth with 15 points.
WVU Session 1 Results
125
1st Round: No. 27 Steven Keith (Harvard)(23-15) dec. No. 26 Shane Young (28-9), 1-0
133
1st Round: No. 9 (11th seed) Scotti Sentes (C. Michigan)(31-6) dec. No. 18 Nathan Pennesi (24-7), 7-0
149
1st Round: No. 11 Eric Grajales (Michigan)(17-12) won by fall No. 30 Brandon Rader (14-10), 4:51
165
1st Round: No. 22 Donnie Jones (20-4) dec. No. 33 Ross Tice (Kent St.)(28-13), 8-3
184
1st Round: No. 9 (10th seed) Josh Ihnen (Nebraska)(26-8) maj. dec. No. 29 Matt Ryan (20-8), 10-0
Thursday evening: Session II (Second Round Championship bracket, First Round Wrestlebacks)
125
Wrestleback 1: No. 26 Shane Young (28-9) vs. No. 18 Matthew Snyder (Virginia)(23-10)
133
Wrestleback 1: No. 18 Nathan Pennesi (24-7) vs. No. 16 Jordan Keller (Oklahoma)(17-10)
149
Wrestleback 1: No. 30 Brandon Rader (14-10) vs. No. 8 Ivan Lopouchanski (UNC-Greens.)(38-9)
165
2nd Round: No. 22 Donnie Jones (20-4) vs. No.3 (3rd seed) Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma)(29-5)
184
Wrestleback 1: No. 29 Matt Ryan (20-8) vs. No. 19 Tony Dallago (Illinois)(16-16)
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