University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Las Vegas Invitational
Wrestlers Take Eighth In Las Vegas Invitational
12/6/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 6, 1999
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The 21st-ranked Panther wrestling team competed in the annual Las Vegas Invitational over the weekend. Pittsburgh's eighth-place finish and 63.50 team points was a drastic improvement from its 1998 28th-place finish (20 points), despite competing in only eight of the ten weight classes. Oklahoma State claimed first place in the tournament with 170 points, while Illinois (142) and Minnesota (123) finished second and third, respectively.
Junior Rob Loper (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and redshirt freshman Carl Fronhofer (Salem, N.Y./Salem) both placed fourth for the Panthers. Loper, ranked 12th (InterMat) at 133 pounds, finished the tournament with a record of 5-2, earning three victories by major decisions. He won four-straight matches in the tournament before falling to Michigan's Joe Warren (10-1). Loper then defeated Brett Lawrence of Minnesota (5-2), but lost to Oklahoma State's Charles Walker (6-2) for his fourth-place finish. His individual record is now 15-3 overall and includes two technical falls and a team-leading seven major decisions.
Fronhofer, ranked 15th, also compiled a 5-2 record at 165 pounds and won one match by a pin over Fresno State's Matt Demers. He fell to Illinois' Bill Zeman in his final match of the tournament to place him fourth. Fronhofer moves to 13-3 overall with two falls and two major decisions.
Senior Mike Ziska (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) finished eighth in the tournament at 157 pounds claiming two major decisions and a technical fall over his opponents. True freshman Justin Giovinco (Norristown, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) pinned his team-leading fifth opponent of the season in the 149- pound weight class and is second on the team after Loper for the most overall victories (14-6).
Sophomore Dan Stine (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) had a fall as well as a double-overtime victory at 197 pounds. Also competing in the tournament were sophomore James Thornton (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) at 125 pounds, 10th-ranked junior Nick Mengerink (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Carey) at 174 pounds and senior Matt Mueller (North Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) at heavyweight.
The Panthers return to the mat in dual competition as they take on their first Eastern Wrestling League opponent of the season when they travel to Bloomsburg on Thursday, Dec. 9. Pittsburgh then visits 11th- ranked Lehigh on Friday, Dec. 10.
