Pitt
VMI
No. 17 Pittsburgh Defeats VMI In Home Opener
11/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 19, 2001
PITTSBURGH--The Pittsburgh wrestling squad, ranked No. 17 in the latest InterMat poll, scored victories in the final four contests to break open a close match, defeating the Virginia Military Institute, 26-10, in the home opener at Fitzgerald Field House Monday evening.
The Panthers (1-1) got on the scoreboard early when 18th-ranked senior Shawn Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity) captured an 8-2 decision over VMI's Oliver Ruiz in the 133-lb. contest. VMI bounced back with a victory by Mark DiSalvo over Pittsburgh senior Blaise Mucci (Blairsville, Pa./Derry Area) at 141 lbs. to tie the match, 3-3.
The Panthers took the lead back with a win by redshirt freshman Rich Boden (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) in the 149-lb. weight class. Boden trailed nearly the entire match before tying it up with a late takedown to force overtime, when he recorded a takedown with just three seconds left in the first overtime period to defeat VMI's Mike Parsons.
Adam Britt evened the score for the Keydets with a 6-2 decision win over Pittsburgh freshman Donald Rush (Avella, Pa./Avella) at 157 lbs. The Panthers reclaimed the lead again when co-captain Carl Fronhofer (Salem, N.Y./Salem), ranked No.9 by InterMat, got a 12-4 major decision over Shannon Meehan in the 165-lb. weight class to give his team a 10-6 overall lead.
VMI made yet another quick comeback with a major decision win by No. 14 Matt Erwin, who defeated Pittsburgh's Rob Black (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel), 15-3, in the 174-lb. contest. That would be the last win of the night for the Keydets, as Panther wrestlers claimed major decision victories in the final four matches.
No. 14 Dan Stine (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) started things off for the Panthers with a 12-3 victory over Jason Cox at 184 lbs. That was followed by 14th-ranked senior David Sandberg (Spokane, Wash./North Central), who topped VMI's Brian Toney, 20-7, in the 197-lb. match. Jacob Lininger (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) kept things going with a 12-2 win over David Walker in the heavyweight match. Redshirt freshman Mike May (Derry Area, Pa./Derry Area) then closed out the match with a 10-2 win over Juan Sanchez.
The Panthers will return to action on Nov. 24, when they will take part in the Lock Haven Invitational. Pittsburgh's next dual meet is the Eastern Wrestling League opener at Bloomsburg, scheduled for Dec. 6.
