Pitt
Slippery Rock
Pittsburgh Wins Fourth Consecutive Dual Meet With 28-9 Victory Over Slippery Rock
1/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 9, 2002
PITTSBURGH-Despite being without three of its starters, the Pittsburgh wrestling team, ranked 18th in the lates National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll, won seven of 10 matches and cruised to a 28-9 victory over Slippery Rock.
The win was the Panthers' fourth consecutive in dual meets since opening the season with a loss to No. 16 Lehigh. Pittsburgh (4-1) lost the first match, but won seven of the final nine including four in a row at one point to defeat The Rock.
Josh McCullough (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) wrestled his first match of the 2001-02 season at heavyweight in place of starter Jacob Lininger (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) and lost to The Rock's Bob McKillop, 7-0, to begin the match.
Pittsburgh tied the score at 3-3 with a win by redshirt freshman Mike May (Derry Area, Pa./Derry Area) over Adam Renner, 6-4. The Panthers got their first lead of the evening in the 133-pound match as senior Shawn Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity) dominated Chris Matarrese, 8-2, allowing just two escape points in the win.
Slippery Rock was able to tie the score at 6-6 when Erick Eyth defeated replacement starter Bill Mowbray (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) at 141 pounds by a score of 8-3. The Panthers won the next four matches to gain a commanding 24-6 advantage.
In the closest match of the evening, Justin Giovinco (Norristown, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) scored a sudden victory over Brad Cieleski, 3-1, at 0:25 of the first overtime period. In the 157-pound match, sophomore Zach Doll (Quakertown, Pa./The Hill School) pinned Justin Stamm at 2:12 of the first period for six team points. It was Doll's third pinfall victory of the year and 12th of his short career.
Carl Fronhofer (Salem, N.Y./Salem) controlled The Rock's John Hawn for the entire match at 165 pounds, scoring a technicall fall victory with a three-point near fall for five team points. The final of the match was 21-6 and the technical fall came at the completion of the match.
The Panthers' Matt Catullo (Oakmont, Pa./Riverview) picked up another four points with a major decision win over Randy Cimino by a score of 21-9 before The Rock won its third match of the evening at 184 pounds. John Opfar got a late takedown to defeat Steve Selcher (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), who was wrestling his first dual meet of the season, by a score of 3-1.
In the final match of the evening, David Sandberg (Spokane, Wash./North Central) dominated Corey Hart, 15-2, to earn four points with a major decision.
Pittsburgh (4-1) will travel to Hampton, Va., to compete in the Virginia Duals this Friday and Saturday, January 11-12. The next home meet will be a quad match with Duquesne, Franklin & Marshall and Eastern Michigan. The first dual meet will begin at noon on Jan. 19 at Fitzgerald Field House.
