Cornell leads Lehigh by one-half point after semifinals of EIWA Championships in Annapolis, Md.

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
03/05/2005


Cornell, led by six semifinal winners, grabbed a razor-thin 1/2 point lead over Lehigh, with five semifinal winners, after the semifinals and first consolation round of the day at the EIWA Championships in Annapolis, Md.    A key win for Cornell was at 174 pounds, where No. 3 Joe Mazzurco defeated No. 2 Travis Frick of Lehigh, 3-1 in overtime, on a takedown to break the 1-1 tie. Cornell also beat Lehigh in their other head-to-head bout, with No. 1. Dustin Manotti stopping No. 5. Matt Anderson, of Lehigh, 10-2 at 149 pounds.    Two more rounds of consolations will be held in the morning session, with all of the medals determined, prior to the championship finals this evening.     EIWA semifinal summaries    125 pounds  No. 1 Robbie Preston, Harvard, dec. No. 5. Mason Lenhard, Penn, 4-2  Preston scored a first-period takedown on a shrug, and led 2-0 after the first period. A second period escape gave Preston a 3-0 lead after two periods. Lenhard scored a reversal in the third to close it to 3-2, but a Preston escape made it the final 4-2 score.    No. 2. Mike Mormile, Cornell dec. No. 3. Jeff Sato, Columbia, 2-1  Sato almost pulled the upset in a match with little effective techniques. There were no takedowns, and Sato escaped in the second period for a 1-0. In the third period, Sato rode Mormile effectively, although he was warned for stalling midway. However, with three seconds left on the clock, Mormile scored a reversal for the 2-1 win    133 pounds   No. 1. Travis Lee, Cornell pin No. 5. Tony Severo, Army, 1:44  Lee opened the match quickly with a takedown, then a three point exposure for a 5-0 lead. After a Severo escape, Lee scored another takedown for a 7-1 lead. Using an effective turn, Lee then put Severo on his back to secure the first period pin.    No. 2. Matt Ciasulli, Lehigh dec. No. 3. Sam Gray, Navy, 3-0  After a scoreless first period, Ciasulli earned a second-period escape. With the third period starting in neutral, Ciasulli added a takedown for the 3-0 lead, then rode Gray out with crab rides and put in a leg for the shutout win.    141 pounds  No. 1. Cory Cooperman, Lehigh dec. No. 4. Patrick Simpson, Army, 11-3  Cooperman was in control for the win, pouring on the points late in the bout. The first period ended 2-1, after a Cooperman takedown and Simpson escape. An escape and takedown by Cooperman in the second made it 5-1. Simpson scored a third period takedown to close it to 5-3, but tried a desperation throw, which Cooperman countered for a takedown and three backpoints, making it 10-3. A riding time point added another for Cooperman's 11-3 win.    No. 2. Nate Gulosh, Navy dec. No. 3. Doug McGraw, Penn, 5-1  Gulosh won the scramble situations here, starting the match off with a first-period takedown for a 2-0 lead. A second period escape made it 3-0 for Gulosh. McGraw escaped in the third period, closing it to 3-1, but Gulosh added a takedown with five seconds left for the 5-1 win    149 pounds  No. 1. Dustin Manotti, Cornell dec. No. 5. Matt Anderson, Lehigh, 10-2  Manotti had little trouble beating the taller Anderson, jumping to a 7-1 lead in the first period. A takedown and two-point tilt gave him a 5-0 lead. After Anderson escaped, another Manotti takedown made it 7-1. There was no second period scoring, as Manotti racked up riding time. In the third, Manotti scored another takedown, and adding a riding time point, came out with a 10-2 win.    No. 2. Philip Simpson, Army dec. No. 3. John Cox, Navy, 5-0  Simpson was in control the entire bout, jumping to a 4-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and a tilt. Simpson added over four minutes of riding time to make the final score 5-0,    157 pounds  No. 1. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, American dec. No. 4. Devin Mesanko, Columbia, 6-4  Mesanko gave Abdurakhmanov a tough battle the entire match. The first period ended tied at 3-3 as both wrestlers scored a takedown and an escape. Mesanko actually scored first in the match. Abdurakhmanov scored an escape and takedown in the second period to stretch the score to 6-3. Mesanko came back with a third-period escape, but could not get a takedown, and Abdurakhmanov emerged with the win.    No. 2. Derek Zinck, Lehigh vs. No. 3. Mike Parziale, F&M, 9-5  Frick opened quickly, scoring three takedowns and allowing two escapes for a 6-2 first-period lead. Parizale scored a takedown in the second period, along with a Zinck escape, and the period ended 8-4. Parizale added an escape, but was penalized for stalling late in the match, giving Zinck the 9-5 win    165 pounds  No. 1. Troy Letters, Lehigh dec. No. 4. Craig Dziewiatkowski, Navy, 10-2  Letters was in command, but opened a bit slowly, scoring the only takedown in the first period for a 2-0 lead. In the second period, two more Letters takedowns and an escape, to go with one Dziewakowski escape made it 7-1. Dziewiatkowski added a second escape in the final period, but Letters scored his fourth takedown, and added riding time, for the 10-2 win    No. 2. Matt Palmer, Columbia dec. No. 6. Joey Hooker, Cornell, 4-2  The first period was scoreless, and Palmer scored a second-period escape for a 1-0 lead. In the third period, Palmer added a two-point tilt, for a 3-0 lead. Palmer allowed two points late in the match, including a stalling penalty, but a riding time point made it 4-2.    174 pounds  No. 1. Andy Roy, Rutgers vs. No. 4. Daniel Waters, American, 10-10, ot, :02 riding advantage  Roy escaped with a hard-fought overtime win over a determined Waters. Roy scored two takedowns and allowed two escapes for a 4-2 lead after one period. In the second, Waters escaped and scored a takedown for a 5-4 lead, but Roy tied it at 5-5 with an escape. The third period saw a Roy escape, a Waters takedown and a Roy escape for the final 7-7 tie. The overtime was very close. There was no takedown in the first 1:00 on the feet. Waters and Roy both got escapes in the first :30 mat periods, with Waters up by 2 seconds riding time. After another scoreless takedown period, the match was decided on the mat. Waters got a reversal for two points but Roy got an escape for a 10-9 score in the first 30 seconds. In the second, Roy escaped for a 10-10 tie, but this time, Roy had the riding advantage of 2 seconds.    No. 3. Joe Mazzurco, Cornell dec. No. 2. Travis Frick, Lehigh, 3-1, ot  This match could prove key to the team race. After there was no takedown, both athletes received an escape when they were on bottom, ending the regulation at 1-1. In the overtime period from their feet, Mazzurco hit an ankle pick for the winning takedown, and a big win for the Big Red.    184 pounds  No. 1. Tyler Baier, Cornell dec. No. 5. Chris Ressa, Rutgers, 5-0  Baier came on strong late to win this close match. There were no takedowns, but Baier was very dominant on the top in the second period, riding the entire period, and Ressa was penalized for stalling from the bottom. In the third period, Baier added an escape, a takedown and a riding time point for the solid win.    No. 2. Josh Glenn, American vs. No. 3. Luke Calvert, Army, 9-2  Glenn started strongly, with a takedown and a two point tilt for a 4-0 lead, although Calvert added an escape to make it 4-1 after the first period. The second period saw an escape for each wrestler, but Glenn earned the takedown from the feet for a 7-2 lead. In the third period, which started in neutral, Glenn added another takedown with eight seconds left for the 9-2 win.    197 pounds  No. 1. Jon Trenge, Lehigh pin No. 4. Jake Butler, Princeton, 1:44  Trenge scored a quick takedown, and Butler responded with an escape for a 2-1 Trenge lead. Trenge hit a slick lateral drop throw from his feet, putting Butler right onto his back, and he pressed for the first-period fall.    No. 2. Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell dec. No. 6. Todd Wisman, Army, 11-0  This match was no contest, as Rinaldi opened quickly with a takedown and a three-point backpoint turn. He led 8-0 in the third period, and to add insult to injury, scored a takedown with two seconds left, plus the riding time point, for the 11-point margin.    285 pounds  No. 1.