February 11, 2004
Haven Wrestlers on the Road in EWL Action Versus #19 West Virginia and Pittsburgh

A LOOK AT #19 WEST VIRGINIA: 
West Virginia has built a 6-4 overall ledger and with a 4-0 mark in the EWL, extended its league win streak to 18 straight matches. League wins this season have come against Bloomsburg (32-7), Clarion (25-15), Pittsburgh (21-13) and most recently, Virginia Tech (39-9). 
         Four Mountaineers are nationally ranked, a group headed up by top-ranked Greg Jones, the 2002 national champion, at 184 pounds. Jones is currently undefeated at 15-0 and leads WVU in falls with five. West Virginia’s 157-pounder Matt Lebe has earned himself a position in the top ten, ranked 10th with a 22-6 overall mark including a 3-0 EWL record. 
         At 141 pounds, the Mountaineers boast No. 15-ranked Joe Clarke who sits at 20-8 on the season. The fourth ranked grappler is No. 18-ranked Matt Daddino at 197 pounds. Daddino has posted a 4-0 mark versus EWL opponents and is 15-5 overall.
        Four other potential starters for the Mountaineers have 10 or more wins including freshman Zach Fryling (15-7) at 165 pounds, senior Casey Brewster (11-9) at 125 pounds, senior Mike Torriero (11-9) at 149 pounds and sophomore Eric Mullen (10-7) at 174 pounds. 

**InterMat rankings.

A LOOK AT PITTSBURGH: 
The University of Pittsburgh Panthers are 7-5 overall and 4-1 in the EWL. Most recently, Pittsburgh defeated Clarion, 19-13, in dual meet action on Tuesday evening. Other league wins have come against Bloomsburg (41-3), Cleveland State (24-15) and Virginia Tech (26-11). The sole EWL loss was to West Virginia, 21-13. 
        The Panthers’ 197-pounder Josh Birt is ranked 19th in the nation, sporting a 16-8 overall record along with a team-leading seven major decisions. 
        Pittsburgh also has four 20-match winners, showing a solid middle-weight lineup from 141 through 157 pounds. At 141 pounds sophomore Ronald Tarquinio is 20-10 on the season. Matt Kocher, a freshman at 149 pounds, is 26-9 and 10-2 in dual meets with four falls and five major decision wins. The Pittsburgh 157-pounder Justin Nestor is 23-12 on the season with a team best of 10 wins by fall.
        The fourth 20-match winner is at 174 pounds, sophomore Francis Iorfido. Iorfido is 22-7 and 9-3 in dual meet action.          
        Veteran Zach Doll is at 165 pounds and has built a 17-5 ledger. Heavyweight Travis Shirley (16-14), 184 pounder Mike Croyle (10-10), Drew Headlee (15-5) at 125 pounds and Mike Ciotti (4-3) at 133 pounds round out the predicted lineup. 

Below is the LHU weight-by-weight preview:

125: Sophomore Jim Collins (Jonestown/Northern Lebanon) dropped to 15-8 overall after two losses this past weekend, suffering a 12-3 major decision versus Cleveland State’s Deonte Penn and a 2-0 decision versus No. 10-ranked Adam Smith of Penn State.

133: Senior Dave Predko (Ridgway/Ridgway) is now 9-7 on the season after a 5-3 decision over Cleveland State’s Kevin Linich. Predko has won four of his last five match-ups. Junior James Barnes (Windsor, Conn./Windsor) went head-to-head against Penn State’s No. 5-ranked Josh Moore, eventually losing by fall to the All-American Nittany Lion to move to 9-9 on the season. 

141: In the toss up at 141 pounds it could be freshman Ian McGoldrick (Brodheadsville/Pleasant Valley) or senior John Holsinger (Pennsbury/Quakertown). McGoldrick is 5-7 on the season. Holsinger is now 3-8 after losing versus both Cleveland State and Penn State opponents.

149: Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) is ranked 11th in the nation, carrying a 27-4 overall mark. Maney posted a 2-0 decision versus Cleveland State’s Matt DePolo but fell victim to a 2-1 decision against (then) No. 11-ranked Matt Storniolo. The loss was his first in dual meet action, making him 9-1 on the season, but the senior is still undefeated, 3-0, in EWL dual meet match-ups.

157: Senior Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) went 1-for-2 this past weekend, picking up a win against EWL opponent Jason Effner, 8-3, but losing in sudden victory, 11-9, against Penn State’s James Woodall. Brenneman is 27-6 overall and has come across one of this week’s potential opponents already this season, defeating Pittsburgh’s Justin Nestor 2-1 in sudden victory in the second round of the Mat-Town USA Tournament.

165: Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) was the only Bald Eagle to pocket wins in both of the weekend’s dual meets, scoring a 14-6 major decision over Jeremy Hart of Penn State and a 10-5 win against Cleveland State’s Matt Klinger. Gilligan is now 13-7 on the season and has won his last four bouts by five points or more.

174: Dan Riggs (Hanover/Delone Catholic) and Derrick Morgan (Milan/Athens) remain the two occupants at 174 pounds for the Bald Eagles. Riggs is now 6-10 after a 1-1 weekend including a 3-1 win against Penn State’s Rich Brooks. Riggs did meet up with one Pittsburgh wrestler at Mat-Town, winning 5-3 over Mike Heist. Morgan is 1-5 on the season.

184: Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) is now 14-12 on the season, winning with a late takedown over Cleveland State’s Ron Howard, 8-6, before a tight 3-1 loss to Penn State’s No. 7-ranked Eric Bradley. 

197: Red-shirt freshman Carlos Ponce (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes) captured his first dual meet victory of the season in the Penn State dual meet, scoring a major decision against A.J. Cummins, 12-4. He is 0-3 against EWL opponents, and has his work cut out for him this week as both West Virginia and Pittsburgh have ranked wrestlers at 197 pounds.

HWT: Steve Itterly (Bethlehem/Nazareth) is now 10-12, unable to come up with a win in either of the past weekend’s match-ups. While Itterly’s match-up against Cleveland State’s No. 14-ranked Russ Davie was close, 1-0, the senior heavyweight took a 10-0 hit versus Penn State’s Josh Walker.

UP NEXT: The Bald Eagles are on the road at Clarion University on Thurs., Feb. 19, for a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Wrestling League match-up. 

###LHU###