Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, November 24
Fargo, ND
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4
vs
36
Minnesota
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles Finish 2-1 in Three Dual Matches at Bison Quad
11/24/2012 9:25:00 PM | Wrestling
EMU beats host No. 24 NDSU in thrilling rubber match
FARGO, N.D. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team went 2-1 at the Bison Quad Saturday, Nov. 24, with victories over Itasca Community College, 57-0, and No. 24 North Dakota State University, 18-17, along with a setback to No. 2 University of Minnesota, 36-4. The victory over NDSU marked the first time the Eagles (2-3) knocked off a ranked opponent since Derek DelPorto took over as EMU Head Coach in the 2006-07 season.
The Eagles received a 3-0 effort from redshirt freshman Vincent Pizzuto (133 lbs.), who notched a fall, major decision and decision on the afternoon. Pizzuto improves to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in regular-season duals.
“Vinny had a 3-0 day because he wrestles from whistle to whistle,” said Head Coach Derek DelPorto. “That kind of wrestling pays off almost every time.”
Redshirt senior Aaron Sulzer (157 lbs.), redshirt junior Justin Melick (149 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Anthony Abro (197 lbs.) also won two matches apiece with victories against Itasca and North Dakota State.
EMU started the day facing the Golden Gophers, who entered the weekend ranked first in the country according to several national polls. Minnesota sent seven nationally-ranked wrestlers into action against the Eagles and won nine-of-10 matches to walk away winners by 32 points.
Pizzuto was the lone EMU wrestler to win a match against Minnesota, earning a major decision over Jordan Kingsley, 12-2, at 133 lbs. At 157 lbs., redshirt senior Aaron Sulzer nearly pulled off a victory, but surrendered two points in overtime to walk away with a 3-1 loss.
“I think we took some really positive things away from that match regardless of the score,” said DelPorto. “We wrestled pretty hard and probably better against them than Michigan State and Clarion.”
Itasca stood little chance in the middle contest against an Eagles' squad which scored 57 of the maximum 60 points. EMU won seven matches by fall, one by technical fall, one by major decision and another by forfeit. Redshirt junior No. 19 Jared Germaine set the tone with a pin of Julian Valhuerdi at 1:19. Pizzuto, redshirt junior Mike LeHolm and redshirt freshman Justin Melick also registered falls in consecutive bouts.
After a Sulzer technical fall and a major decision from redshirt sophomore Jacob Dorulla, redshirt sophomore Mike Curby, redshirt junior Phillip Joseph and redshirt sophomore Anthony Abro turned in a pin apiece. Redshirt senior Chris Eggert earned a victory by way of forfeit at heavyweight.
EMU's final match of the day was against the host Bison, who had also lost to Minnesota and beaten Itasca. Following Germaine's second loss of the day against a ranked wrestler, No. 13 Trent Sprenkle, Pizzuto tied the dual, 3-3, with a 4-3 decision over Joshua Rodriguez at 133 lbs.
The Green and White would go on to win the next three matches and take a 15-3 stranglehold on the Bison. Seth Schaner scored five first-period points en route to a 6-4 decision at 141 lbs. Melick followed that up with his second pin of the day at the 4:57 mark of the 149 lbs. match and Sulzer won for a second-straight bout, 8-5
NDSU tried to mount a comeback over the next three matches, winning a pair of major decisions and a decision. Two nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 11 Steven Monk (165 lbs.) and No. 17 MacKain Stoll (184 lbs.) combined for seven team points and Kurtis Julson (174 lbs.) turned in additional three to make it a 15-14 contest with to matches left.
Abro stopped the Bisons' streak at 197 lbs. and won what proved to be the clinching match for the Eagles. The redshirt freshman kept his opponent Kellen Kleinschmidt off the scoreboard for the entire seven minutes en route to a 3-0 decision.
With the score 18-14, the Bison still had a chance for a comeback with a major decision, technical fall or pin. But redshirt junior David Box kept his first bout of the regular season within decision range against Evan Knutson, losing 10-7. EMU remained on top for good, 18-17.
“Anthony came through in a big way to put us up by four going into the heavyweight match,” DelPorto added. “North Dakota State has a nice team. I think we caught a few breaks to win, but sometimes that is a necessary component of competition.”
The Eagles wrap up the month of November with a home tussle against Cleveland State University Friday, Nov. 30, inside Bowen Field House. The match will get underway at 7 p.m.
No. 2 MINNESOTA 36 EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
125: No 6. David Thorn (Minn.) dec. No. 19 Jared Germaine (EMU), 5-1 MINN 3 EMU 0
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) maj. dec. Jordan Kingsley (Minn.), 12-2 EMU 4 MINN 3
141: No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minn.) maj. dec. Mike LeHolm (EMU), 14-5 MINN 7 EMU 4
149: Seth Lange (Minn.) dec. Justin Melick (EMU), 7-0 MINN 10 EMU 4
157: Brad Dolezal (Minn.) dec. Aaron Sulzer (EMU), 3-1 (OT) MINN 13 EMU 4
165: No. 9 Cody Yohn (Minn.) fall Jacob Dorulla (EMU), 4:51 MINN 19 EMU 4
174: No. 5 Logan Storley (Minn.) maj. dec. Mike Curby (EMU), 18-6 MINN 23 EMU 4
184: No. 4 Kevin Steinhaus (Minn.) maj. dec. Phillip Joseph (EMU), 14-4 MINN 27 EMU 4
197: No. 11 Scott Schiller (Minn.) dec. Anthony Abro (EMU), 8-2 MINN 30 EMU 4
285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minn.) fall Chris Eggert (EMU), 2:57 MINN 36 EMU 4
EASTERN MICHIGAN 57 ITASCA C.C. 0
125: No. 19 Jared Germaine (EMU) fall Julian Valhuerdi (ITA), 1:19 EMU 6 ITA 0
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) fall Justin Valhuerdi (ITA), 3:25 EMU 12 ITA 0
141: Mike LeHolm (EMU) fall Zach Matthys (ITA), 3:42 EMU 18 ITA 0
149: Justin Melick (EMU) fall Tom Gullickson (ITA), 5:00 EMU 24 ITA 0
157: Aaron Sulzer (EMU) tech. fall David Booth (ITA), 6:05 EMU 29 ITA 0
165: Jacob Dorulla (EMU) maj. dec. Luke Copp (ITA), 11-3 EMU 33 ITA 0
174: Mike Curby (EMU) fall Matt Mason (ITA), 4:14 EMU 39 ITA 0
184: Phillip Joseph (EMU) fall Vernon Rash (ITA), 6:04 EMU 45 ITA 0
197: Anthony Abro (EMU) fall James Northrup (ITA), 1:02 EMU 51 ITA 0
285: Chris Eggert (EMU) forfeit, EMU 57 ITA 0
EASTERN MICHIGAN 18 No. 24 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 17
125: No. 13 Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) dec. Jared Germaine (EMU), 8-3 NDSU 3 EMU 0
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) dec. Joshua Rodriguez (NDSU), 4-3 EMU 3 NDSU 3
141: Seth Schaner (EMU) dec. Mark Erickson (NDSU), 6-4 EMU 6 NDSU 3
149: Justin Melick (EMU) fall Joseph Garner (NDSU), 4:57 EMU 12 NDSU 3
157: Aaron Sulzer (EMU) dec. Hayden Zillmer (NDSU), 8-5 EMU 15 NDSU 3
165: No. 11 Steven Monk (NDSU) maj. dec. Jacob Dorulla (EMU), 14-5 EMU 15 NDSU 7
174: Kurtis Julson (NDSU) maj. dec. Mike Cuby (EMU), 9-0 EMU 15 NDSU 11
184: No. 17 MacKain Stoll (NDSU) dec. Phillip Joseph (EMU), 5-3 (OT) EMU 15 NDSU 14
197: Anthony Abro (EMU) dec. Kallen Kleinschmidt (NDSU), 3-0 EMU 18 NDSU 14
285: Evan Knutson (NDSU) dec. David Box (EMU), 10-7 EMU 18 NDSU 17
The Eagles received a 3-0 effort from redshirt freshman Vincent Pizzuto (133 lbs.), who notched a fall, major decision and decision on the afternoon. Pizzuto improves to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in regular-season duals.
“Vinny had a 3-0 day because he wrestles from whistle to whistle,” said Head Coach Derek DelPorto. “That kind of wrestling pays off almost every time.”
Redshirt senior Aaron Sulzer (157 lbs.), redshirt junior Justin Melick (149 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Anthony Abro (197 lbs.) also won two matches apiece with victories against Itasca and North Dakota State.
EMU started the day facing the Golden Gophers, who entered the weekend ranked first in the country according to several national polls. Minnesota sent seven nationally-ranked wrestlers into action against the Eagles and won nine-of-10 matches to walk away winners by 32 points.
Pizzuto was the lone EMU wrestler to win a match against Minnesota, earning a major decision over Jordan Kingsley, 12-2, at 133 lbs. At 157 lbs., redshirt senior Aaron Sulzer nearly pulled off a victory, but surrendered two points in overtime to walk away with a 3-1 loss.
“I think we took some really positive things away from that match regardless of the score,” said DelPorto. “We wrestled pretty hard and probably better against them than Michigan State and Clarion.”
Itasca stood little chance in the middle contest against an Eagles' squad which scored 57 of the maximum 60 points. EMU won seven matches by fall, one by technical fall, one by major decision and another by forfeit. Redshirt junior No. 19 Jared Germaine set the tone with a pin of Julian Valhuerdi at 1:19. Pizzuto, redshirt junior Mike LeHolm and redshirt freshman Justin Melick also registered falls in consecutive bouts.
After a Sulzer technical fall and a major decision from redshirt sophomore Jacob Dorulla, redshirt sophomore Mike Curby, redshirt junior Phillip Joseph and redshirt sophomore Anthony Abro turned in a pin apiece. Redshirt senior Chris Eggert earned a victory by way of forfeit at heavyweight.
EMU's final match of the day was against the host Bison, who had also lost to Minnesota and beaten Itasca. Following Germaine's second loss of the day against a ranked wrestler, No. 13 Trent Sprenkle, Pizzuto tied the dual, 3-3, with a 4-3 decision over Joshua Rodriguez at 133 lbs.
The Green and White would go on to win the next three matches and take a 15-3 stranglehold on the Bison. Seth Schaner scored five first-period points en route to a 6-4 decision at 141 lbs. Melick followed that up with his second pin of the day at the 4:57 mark of the 149 lbs. match and Sulzer won for a second-straight bout, 8-5
NDSU tried to mount a comeback over the next three matches, winning a pair of major decisions and a decision. Two nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 11 Steven Monk (165 lbs.) and No. 17 MacKain Stoll (184 lbs.) combined for seven team points and Kurtis Julson (174 lbs.) turned in additional three to make it a 15-14 contest with to matches left.
Abro stopped the Bisons' streak at 197 lbs. and won what proved to be the clinching match for the Eagles. The redshirt freshman kept his opponent Kellen Kleinschmidt off the scoreboard for the entire seven minutes en route to a 3-0 decision.
With the score 18-14, the Bison still had a chance for a comeback with a major decision, technical fall or pin. But redshirt junior David Box kept his first bout of the regular season within decision range against Evan Knutson, losing 10-7. EMU remained on top for good, 18-17.
“Anthony came through in a big way to put us up by four going into the heavyweight match,” DelPorto added. “North Dakota State has a nice team. I think we caught a few breaks to win, but sometimes that is a necessary component of competition.”
The Eagles wrap up the month of November with a home tussle against Cleveland State University Friday, Nov. 30, inside Bowen Field House. The match will get underway at 7 p.m.
No. 2 MINNESOTA 36 EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
125: No 6. David Thorn (Minn.) dec. No. 19 Jared Germaine (EMU), 5-1 MINN 3 EMU 0
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) maj. dec. Jordan Kingsley (Minn.), 12-2 EMU 4 MINN 3
141: No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minn.) maj. dec. Mike LeHolm (EMU), 14-5 MINN 7 EMU 4
149: Seth Lange (Minn.) dec. Justin Melick (EMU), 7-0 MINN 10 EMU 4
157: Brad Dolezal (Minn.) dec. Aaron Sulzer (EMU), 3-1 (OT) MINN 13 EMU 4
165: No. 9 Cody Yohn (Minn.) fall Jacob Dorulla (EMU), 4:51 MINN 19 EMU 4
174: No. 5 Logan Storley (Minn.) maj. dec. Mike Curby (EMU), 18-6 MINN 23 EMU 4
184: No. 4 Kevin Steinhaus (Minn.) maj. dec. Phillip Joseph (EMU), 14-4 MINN 27 EMU 4
197: No. 11 Scott Schiller (Minn.) dec. Anthony Abro (EMU), 8-2 MINN 30 EMU 4
285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minn.) fall Chris Eggert (EMU), 2:57 MINN 36 EMU 4
EASTERN MICHIGAN 57 ITASCA C.C. 0
125: No. 19 Jared Germaine (EMU) fall Julian Valhuerdi (ITA), 1:19 EMU 6 ITA 0
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) fall Justin Valhuerdi (ITA), 3:25 EMU 12 ITA 0
141: Mike LeHolm (EMU) fall Zach Matthys (ITA), 3:42 EMU 18 ITA 0
149: Justin Melick (EMU) fall Tom Gullickson (ITA), 5:00 EMU 24 ITA 0
157: Aaron Sulzer (EMU) tech. fall David Booth (ITA), 6:05 EMU 29 ITA 0
165: Jacob Dorulla (EMU) maj. dec. Luke Copp (ITA), 11-3 EMU 33 ITA 0
174: Mike Curby (EMU) fall Matt Mason (ITA), 4:14 EMU 39 ITA 0
184: Phillip Joseph (EMU) fall Vernon Rash (ITA), 6:04 EMU 45 ITA 0
197: Anthony Abro (EMU) fall James Northrup (ITA), 1:02 EMU 51 ITA 0
285: Chris Eggert (EMU) forfeit, EMU 57 ITA 0
EASTERN MICHIGAN 18 No. 24 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 17
125: No. 13 Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) dec. Jared Germaine (EMU), 8-3 NDSU 3 EMU 0
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) dec. Joshua Rodriguez (NDSU), 4-3 EMU 3 NDSU 3
141: Seth Schaner (EMU) dec. Mark Erickson (NDSU), 6-4 EMU 6 NDSU 3
149: Justin Melick (EMU) fall Joseph Garner (NDSU), 4:57 EMU 12 NDSU 3
157: Aaron Sulzer (EMU) dec. Hayden Zillmer (NDSU), 8-5 EMU 15 NDSU 3
165: No. 11 Steven Monk (NDSU) maj. dec. Jacob Dorulla (EMU), 14-5 EMU 15 NDSU 7
174: Kurtis Julson (NDSU) maj. dec. Mike Cuby (EMU), 9-0 EMU 15 NDSU 11
184: No. 17 MacKain Stoll (NDSU) dec. Phillip Joseph (EMU), 5-3 (OT) EMU 15 NDSU 14
197: Anthony Abro (EMU) dec. Kallen Kleinschmidt (NDSU), 3-0 EMU 18 NDSU 14
285: Evan Knutson (NDSU) dec. David Box (EMU), 10-7 EMU 18 NDSU 17
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