Eagle Grapplers Drop Second Conference Dual to Ohio

Highlights.

YPSILANTI, Mich, (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling squad dropped it third-straight dual and second Mid-American Conference match to Ohio University, 20-15, Sunday, Jan. 18.

The Eagles (7-6, 0-2 MAC) notched four victories on the day, while the Bobcats (5-4, 1-3 MAC) earned their first conference victory of the season with six bout wins, including two extra-points victories.

Eastern found itself down 8-0 to start the dual against Ohio when the Bobcats earned back-to-back major decisions from two of their nationally-ranked grapplers at 165 lbs. and 174 lbs.

OU continued to build its lead, taking two-straight decisions, but redshirt-freshman Gage Hutchison lit a spark in the Eagle lineup with his sixth pin of the season in just 31 seconds to bring EMU within eight of the Bobcats. Following the pin in the heavyweight division, the OU tallied its sixth bout victory of the dual to extend its lead to 17-6 using a 10-7 decision at 125 lbs.

Redshirt-junior Vincent Pizzuto grabbed his second conference victory of the season at 133 lbs. with a first period takedown, an escape, and 2:27 of riding time to tally a decision for the Green and White. Redshirt- junior Michael Shaw followed up Pizzuto's decision with a 6-0 shut out victory of his own as the Eagles went into the final two bouts trailing, 17-12.

Needing a win at 149 lbs. to have a chance to win the dual, redshirt-sophomore Nicholas Barber fought to the final seconds of the bout but was unable to hold off No 10 Tywan Claxton of Ohio, taking a slight 2-1 decision, which came down to riding time points. The win put the match out of reach for the Eagles as the Bobcats led 20-12.

Although Ohio had already secured the dual victory, redshirt-senior Brandon Zeerip battled in the final bout of the afternoon earning a takedown with 15 seconds left over OU's Spartak Chino. The victory marked the first conference victory of the season for Zeerip and ninth dual win of the year.

The Eagles cap off their three-dual homestand Friday, Jan. 23 when they take on the Spartans of Michigan State University. The dual is slated to start at 7 p.m. For fans who are unable to make it out to the dual, the match will be broadcast on Eastern's live webstreaming service Eagle All-Access. Fans will be able to watch the dual as well as get play-by-play from former EMU wrestlers J.J. Johnson and Drew Lesko. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch.

Results
165: No. 19 Harrison Hightower (OU) maj. dec. Devan Marry (EMU), 10-1 (OU, 4-0)
174: No. 10 Cody Walters (OU) maj. dec. Austin Geerlings (EMU), 17-4 (OU, 8-0)
184: Andrew Romanchik (OU) dec. Mike Curby (EMU), 4-0 (OU, 11-0)
197: No. 17 Phil Wellington (OU) dec. Anthony Abro (EMU), 6-2 (OU, 14-0)
HWT: Gage Hutchison (EMU) pinned Zach Parker (OU), 0:31 (OU, 14-6)
125: Zac Hassan (OU) dec. Blake Caudill (EMU), 10-7 (OU, 17-6)
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) dec. Josh Parrett (OU), 4-1 (OU, 17-9)
141: Michael Shaw (EMU) dec. Joel Shump (OU), 6-0 (OU, 17-12)
149: No. 10 Tywan Claxton (OU) dec. Nicholas Barber (EMU), 2-1 (OU, 20-12)
157: Brandon Zeerip (EMU) dec. Spartak Chino (OU), 3-1 (OU, 20-15)

Bout-By-Bout
165: Hightower maj. dec. Marry, 10-1
Hightower jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over Marry with an immediate takedown to start the bout. The Ohio grappler extended his lead to 5-0 with a near fall before the match was brought to a stop due to dangerous positioning. With Marry on bottom to close out the first, Hightower grabbed two back points to take a commanding 7-0 lead into the second period. Having the choice, Marry started on top in the second but Hightower grabbed a reversal to extend his lead to 9-0 to close out the second period. Trying to avoid the major decision, Marry earned a point due to unsportsmanlike conduct from Hightower. Marry was unable to notch any further points, while Hightower earned the riding time point to allow the Bobcats to take an early 4-0 lead over EMU.

174: Walters maj. dec. Geerlings, 17-4
Again, Ohio got out to the early lead with a first period takedown to secure the only points of the first two minutes. Geerlings came within one with an escape but Walters answered back with a takedown of his own to extend the lead to 4-1. Starting down, Geerlings notched his second escape of the bout before Walters brought Geerlings to the edge of the mat where he grabbed three back points to go up 9-2 with one period left. Walters continued to dominate Geerlings, earning a two-point reversal and a point for a Geerlings stall. Again on the edge of the mat, Walters grabbed a takedown to go up 14-3 before Geerlings earned an escape. Walters added to his tally with a takedown with 40 seconds remaining in the bout to earn a second-straight major decision for the Bobcats.

184: Romanchik dec. Curby, 4-0
For the third-straight bout, Ohio took the first lead as Romanchik earned a takedown with 47 seconds remaining in the first period. Neither opponent was able to secure any further points in the first as Curby chose to start down to begin the second. The second period did not see any scoring, while Romanchik took the 3-0 lead earning an escape to kick off the third period and his riding time would allow him to take a 4-0 decision for Ohio.

197: Wellington dec. Abro, 6-2
After a scoreless first period, Wellington started down to start the second and earned a quick escape to grab the first points of the bout. Abro knotted the score at 1-1 with an escape, but Wellington had amassed a minute of riding time and grabbed one final takedown to go up 4-1 with 25 seconds remaining. A takedown at the buzzer for Wellington allowed the Bobcats to earn a 6-2 decision and extend their lead to 14-0

HWT: Hutchison pinned Parker, 0:31
Hutchison came out strong earning a quick takedown, before notching his sixth pin of the season in just 31 seconds to bring EMU within eight of the Bobcats.

125: Hassan dec. Caudill, 10-7
In the sixth bout of the afternoon, Hassan earned the first points of the match with a takedown and back points, before Caudill opened up the second period with an escape. A reversal from Hassan to start the second increased his lead to 7-1 but Caudill answered back with an escape. Caudill cut Hassan's lead with a reversal to begin the second before Bolyard called for Caudill to allow Hassan an escape. Coming with two of Hassan on a second takedown, Caudill gave up a takedown to close out the half to allow Ohio to take its sixth win of the bout with a 10-7 decision.

133: Pizzuto Parrett
For just the second time of the afternoon, Eastern took the first lead with a Pizzuto takedown in the first period. Parrett closed out the first with an escape to trail by one heading into the start of the second period. Starting down in the second period, Pizzuto quickly earned the escape point before a stalemate was called with one minute left in the second. Pizzuto held the 3-1 lead for the entire third period and racked up 2:27 of riding time to earn a 4-1 decision.

141: Shaw dec. Shump, 6-0
No points were awarded in the first period and Shaw chose to start on bottom after Shump deferred the decision. Shaw grabbed the first points of the bout with an escape before the grapplers were brought back to the middle of the mat after they forced one another out-of-bounds. With one minute remaining in the closing period, Shaw brought Shump to the mat for a takedown and grabbed three more points for a near fall to earn the 6-0 shut out victory for EMU.

149: Claxton dec. Barber, 2-1
Despite a takedown attempt for Claxton, Barber worked him off the mat to take the scoreless bout into the second period. With Claxton down in the second, he earned an escape for the first points of the match and the only points of the period. Barber knotted the score at 1-1 with 40 seconds left in the final period, but Claxton had already secured over a minute of riding time to earn the 2-1 victory to cap off the dual victory for Ohio.

157: Zeerip dec. Chino, 3-1
Chino grabbed the first points of the match in the second period with an escape point after Zeerip was forced to let him go before he was called for stalling. Zeerip knotted the score at 1-1 with an escape to start the second. With 15 seconds remaining in the bout, Zeerip grabbed the takedown he needed to secure the 3-1 decision for his first MAC win of the season.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Anthony Abro

Nick Barber

Blake Caudill

Mike Curby

Austin Geerlings

Gage Hutchison

Devan Marry

Vincent Pizzuto

Michael Shaw

Brandon Zeerip

Eastern Michigan Athletics