Feb. 9, 2002

PITTSBURGH-The 21st-ranked Pittsburgh wrestling team lost its first Eastern Wrestling Dual match and had its five-meet dual winning streak ended by No. 14 Lock Haven, 27-6, at Fitzgerald Field House on Saturday evening.

The Panthers opened the meet by losing the first five matches but won two of the next three before losing the final two.

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Lininger (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) won his 30th match of the season, becoming just the eighth sophomore in Panther history to accomplish that feat. He topped Tim Boetsch of Lock Haven, 4-0, in the heavyweight class to gain the Panthers' first three points of the evening after falling behind, 16-0.

The Bald Eagles' Jason Gilligan opened the dual meet with a 4-1 win over Zachariah Doll (Quakertown, Pa./The Hill School) at 157 pounds. In the 165-pound match, Lock Haven's Charlie Brenneman scored an upset over 17th-ranked Carl Fronhofer (Salem, N.Y./Salem) by a score of 8-6. Ed Pawlak got three more points for the Bald Eagles at 174 pounds with an 11-5 victory over Matt Catullo (Oakmont, Pa./Riverview).

At 184 pounds, Rob Black (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) was a late addition to the lineup when Gregg Osbeck (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) sustained an eye injury. Black was defeated by 15th-ranked Josh Millard, 16-5, in a major decision. The Bald Eagles' Avery Zerkle got another upset win for Lock Haven over 19th-ranked David Sandberg (Spokane, Wash./North Central), 5-2, at 197 pounds.

20th-ranked Trap McCormack won at 125 pounds for Lock Haven over James Thornton (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) by a score of 7-4. The Panthers scored their second win of the evening when senior Shawn Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity) shut out Chris Spealler of Lock Haven, 4-0, for his second win over the Bald Eagles' senior this year.

Two more major decisions by Lock Haven's Mike Maney and JaMarr Billman at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, accounted for the final score of 27-6.

Pittsburgh dropped to 11-4 for the season and 3-1 in the EWL, while Lock Haven improved to 14-4 and 5-1 in the EWL. The Panthers will host Clarion on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

No. 14 Lock Haven 27, No. 21 Pittsburgh 6

157 - Jason Gilligan (LHU) dec. Zachariah Doll (UP), 4-1		HWT - Jacob Lininger (UP) dec. Tim Boetsch (LHU), 4-0
165 - Charlie Brenneman (LHU) dec. Carl Fronhofer (UP), 8-6	125 - Trap McCormack (LHU) dec. James Thornton (UP), 7-4
174 - Ed Pawlak (LHU) dec. Matt Catullo (UP), 11-5		133 - Shawn Amistade (UP) dec. Chris Spealler (LHU), 4-0
184 - Josh Millard (LHU) maj. dec. Rob Black (UP), 16-5		141 - Mike Maney (LHU) maj. dec. Blaise Mucci (UP), 8-0
197 - Avery Zerkle (LHU) dec. David Sandberg (UP), 5-2		149 - JaMarr Billman (LHU) maj. dec. Justin Giovinco (UP), 12-4