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Wrestling Downs Slippery Rock, 34-3, in Home Opener

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Wrestling Downs Slippery Rock, 34-3, in Home Opener

11/25/2003

The Panthers won all but one bout to improve to 2-1 for the season.

PITTSBURGH � The Pittsburgh wrestling team won all but one bout in defeating Slippery Rock, 34-3, in its home opener at Fitzgerald Field House on Tuesday evening.

The match began at 125 pounds and true freshman Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) pinned Mike Lauff of the Pride (0-1) at the 1:47 mark of the first period. The fall gave the Panthers (2-1) an early 6-0 advantage.

Sophomore Adam Curry (Churchill, Pa./Woodland Hills) got three more points for the Panthers with a 2-0 decision over Ben Watson. Curry scored an escape point in the second period and added a riding-time point by holding Watson down for the entire third frame. It was Curry�s first win of the year after losing his first four matches.

The Panthers scored four more points when sophomore Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) eased past Cory Mancuso of Slippery Rock, who was previously unbeaten on the year. After a scoreless first frame, Tarquinio scored seven points in each of the final two periods for a 14-0 victory.

In one of the closest matches, 149-pounder Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) used a late takedown and a riding-time point for a 4-1 decision over Ben Young of the Pride to extend Pittsburgh�s lead to 16-0.

At 157 pounds, Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) scored an early takedown in the first period but Brad Cieleski of the Pride escaped for one point and another from the down position in the third frame to tie the bout at 2-2. Cieleski scored a takedown in the third period for a 4-2 advantage. After a stall point was awarded to Nestor, Cieleski held him down for a riding-time point and a 5-3 win.

In the 165-pound match, Zachariah Doll (Quakertown, Pa./The Hill School) allowed two early takedowns to Jason Cardillo of The Rock and trailed 4-1 at the end of the first frame. After an escape point in the second period, Doll countered a Cardillo attack into a takedown to tie the match at 4-4. Three near-fall points by Doll right at the end of the second gave the Panthers� junior a 7-4 advantage. Despite a reversal by Cardillo late in the third period, Doll earned an 8-6 victory to improve to 2-0 on the year.

The Panthers made it a 22-3 match with a 6-2 decision win by Francis Iorfido (Johnsonburg, Pa./Johnsonburg) over Charlie Pienaar of the Pride. After a takedown early in the first by Iorfido, Pienaar scored a two-point reversal to tie the match at 2-2. In the up position to begin the second period, Iorfido got two near-fall points to take a 4-2 advantage. Two more reversal points accounted for the final score.

Mike Croyle (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) won 2-0 over Dan Scott in the 184-pound match after scoring an escape point in the second and a riding-time point in the third for the only points of the bout.

At 197 pounds, Josh Birt (Spokane, Wash./East Valley/North Idaho JC) scored two takedowns in the first period for a 4-1 advantage and had three more takedowns for a final score of 12-2 and a major decision to make it a 29-3 match.

In the final bout of the evening, heavyweight Travis Shirley (West Middlesex, Pa./Kennedy Christian) topped Mike Bromley of The Rock by a final score of 15-0 after a first-period takedown, a second-period reversal, eight points on near falls, another takedown in the third frame and riding time.

The Panthers will compete at the Mat Town Invitational in Lock Haven, Pa., this weekend but will not have another dual meet until January 9, 2004 against Penn State at the Petersen Events Center.