Jan. 14, 2006
HAMPTON, Va. - Co-captain Jeff Sato started the Columbia scoring early and the Lions did not let up, scoring a 20-16 victory over 20th-ranked and third-seeded West Virginia at the Virginia Duals. In the next round, Columbia fell to Drexel, 21-15, to close out the competition at 2-2.
After Sato got the scoring started for Columbia, the Lions dropped three of the next four bouts as WVU closed the gap to 10-9. Dustin Tillman got Columbia back on track, picking up his third win of the weekend and All-American Matt Palmer won a decision in his first bout of the Duals.
Justin Barent put away the match for Columbia at 184, winning the 4-3 decision due to riding time, giving Columbia enough of a cushion to capture the victory over the Mountaineers.
"That was a great match," Brendan Buckley said of the West Virginia win. "They're a top-20 team and I thought after that win, we would've beaten Drexel, but we didn't wrestle our pace and allowed them to dictate the pace." Against Drexel, Columbia was down 12-3 early and came back to get within three points at 18-15. John Grando was ahead 1-0 late in the match, but Drexel's Chris Cowen scored with five seconds to go and added a riding time point to put away the win for Drexel.
Currently 3-4 on the season in dual meets, Columbia returns to the mat on Friday, January 20 at the New York State Championships at SUNY-Oswego.
Columbia 20, West Virginia 16
125 - Jeff Sato (C) def. Sante Stewart (WVU), 21-5, 6:41
133 - Seth Lisa (WVU) def. Matt DeLorenzo (C), 4-2
141 - Sal Tirico (C) won via forfeit
149 - David Jaregui (WVU) def. Derek Sickles (C), 12-7
157 - Matt Lebe (WVU) def. Tyler Thurgood (C), 6-2
165 - Dustin Tillman (C) def. Eric Mullen (WVU), 4-2
174 - Matt Palmer (C) def. Kurt Brenner (WVU), 7-3
184 - Justin Barent (C) def. Chance Litton (WVU), 4-3
197 - Jared Villers (WVU) def. Orrin Kleinhenz (C), 11-3
285 - Matt Holsopple (WVU) def. John Grando (C), 4-3
Drexel 21, Columbia 15
125 - Steve Mytych (D) def. Jeff Sato (C) 9-3
133 - Zach Makovsky (D) def. Matt DeLorenzo (C) 5-3
141 - Sal Tirico (C) def. Bill Martin (D) 8-2
149 - Chris Renninger (D) def. Derek Sickles (C) 7-0
157 - Ryan Hluschak (D) def. Tyler Thurgood (C) 6-4
165 - Dustin Tillman (C) def. Scott Hunter (D) 8-4
174 - Nick Kozar (D) def. Matt Palmer (C) injury default, 5:39
184 - Justin Barent (C) pinned Brian Stouffer (D) 2:23
197 - Orrin Kleinhenz (C) def. Jon Oplinger (D) 7-2
285 - Chris Cowen (D) def. John Grando (C) 4-1
