Jan. 4, 2008
Bethlehem, Pa. - In his return to Leeman-Turner Arena, Stanford Head Coach Kerry McCoy gave his former team a run for its money, but McCoy and the Cardinal came up just short of a victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks tonight in Bethlehem, Pa. The dual came down to the final bout, but Lehigh (5-9) came out on top and handed Stanford (3-1) its first loss of the season, 21-16.
After McCoy received a warm welcome from the energetic Lehigh crowd, Tanner Gardner (22-1) gave the Cardinal some early momentum in the opening bout. Sixth-ranked Gardner put Lehigh's Mitch Berger on his back in 2:24, picking up his tenth pin of the season and giving Stanford a 6-0 lead.
The Mountain Hawks answered within seconds, however, as 2007 NCAA qualifier Seth Ciasulli returned to the Lehigh lineup and pinned Cardinal freshman Blair Matsuura (1-7) in 17 seconds. Freshman Max Rosefigura (7-4) then dropped a tight 3-1 decision at 141 pounds, missing the tying takedown by just seconds. Mountain Hawk Trevor Chinn then claimed another close decision over redshirt freshman Lucas Espericueta at 149 pounds, 5-2.
Senior Josh Zupancic squelched the Lehigh momentum in the 157-pound bout, defeating the Mountain Hawks' Dave Nakasone by a score of 8-2. Zupancic, the 16th-ranked wrestler in the nation, remains undefeated in duals and improves to 21-5 on the year.
Lehigh refused to let the Cardinal catch up however, as Mike Galante claimed a 10-3 decision over Peter Miller (9-6) at 165 pounds to push the Mountain Hawk advantage to 15-9.
Sophomore Zack Giesen (15-5) turned things around again for the Cardinal, however, claiming a 13-3 major decision over Kadeem Samuels at 184 pounds to pull Stanford within five, 18-12. Sophomore Jake Johnson (14-7) then came from behind for a 12-10 decision over Alex Iacocca at 197 pounds, putting the dual in the hands of the heavyweights.
In the final bout of the night, however, Lehigh's Justin Allen bested Phillip Doerner (14-9), 8-2, to seal the Mountain Hawk victory.
Stanford returns to the mats on Sunday to finish the weekend with duals against East Stroudsburg, Princeton and Wagner.
Lehigh 21, Stanford 16
125 - No. 6 Tanner Gardner (S) pinned Mitch Berger (L), 2:24
133 - Seth Ciasulli (L) pinned Blair Matsuura (S), 0:17
141 - Jeff Santo (L) dec. Max Rosefigura (S), 3-1
149 - Trevor Chinn (L) dec. Lucas Espericueta (S), 5-2
157 - No. 16 Josh Zupancic (S) dec. Dave Nakasone (L), 8-2
165 - Mike Galante (L) dec. Peter Miller (S), 10-3
174 - Alex Caruso (L) dec. Luke Feist (S), 5-3
184 - Zack Giesen (S) maj. dec. Kadeem Samuels (L), 13-3
197 - Jake Johnson (S) dec. Alex Iacocca (L), 12-10
HWT - Justin Allen (L) dec. Phillip Doerner (S), 8-2