Feb. 17, 2008
Tempe, Ariz. - The Stanford wrestling team ended its 2007-08 regular season on a high note. With the help of pins by freshmen Porfirio Madrigal and Lucas Espericueta, the Cardinal topped the Arizona State Sun Devils for the first time in program history, 28-16. Stanford heads to next month's Pac-10 Championships with a 13-4 overall record and a 6-3 mark in the conference.
Starting at 125 pounds, the Cardinal was given a six-point head start when senior Tanner Gardner earned a win by forfeit. Gardner (35-1) is now just one win short of matching Matt Gentry's career win record, and one pin short of matching Chris Horpel's single-season pin record.
In the next bout, Madrigal (9-10) doubled the Stanford lead with his third career pin. Wrestling at 133 pounds, the true freshman stuck Todd Schavrien with 16 seconds remaining in the match. The pin was Madrigal's first in a dual meet, and helped the Cardinal soar out to a 12-0 team lead.
Stanford lost a major decision at 141 pounds, but didn't falter. Espericueta (23-10) put Orlando Jimenez on his back in 4:30, scoring six key points in the 149-pound bout. The pin, Espericueta's third of the year, put Stanford in front 18-4.
Stanford's tenth-ranked 157-pounder, Josh Zupancic (33-5), continued the series of bonus-point wins. The senior dominated Alex Pavlenko to earn a 19-5 major decision, pushing the Stanford lead to 22-4 at the competition's midpoint.
Defending Pac-10 Champion Patrick Pitsch won a close 4-0 decision over true freshman Kyle Barrett at 165 pounds, but junior Luke Feist (13-9) matched the effort with a 1-0 win over Rick Renzi at 174 pounds. Feist's win guaranteed Stanford no worse than a tie, heading into the 184-pound bout.
Stanford lost by fall in the ensuing match, but sophomore Jake Johnson stepped in at 197 pounds and ended any thoughts of a Sun Devil comeback. The Prior Lake, Minn. native posted an 11-4 decision over Thor Moen, and sealed the team's 13th win of the year.
Arizona State won a decision in the heavyweight bout, but it was far from enough to undo the Cardinal damage. Stanford held on for a 28-16 win, capping a spectacular regular-season.
Stanford ends its dual season with 13 wins, the highest total for the program in more than three decades and the second highest tally ever.
The squad will have two weeks to train for next month's Pac-10 Championships, set for Mar. 2-3 in Eugene, Ore. Ten Stanford wrestlers will look to win conference titles and earn spots at the NCAA Championships. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased through the Oregon athletic ticket office at 1-800-WEBFOOT.
Stanford 28, Arizona State 16
125 - No. 6 Tanner Gardner (S) win by forfeit
133 - Porfirio Madrigal (S) pinned Todd Schavrien (A), 6:44
141 - Chris Drouin (A) maj. dec. Max Rosefigura (S), 15-4
149 - Lucas Espericueta (S) pinned Orlando Jimenez (A), 4:30
157 - No. 10 Josh Zupancic (S) maj. dec. Alex Pavlenko (A), 19-5
165 - Patrick Pitsch (A) dec. Kyle Barrett (S), 4-0
174 - Luke Feist (S) dec. Rick Renzi (A), 1-0
184 - No. 15 Brent Chriswell (A) pinned Zack Giesen (S), 1:02
197 - Jake Johnson (S) dec. Thor Moen (A), 11-4
HWT - Imanibom Etukeren (A) dec. Phillip Doerner (S), 9-3