Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Pittsburgh
No. 20 Northwestern Edges No. 24 Pitt, 20-18
12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 19, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- What promised to be a tightly contested dual match lived up to its billing Friday night as 20th-ranked Northwestern came up huge in a 20-18 victory at No. 24 Pittsburgh Friday, improving to 6-1 on the year. Each team scored wins in five weight classes but major decisions by Brandon Precin (125) and Jason Welch (157) and a pin by Jake Herbert (184) were enough to hold off the Panthers.
Third-ranked Precin scored an important four points for NU with a major decision (11-2) in the night's opening bout. Entering the second period with a 2-0 lead, Precin recorded a takedown and two near falls in the frame to amass a 10-0 lead and improve to 7-0 in dual match competition.
After a pin at 133 by Pitt's 16th-ranked Jimmy Conroy, NU's Keith Sulzer, ranked No. 6 nationally, squared off with Pitt's 10th-ranked Tyler Nauman in one of the night's most anticipated match-ups. Sulzer held a 2-0 advantage entering the final period but a reversal and a near fall by Nauman in the final minutes gave him a 5-2 win and the Panthers a 9-4 lead.
At 149, sophomore Andrew Nadhir picked up three points for the 'Cats with a 7-2 decision of Mark Powell.
Welch kept things going in a big way for Northwestern against redshirt freshman Phil Sorrentino. NU's stellar freshman led the match from start to finish, but Sorrentino closed the score to a seven-point difference at 11-4 with an escape late in the contest. It was Welch's riding time advantage, however, that elevated his win to a major decision and earned four points for NU.
At 174, redshirt freshman Robert Kellogg fell behind, 3-2, with 50 seconds remaining against David Sullivan. But Kellogg responded with a reversal and a near fall to pick up a 6-3 win.
Herbert, a native of nearby Wexford, Pa., sealed the deal for Northwestern at 184 with a pin of Zac Thomusseit, who Herbert had defeated earlier in the year to win the Michigan State Open. Second-ranked Herbert, who Saturday wrestles at his high school alma mater when Northwestern takes on Clarion at 11 a.m. CT, is now 11-0.
Trailing by eight, Pitt tried to mount a comeback in the final two bouts. But NU's John Schoen lost a close 2-1 decision to Matt Wilps while Ben Kuhar performed well against No. 6 Zach Sheaffer and eventually lost by a 9-6 margin to protect the lead for Northwestern.
No. 20 Northwestern 20, No. 24 Pitt 18
125 No. 3 Brandon Precin (NU) maj. dec. Chris Albright (Pitt), 11-2
133 No. 16 Jimmy Conroy (Pitt) fall Bobby Joyce (NU), 0:45
141 No. 10 Tyler Nauman (Pitt) dec. No. 6 Keith Sulzer (NU), 5-2
149 Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. Mark Powell (Pitt), 7-2
157 No. 16 Jason Welch (NU) maj. dec. Phil Sorrentino (Pitt), 12-4
165 Ethan Headlee (Pitt) dec. Dominic Marella (NU), 7-0
174 Robert Kellogg (NU) dec. David Sullivan (Pitt), 6-3
184 No. 2 Jake Herbert (NU) fall Zac Thomusseit (Pitt), 3:33
197 Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. John Schoen (NU), 2-1
285 No. 6 Zach Sheaffer (Pitt) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 9-6
Players Mentioned
