ESU Tops Sacred Heart, Falls to Rutgers in Season-Opening Duals November 7, 2010

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – East Stroudsburg University opened its 2010-11 wrestling season with a win and a loss in a tri-match at Rutgers on Sunday at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, beating Sacred Heart 28-17 and falling to the host Scarlet Knights, 32-6.

A second-period pin by redshirt junior Thad Frick at 165 pounds put the Warriors ahead for good after falling behind 11-0 through two bouts in their first match of the day against Sacred Heart.

ESU showcased its strength in the upper weights with wins at 165, 174, 197 and 285 to pull out 17 points in the final five bouts, along with a Sacred Heart forfeit at 157.

Redshirt junior Adam Hluschak, a returning NCAA qualifier at 141, got the Warriors on the board with an 18-2 technical fall, and Frick’s pin of Austin Al-Paw in 4:36 gave ESU a 17-14 advantage.

Redshirt senior Jeff Jacobs (174) made sure the Warriors didn’t give back the lead as he opened his final season at ESU with a 10-2 major decision over Zach Moran. SHU’s T.J. Neidhart notched a 5-4 decision over redshirt freshman Brendan McKeown at 184, but junior James Gonzalez won by major decision (14-6) at 197 to seal the victory and sophomore Will Weaver posted a 6-2 decision at 285.

Rutgers, coming off a 19-5-1 dual season a year ago, posted a 32-6 win over the Warriors in the second match of the day. They took on a Scarlet Knights’ squad that featured nine wrestlers with prior NCAA championship experience.

McKeown and Weaver won decisions to pick up points for ESU in two of the final three bouts. Rutgers had two pins and two major decisions in the first five matches, with Hluschak, Frick, Jacobs and Gonzalez keeping their matches close and losing by decision.

ESU, in its second season competing in Division II, will wrestle five Division I opponents in their first six duals, including Sunday’s action at Rutgers. The squad is off until the 44th Annual ESU Open on Saturday, Nov. 20 and heads to Lock Haven for the Mat Town Open and Bloomsburg for the PSAC Championships the following two weekends.


ESU 28, Sacred Heart 17
125 – Andrew Polidore (SHU) tech fall Chris Carpenter, 15-0; SHU leads, 5-0
133 – Paul Galipean (SHU) pins Andrew Arnold, 2:20; SHU leads, 11-0
141 – Adam Hluschak (ESU) tech. fall Joseph Evangelista, 18-2; SHU leads, 11-5
149 – Tim Rich (SHU) dec. Eddie Stephenson, 7-2; SHU leads, 14-5
157 – Evan Baer (ESU) wins by forfeit; SHU leads, 14-11
165 – Thad Frick (ESU) pins Austin Al-Paw, 4:36; ESU leads, 17-14
174 – Jeff Jacobs (ESU) maj. dec. Zach Moran, 10-2; ESU leads, 21-14
184 – TJ Neidhart (SHU) dec. Brendan McKeown, 5-4; ESU leads, 21-17
197 – James Gonzalez (ESU) maj. dec. Sam Morrison, 14-6; ESU leads, 25-17
285 – Will Weaver (ESU) dec. Paul Swagheart, 6-2; ESU wins, 28-17

Rutgers 32, ESU 6
125 – Joe Langel (RU) pins Chris Carpenter, 3:39; RU leads, 6-0
133 – Mike DeMarco (RU) pins Andrew Arnold, 2:27; RU leads, 12-0
141 – Trevor Melde (RU) dec. Adam Hluschak, 6-1; RU leads, 15-0
149 – Mario Mason (RU) maj. dec. Eddie Stephenson, 14-5; RU leads, 19-0
157 – Daryl Cocozoo (RU) maj. dec. Evan Baer, 21-7; RU leads, 23-0
165 – Scott Winston (RU) dec. Thad Frick, 6-1; RU leads, 26-0
174 – Alex Caruso (RU) dec. Jeff Jacobs, 7-2; RU leads, 29-0
184 – Brendan McKeown (ESU) dec. Jesse Boyden, 4-3; RU leads, 29-3
197 – Mike Wagner (RU) dec. James Gonzalez, 8-2; RU leads, 32-3
285 – Will Weaver (ESU) dec. Sean DeDeyn, 4-0; RU wins 32-6