Lehigh had a 28-0 edge in takedowns and allowed just two offensive points, a reversal in the final bout of the dual. Four Mountain Hawks posted their first career victories in the brown and white while two others won for the first time in dual competition.
The win evens the Mountain Hawks' season record at 2-2. LIU falls to 1-3.
Prior to Sunday, the last Lehigh win by shutout was a 54-0 triumph over Bloomsburg on Feb. 14, 2016.
The dual began at 165 where true freshman Thayne Lawrence downed Ryan Ferro 3-1 for his first career victory. Lawrence rode out the second period and escaped to open the third, plus riding time for the scoring in his favor.
Another true freshman, Connor Herceg, started the pin party with a third period fall over Tom DiGennaro at 174. Herceg built a 13-2 third period lead when he used a cradle to stuck DiGennaro at 5:23, putting Lehigh up 9-0.
JT Davis continued the run of true freshmen to start the dual and delivered a 10-1 major decision over Dan Shafran at 184 for his first career dual meet win.
The three true freshmen then turned things over to fifth-year seniors Jake Jakobsen and Jordan Wood, who posted back-to-back falls to put the Mountain Hawks up 25-0 at the halfway point.
Jakobsen scored a takedown right into a cradle to pin T.J. Franden in 1:07 at 197 and then Wood followed with his second fall of the weekend, needing just 31 seconds to pin Tim Nagosky at 285.
The second half of the dual began with Lehigh's fourth fall. True freshman Sheldon Seymour picked up his first career victory, pinning Brandon Mercado in 1:44. Seymour had built an 8-1 lead behind two takedowns and a four point near fall prior to the pin.
Sophomore Mitch Polito delivered his second win of the weekend at 133 with a 7-1 decision over Devin Matthews. Polito scored takedowns in each of the first two periods and added a stalling point, an escape and riding time.
True freshman Drew Munch got the start at 141 and earned his first career win with a 6-2 decision over Drew Witham. Munch scored takedowns in each of the first two periods and added a third period escape and riding time.
At 149, deferred freshman Paul Watkins earned his first career win, racking up 17 points in a 17-4 major decision over Anthony Dushaj.
Freshman Luca Frinzi became the fourth Mountain Hawk to post a 2-0 weekend as he capped the dual with a 19-4 technical fall over Kenny Cooper at 157. Frinzi secured the match-ending takedown with just 10 seconds remaining in the bout.
There were two extra matches wrestled on Sunday with Lehigh wrestlers winning both by first period fall. At 157 freshman Manzona Bryant pinned Adam Barker in 54 seconds and at 184 freshman Caden Wright picked up a 53 second fall against Joe Lopresti.
The Mountain Hawks are back home for three duals next weekend. On Saturday Lehigh welcomes EIWA rival Army West Point at 2 p.m. and No. 14 North Carolina at 5 p.m. On Sunday, the Mountain Hawks will host Rider for a 2 p.m. dual. All three matches will be televised on Service Electric Network and streamed at Lehighsports.com/watch. The North Carolina and Rider duals can also be heard on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown and LVFoxSports.com.
Results:
165 – Thayne Lawrence (Lehigh) dec. Ryan Ferro (LIU) 3-1
174 – Connor Herceg (Lehigh) Fall Tom DiGennaro (LIU) 5:23
184 – JT Davis (Lehigh) major dec. Dan Shafran (LIU) 10-1
197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) Fall T.J. Franden (LIU) 1:07
285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) Fall Tim Nagosky (LIU) 0:31
125 – Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) Fall Brandon Mercado (LIU) 1:44
133 – Mitch Polito (Lehigh) dec. Devin Matthews (LIU) 7-1
141 – Drew Munch (Lehigh) dec. Drew Witham (LIU) 6-2
149 – Paul Watkins (Lehigh) major dec. Anthony Dushaj (LIU) 17-4
157 – Luca Frinzi (Lehigh) tech fall Kenny Cooper (LIU) 19-4, 6:50
Extra Matches:
157 – Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) Fall Adam Barker (LIU) 0:54
184 – Caden Wright (Lehigh) Fall Joe Lopresti (LIU) 0:53
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