Despite facing a team that already had three duals under its belt, Penn State was dominant. The Nittany Lions won nine of ten bouts, including a technical fall from Davis in the day's marquee bout. Penn State got a pin from sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), Davis' technical fall and two majors to claim a 7-0 edge in bonus points as well.
Junior All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) and sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) got Penn State's majors. Action began with Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) posting a 3-2 win at 125 before Maryland got its only win as Terrapin Steve Bell posted a 12-11 overtime decision over Lion senior Tim Haas (Camp Hills, Pa.). Haas was making his return to the mat after missing a year with an injury while Bell remained undefeated on the year. Strayer followed with his 14-0 major over No. 20 Charlie Pinto of Maryland and then Jenkins thrilled the crowd with a pin of Maryland's Eric Medina midway through the second period at 149.
Vallimont posted a 13-4 major at 157 and then Penn State's Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) grabbed a 7-5 win at 165. Nittany Lion junior Mark Friend (Libertyville, Ill.) also won 7-5 at 174 and then Lion junior Phil Bomberger grabbed a sound 12-6 win at 184. All this had Penn State with the dual meet in hand before Davis put his No. 2 national ranking on the line against No. 8 Hudson Taylor of Maryland. Taylor was no match for Davis as the three-time All-American posted a 17-2 technical fall at the 4:12 mark. Sophomore heavyweight Stefan Tighe (Erie, Pa.) rounded out the scoring with a 3-2 win to give the Lions the 34-3 victory.
Penn State moves to 1-0 while Maryland falls to 2-2. The Nittany Lions will host Hofstra in their next dual, welcoming the 13th-ranked Pride to Rec Hall on Saturday, Nov. 17, for a 1 p.m. dual. Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free! Season tickets are $28 for adults and seniors while youth 18 and under season tickets are $21. Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual or season tickets. All Penn State duals will be broadcast locally on WBLF 970 AM and WKVA 920 AM and streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com. All home duals will feature live scoring at www.GoPSUsports.com as well.
Bout-By-Bout:
125: Nittany Lion senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 11 nationally, met Maryland's Brendan Byrne. Byrne scored the first points of the bout with a takedown to take a 2-1 lead just over :30 into the match. The move spurred McKnight into action as the Lion senior answered with his own takedown quickly thereafter to take a 3-2 lead. Byrne escaped to a 3-3 tie. McKnight got in low on Byrne's right ankle with :30 left, but Byrne fought the move off to force a stalemate and reset, sending the bout to the second period tied at 3-3. Byrne chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead. The Terp's advantage was short lived as McKnight notched his second takedown at the 1:35 mark to knot the bout at 5-5 after a Byrne escape. Byrne got hit with an illegal hold call trying to fight off another McKnight shot, giving the Lion senior a 6-5 lead with :30 left in the second. McKnight continued to be the aggressor, forcing Byrne into playing defense. Leading 6-5 after two, McKnight chose down to begin the final period. While McKnight escaped, Byrne got hit with another illegal hold call and, after the escape, McKnight led 8-5. A wild flurry with under :30 left nearly cost McKnight back points, but the Lion fought the move off. Byrne still added a takedown before time expired, but it was too little too late as McKnight posted an 8-7 win to give Penn State an early 3-0 lead.
133: Penn State senior Tim Haas (Camp Hills, Pa.) returned to the mats of Rec Hall after missing last year with an injury facing undefeated Maryland 133-pounder Steve Bell. Haas quickly broke out to a 2-0 lead with a fast takedown that nearly resulted in back points. Bell tied the match after being ridden for :59 seconds with a reversal and, after Haas escaped, the Nittany Lion senior had a 3-2 lead. Bell added his own takedown with :30 left to take a 4-3 lead, but Haas would escape as the period ended to send the bout into the middle stanza tied 4-4. Haas chose down to begin the second period. After two Maryland cautions on the start and a stall call, Haas worked himself free for a 5-4 lead at the 1:25 mark. Haas took a 7-4 lead with a solid single leg-to-takedown move with under :30 left but found himself once again reversed by Bell. Showcasing solid clock awareness, Haas managed a very important escape before the second period ended to carry an 8-6 lead into the final period. Bell chose down to begin the final period and notched his third reversal of Haas, tying the score briefly before Haas escaped to a 9-8 lead at the 1:40 mark. Byrne scored a go-ahead takedown with 1:23 left, taking a 10-9 lead with :50 left. Haas escaped to a 10-10 tie with :30 left, sending the match into a first sudden victory period. Bell and Haas scrambled in front of the scorers table as time wound down with neither wrestler scoring, sending the bout to the first of two tie-breaker periods. Haas chose down in the first tie-breaker and escaped to an 11-10 lead. Bell chose down to start the second tie-breaker stanza. Haas had the match in hand, nearly riding the Terrapin out for the win, but Bell once again scored a reversal, his fourth of the bout, with just one second left. The 12-11 tie-breaker win for Bell tied the team score at 3-3. Bell improved to 4-0 with the win.
141: Junior All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), who placed seventh nationally at 133 last year, entered the new campaign up at 141. He put his pre-season No. 7 national ranking on the line against No. 20 Charlie Pinto of Maryland and came away with a commanding technical fall Strayer got the first takedown of the bout quickly and nearly pinned Pinto. Still, Strayer got the three-point near fall and led 5-0 early in period one. Strayer added another three-point move as the first period ended to lead 8-0 heading into the second period. Pinto chose neutral to start the middle stanza. Strayer continued his dominance with a quick takedown at the :45 mark and rode Pinto out to lead 10-0 with 3:00 of riding time heading into the final period. Strayer chose down to start the third period and escaped to an 11-0 lead. Pinto got in low on Strayer's left ankle in his first real scoring chance of the bout, But Strayer turned the move into a two-point takedown of his own with :35 left. Pinto managed to fight Strayer off to avoid the technical fall, but Strayer still posted a 14-0 major decision. The win put Penn State up 7-3.
149: Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), ranked No. 7 nationally at his new weight, met Maryland's Eric Medina. Medina got the bout's first takedown with a nice move at the 2:17 to lead 2-1 after a Jenkins escape. Jenkins took his first lead of the year with a swift upper body move with :40 left. The Lion sophomore then proceeded to ride Medina out to lead 3-2 heading into the second period. Jenkins chose down to begin the period and escaped to a 4-2 lead. A thrilling upper body throw later, and Jenkins calmly worked Medina's back to the mat for a pin at the 3:56 mark. The six points put Penn State up 13-3.
157: Sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 12 at his new weight of 157, got on top of Maryland's Brian Letters 2-0 just seconds into the bout, but Letters notched a reversal to tie the bout at 2-2 shortly after. Vallimont steadily worked his way to a reversal of his own, grabbing a 4-2 lead with 1:10 left in the period. Letters escaped to a 4-3 deficit with under :30 left in the first period. Letters chose down to start the second period and Vallimont let him up to a 4-4 tie. The Lion sophomore quickly got in low on Letters' feet and finished off the move to lead 6-4. Letters got hit with an illegal hold call to put Vallimont up by three and Vallimont proceeded to ride Letters out to carry that lead, and :50 riding time, into the final period. Vallimont chose down to start the final period. After steadily working his way to his feet, Vallimont got his escape at the 1:18 mark to lead 8-4. He then iced the bout with a nice upper body takedown and three back points to post a strong 13-4 major decision. The victory gave Penn State a 17-3 lead heading into a ten minute intermission.
165: 16th-ranked Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) took on Maryland's Ryan Kennett at 165. The true sophomore nearly got a takedown on the edge of the mat, but Kennett forced a stalemate with 1:15 left in the first period. Kennett, wrestling defensively, was hit with his first stall with :20 left in the period as Rella stayed in the Terrapin's face and forced the bout's tempo, despite the scoreless tie. Kennett chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 1-0 lead. Kennett then took his first shot of the bout, getting in on Rella's left foot. Rella fought the takedown off for nearly a minute before giving up the points with :50 left in the second. Trailing 3-0, Rella escaped to a 3-1 deficit and within seconds used a strong double-leg takedown to tie the bout at 3-3 with :22 left. Kennett managed an escape with :07 left to carry a 4-3 lead into the final period. Rella chose down to start the final period and used his muscle to force Kennett back for a two-point reversal and a 5-4 lead with 1:25 left. Kennett tied the bout with an escape at the 1:10 mark, but Rella was not to be denied, getting an athletic takedown on the edge of the mat to lead 7-5 with :31 left in the bout. Rella then rode Kennett out to post a 7-5 decision, putting Penn State up 20-3.
174: Junior Mark Friend (Libertyville, Ill.), fresh off an energized and impressive win in Penn State's wrestle-offs a week earlier, met Maryland's Brad Nielsen at 174. No. 7 Mike Letts of Maryland missed the dual with an injury. Friend, building off his outstanding showing in Wrestle-Offs a week earlier, got the first takedown of the bout to lead 2-0 less than a minute in. Friend then rode Nielsen for over two minutes to lead 2-1 with 2:15 in riding time heading into the second period. Nielsen chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 2-2 tie less than :30 in. But Friend quickly got in high on Nielsen's right thigh and turned the move into two points to lead 4-2 at the 1:15 mark. Once again showcasing his strength on top, Friend rode Nielsen out to lead 4-2 with 3:51 in riding time after two periods. With a riding time point secured, Friend chose down to start the third period. The Nittany Lion junior steadily worked his way to his feet and escaped to a 5-2 lead at the 1:30 mark. Friend once again got in on Nielsen's left thigh, but this time Nielsen fought the move off and turned it into a takedown of his own. Nielsen let Friend up, giving Friend a 6-4 lead with :45 left. The Terrapin continued to pressure Friend. Friend gave up a stall point but Nielsen would not score another point and Friend grabbed a sound 7-5 victory to put the Nittany Lions up 23-3.
184: Junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) took on Maryland's Joshua Haines and quickly opened up a 2-1 lead after a take-down/escape at the 1:40 mark. Bomberger continued to apply the pressure to Haines and got a second takedown at the 1:10 mark. The Nittany Lion junior added two back points to lead 6-2 after cutting Haines loose. Leading 6-2 after one period, Bomberger chose down to start the second stanza. Haines was strong on top, however, riding Bomberger for the entire period and forcing Bomberger into a stall warning as well. Still, Bomberger held a 6-2 lead heading into the final period. Haines chose top to start the third, hoping to turn Bomberger for back points. But Bomberger turned that decision into a thrilling reversal that nearly resulted in a pin. Haines escaped, but Bomberger still led 8-3 with just over a minute left. Not to be content with that, Bomberger continued to force the offense from his feet, notching another takedown to lead 10-4 (after a Haines escape). Working for a major, Bomberger got another takedown to lead 12-5 with just :12 left, barely missing out on the major but securing a strong 12-6 decision and giving the Lions a 26-3 lead.
197: Three-time All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 nationally, met No. 8 Hudson Taylor of Maryland in the dual's most anticipated match-up. Davis began his mastery of Taylor with a takedown at the 2:28 mark to lead 2-1 after the Terrapin escaped. Davis used his strength and wingspan to wrap Taylor up from his shoulders and notch another takedown at the 1:20 mark. He then finished a cradle to put Taylor to his back and grab three back points to lead 7-2 after letting Taylor up. Quickly working in on Taylor's upper body, Davis proceeded to pick the eight-ranked grappler up and toss him to his back for another two-point take down, three point near fall move. Davis led 12-2 after one period and chose down to start the second stanza. Working well from underneath, Davis worked his way on top of Taylor for a reversal that led to yet another near fall situation. Five points later and Davis posted a 17-2 technical fall at the 4:12 mark. The win gave Penn State a 31-3 lead.
HWT: Sophomore Stefan Tighe (Erie, Pa.) made his Nittany Lion dual match debut in fine fashion with a solid decision over Maryland's Pat Gilmore. Tighe got his first takedown at the 2:30 mark to take a 2-1 lead early. The duo would battle for the remainder of the period scoreless and Tighe led 2-1 after a period. The Lion sophomore chose down to start the second and escaped to a 3-1 lead. Neither wrestler would manage a real scoring opportunity in the second, sending the bout the third with Tighe leading 3-1. Gilmore chose down to start the third and escaped to cut Tighe's lead to 3-2. Tighe could not break through Gilmore's defense. The first period takedown turned out to be enough for Tighe in his Penn State debut as he held on for a 3-2 win. The final three points gave Penn State a 34-3 win.
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