Jan. 14, 2005
LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI wrestling team took five of the first six matches against George Mason Friday evening, then held on for a 22-18 win over their in-state rivals in non-conference wrestling action at the Thunderdome, on post at VMI.
A disqualification by David Emison of GMU at 133 lbs. against VMI's Tyler Anthony (Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak), followed by a 12-3 major decision win by VMI's David Metzler (Dayton, Va./Turner-Ashby) at 141 lbs. gave the Keydets a quick 10-3 advantage, one that they would not relinquish as the match progressed.
"Tyler's (Anthony) win was the key match for us winning tonight," said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. "He wrestled his tail off. He lost to Emison at the State Championships (last Saturday), but kept the heat on him, frustrated him, and made him lose his cool. You never know at these matches, the turning point could come very early in the match, and it did for us tonight."
The Patriots jumped on top in the first weight class of the evening, 125 lbs., when Joe Caughlin defeated VMI freshman Jeremy Adams (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) 12-9.
The Keydets fought back at the middle weights, as Anthony and Metzler's wins spurred a run of five straight VMI wins, running the Keydet advantage to 19-3 through six matches.
At 149 lbs., sophomore Sam Alvarenga (Springfield, Va./Thomas Edison) won his fifth straight match, improving his overall record on the year to 16-6, 4-1 in dual matches, in defeating GMU's Robert Henry 11-6.
Chris Hardy (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) continued his hot streak, winning his fourth match in his last five chances, as he defeated Mitch Webster of GMU 7-3 at 157 lbs. Tommy Cunningham (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) improved his dual record to 5-0 and his overall mark to 16-5 while continuing to wrestle at 165 lbs., defeating Randy Oates by a 6-1 margin.
The Patriots struck back at 174 lbs., beginning a run of three GMU victories in the match's final four pairings. Nick Webster defeated VMI's Jeff Sale (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) 5-2, giving GMU their second win of the night and cutting the VMI advantage to 19-6.
At 184 lbs., sophomore Corry Murray (Tully, N.Y./Tully) stepped up for the Keydets, and brought back a 7-2 victory over Jim Martin, giving VMI a 22-6 advantage.
The Keydets forfeited the 197 lb. match, while GMU's Joel Caruso pinned Brian Yannetti 36 seconds into the match, bringing the final total to a 22-18 VMI decision.
"Everybody wrestled hard for us tonight. We weren't smart in a few places, but I thought that we did a real nice job wrestling on our feet tonight, that was probably the key to us winning."
Match Results:
125 - Joe Caughlin (GMU) def. Jeremy Adams (VMI) 12-9, GMU 3-0
133 - Tyler Anthony (VMI) def. David Emison (GMU) DQ, VMI 6-3
141 - David Metzler (VMI) maj. dec. Jay Chichester (GMU) 12-3, VMI 10-3
149 - Sam Alvarenga (VMI) def. Robert Henry (GMU) 11-6, VMI 13-3
157 - Chris Hardy (VMI) def. Mitch Webster (GMU) 7-3, VMI 16-3
165 - Tommy Cunningham (VMI) def. Randy Oates (GMU) 5-1, VMI 19-3
174 - Nick Webster (GMU) def. Jeff Sale (VMI) 5-2, VMI 19-6
184 - Corry Murray (VMI) def. Jim Martin (GMU) 7-2, VMI 22-6
197 - Harry Zander (GMU) wins by forfeit, VMI 22-12
285 - Joel Caruso (GMU) pinned Brian Yannetti (VMI), VMI 22-18
