Edinboro Concludes Dual Season With 37-3 Win Over Pittsburgh
Sixth-Ranked Fighting Scots Set School Record for Wins with 17th Victory
February 16, 2007

EDINBORO, PA – One night after a narrow 21-16 win over West Virginia, the Edinboro University wrestling team put an exclamation point on its season with a 37-3 win over Pittsburgh. The Fighting Scots, ranked sixth in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Coaches Poll, conclude the dual meet season with a 17-1 record and also finish undefeated in EWL action at 6-0 for the second straight year. Pittsburgh is 7-7 and 2-4 in EWL action.

The 17 wins sets a school record for wins in a season, breaking the previous mark of 16 set in 1987-88 and 1994-95. Edinboro has now won 12 straight matches and 30 of its last 31. It also marked a perfect ending for seven seniors who honored prior to the match.

Edinboro won nine of the ten bouts, with the highlight of the evening the matchup between Matt Hill (Freedom, PA/Freedom), part of the senior class, and Pitt’s Matt Kocher at 157 lbs. Hill came in ranked tenth by both InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News, but was coming off a 3-2 tiebreaker loss to WVU’s Zac Fryling. Kocher came in ranked 11th by InterMat and 14th by Amateur Wrestling News.

Kocher took the lead with a takedown with one minute remaining in the first period, but a Hill escape made it 2-1 after one period. Hill knotted the match in the second period with an escape, but Kocher entered the third period with 1:13 in riding time. Kocher moved ahead 3-2 with an escape at the 1:40 mark, but Hill scored the winning takedown with 1:10 left, then rode Kocher out for the 4-3 decision.

Hill improved to 28-3 with the win and is now 101-38 for his career. Kocher falls to 20-6.

The other matchup which drew a great deal of interest came at heavyweight, where the Boro’s Joe Fendone (Salem, NH/Central Catholic(Mass.)) squared off against Zach Scheaffer. Scheaffer, ranked 19th by Amateur Wrestling News, had defeated Fendone 4-0 earlier in the year, and Fendone was coming off his worst defeat of the year, a 17-4 major to Dustin Rogers of West Virginia.

Following a scoreless first period, Fendone chose down to begin the second period and ended up reversing Scheaffer with 35 seconds left in the period for a 2-0 lead. Scheaffer chose neutral to start the third, and neither wrestler would score as Fendone won 2-0. The sophomore improved to 23-8, while Scheaffer, the 2005 EWL champion, is now 25-10.

Edinboro began the evening with a string of six straight wins. Freshman Eric Morrill (Sandown, NH/Timberlane Regional) began the night with a 3-2 decision over Brad Gentzle, an NCAA qualifier a year ago, at 125 lbs. Morrill used a first period takedown and an escape to start the third to improve to 14-13.

Ricky Deubel (Chagrin Falls, OH/Kenston) gave Edinboro a 9-0 lead as he need just 1:08 to pin John Sutika at 133 lbs. Deubel is now 24-9 and has won 11 of his last 12 matches.

Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, NJ/River Dell Regional) made it two wins for the Boro freshmen with an 8-5 decision over John Ciampoli at 141 lbs. Cocozzo fell behind 5-0 and was almost pinned early in the match, but then scored the final eight points. He closed to within 5-4 after one period thanks to a reversal and two back points, the tied the match with an escape midway through the second period. He broke the 5-5 tie with a takedown with 30 seconds remaining in the match, and added a point for riding time. Cocozzo is now 14-11.

Fifth-ranked Gregor Gillespie (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) came out with a point to prove at 149 lbs. The night before he lost just his second match of the year, 10-9 to WVU’s David Jauregui. The sophomore registered a takedown just ten seconds into the bout, then picked up a total of 12 near-fall points for a 14-0 lead after just three minutes. He ended the match for his tenth win by technical fall with a takedown nine seconds into the second period. The final score was 17-0, with the end coming at 3:09. Gillespie is now 27-2 and 67-6 for his career.

Following the Hill match, Deonte Penn (Solon, OH/Solon) picked up a win by forfeit as Edinboro went ahead 26-0. Penn, another senior, is now 30-2 and 107-41 for his career.

Pittsburgh picked up its lone win at 174 lbs., as second-ranked Keith Gavin avoided an upset bid by Phil Moricone (Derry, NH/Pinkerton) with a 3-1 decision. After a scoreless first period, Gavin scored on three of his points in the second period with an escape and then a takedown with just five seconds remaining in the period. Moricone came up with an escape in the third, but could not register the tying takedown. Gavin improved to 21-3, while Moricone is now 22-8.

Alex Clemsen (Moberly, MO/Moberly) gave the home fans something to remember him by as the senior posted a technical fall over Kyle Deliere at 184 lbs., 19-3 at 6:10. Clemsen held a 6-1 lead after one period thanks to a pair of takedowns and two back points, then had an escape and takedown to make it 9-1 after two periods. He exploded in the third period with ten points on three takedowns, three near-fall points and riding time. Clemsen, ranked seventh by InterMat and tenth by Amateur Wrestling News, is now 30-2 this season and 114-33 for his career, moving into 11th place in career wins.

Jim Gibson (Hermitage, PA/Kennedy Catholic) closed out his career at home with a 5-2 decision over Mike Heist at 197 lbs. Gibson, now 19-8, used a first period takedown, plus a pair of third period escapes and 2:34 in riding time for the win.

Edinboro now gets ready to defend its title at the EWL Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4 at Cleveland State.

RECORDS: Edinboro 17-1, 6-0 EWL; Pittsburgh 7-7, 2-4 EWL

NOTES: Edinboro sets school record for wins in a season, previously set in 1987-88 and 1994-95, and finishes undefeated in EWL dual meets for the second straight year. Edinboro has now won 12 straight matches and 30 of its last 31 matches.