Panthers Open 2005-06 Season With Eliminations
11/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 6, 2005
PITTSBURGH-The Panthers kicked off their season on Sunday evening with wrestle-offs held at the Fitzgerald Field House. With their first dual meet of the season against Bloomsburg in two weeks, some new faces are taking over the Panthers' starting lineup.
In the first round at 125 pounds, true freshman Robbie Hickman (Waretown, N.J./Southern Regional) defeated fellow freshman Brandon Skonieczky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) by a score of 2-0. Hickman went on to face true freshman Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) in round two where he lost 7-3.
Senior Mike Ciotti (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) pinned sophomore Zach Bowman (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) at the 3:47 mark to earn the starting spot at 133 pounds. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) maintained his starting position after defeating redshirt freshman Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) 2-0.
Freshman newcomers dominated at 149 pounds as well, with Brandon Smith (Columbia, Pa./Columbia) defeating sophomore Julian Warshaw (New York, N.Y./Poly Prep) by a score of 17-0. Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) earned a starting position after defeating Smith 13-6.
Returning NCAA qualifier Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) held on to a starting position after defeating true freshman Zach Snyder (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) 18-1 in the first round and redshirt freshman Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) 9-2 in the second round. Richmond won his first round with a major decision over freshman Dave Kapetanovich (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills/CCAC).
At 165 pounds, Tim Allen (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) defeated freshman Mike Eckenroth (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) 7-1, but was pinned by returning NCAA qualifier Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) at the 3:00 mark.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan) earned a starting spot at 184 pounds after defeating Mike Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) 3-0, and Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) retained his starting position at 197 pounds after a major decision over Matt Darnell (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley C.A.).
The Panthers will officially open their season with a league dual meet at Bloomsburg on Tuesday, November 15. The meet is set for 7:30 p.m.