Lehigh 27 Pittsburgh 9

Mountain Hawks topple Pittsburgh, 27-9
11/15/2008

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Freshman Sean Bilodeau pinned Adam Counterman 2:27 into the first period, keying a six-bout Lehigh run, as the 23rd-ranked Mountain Hawks moved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season with a 27-9 win over Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center. Junior David Craig added his second win by fall in as many bouts as Lehigh won seven of ten matches on the evening to spoil the Panthers' dual meet opener.

“It was a nice win,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “The guys wrestled hard. There were a lot of close matches that we pulled out, but there's still a lot of work to go. The close matches were good for us though, because they should prepare us well for nationals at the end of the season.”

Bilodeau's fall broke a 6-6 deadlock and gave the Mountain Hawks a 12-6 lead at the halfway point. He scored the initial takedown and after nearly two minutes of riding time lifted Counterman and brought him down to his back to secure the fall.

The dual's first four bouts were all tightly contested. A takedown in the final seconds lifted Chris Albright to a 6-4 win over freshman John McDonald at 125. The Mountain Hawks then sandwiched one-point wins by co-captains Matt Fisk and Trevor Chinn at 133 and 149 respectively to leave the match tied 6-6 after four bouts.

Chinn's 3-2 win over Mark Powell keyed a run of six straight bout wins for Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks used the momentum to build a comfortable lead. Junior Mike Galante and sophomore Alex Caruso added wins by decision for the Brown and White, and freshman Joe Kennedy followed Craig's second pin of the year with his first career victory, a 12-6 win over A.J. Hunte at 197.

Craig nearly pinned Zac Thomusseit with a cradle at the end of the first period, but settled for a 5-0 lead. Early in the third period, Craig reversed Thomusseit onto his back, securing the fall in 5:20.

The Mountain Hawks will return home for a pair of matches next weekend, beginning with the annual Sheridan Dual, where Lehigh will face No. 10 Michigan at Stabler Arena. The match gets underway at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by logging on to Lehighsports.com or by visiting the Stabler Arena box office on match night.

125 Chris Albright (Pitt) dec. John McDonald (Lehigh) 6-4
133 Matt Fisk (Lehigh) dec. Jimmy Conroy (Pitt) 4-3
141 Tyler Nauman (Pitt) dec. Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) 4-1
149 Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) dec. Mark Powell (Pitt) 3-2
157 Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) Fall Adam Counterman (Pitt) 2:27
165 Mike Galante (Lehigh) dec. Ethan Headlee (Pitt) 4-3
174 Alex Caruso (Lehigh) dec. David Sullivan (Pitt) 6-2
184 David Craig (Lehigh) Fall Zac Thomusseit (Pitt) 5:20
197 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) dec. A.J. Hunte (Pitt) 12-6
285 Zach Sheaffer (Pitt) dec. Zach Rey (Lehigh) 2-1