Williamsport, PA—Today, the Ephs participated in the 2014 Budd Whitehill National Duals tournament hosted by Lycoming College. 18 division III schools are competing in this two-day championship, and Williams made a statement today by defeating the team ranked 25th in the country. Our wrestlers went 1-1 in the first day of the tournament, beating University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and falling to SUNY Cortland (#9) in a later match.
While head coach Scott Honecker was thrilled with his team's first win of the weekend, he was not entirely surprised by the outcome. "Although the seating in the national rankings made it seem like an upset," Honecker remarked, "make no mistake about it, when this team is wrestling their best and is healthy, they can deal with any team in the country."
When asked what this win meant for the team as they progressed in to the tournament and their season, the coach replied: "as an unranked team, beating a ranked team is a big deal for us and hopefully it will build confidence going into the remainder of the tournament."
Jorge Lopez (157) had another notable performance, battling in a heavier weight class than usual through an injury to come out with a 4:19 pin against University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Austin Wruble then took over the 157 position for the Cortland match, finishing with a personal record of 0-1.
Timothy Garripoli (149) was "solid all day," according to Honecker, with two big wins on the day, including a 6:22 pin against Cortland.
Freshman Martin Strenk had a big day, defeating both of his opponents in the 174 weight class.
Daniel Sedita wrestled at 125 for both matches, finishing 1-1 on the day.
Similarly, Carson Brooks represented Williams at the 141 weight class, also finishing 1-1.
Christopher Chorzepa went 1-0 on the day, sharing the 184 slot with Dan Kurnick, who fell to his Cortland opponent.
Dan Evangelakos (133), Anthony Brooks (197), Ben Wertz (285), and Kyle Gaffney (165) faced stiff competition today, each finishing 0-2.
"Overall everyone gave 110% and we wouldn't have been able to pull off this win without a team effort," coach Honecker noted.
After their loss to Cortland, Honecker says that his team needs to "dust themselves off and bounce back" for the upcoming opponents. Tomorrow, the Ephs start off the day with a match against Theil College. Honecker's outlook is optimistic: "the idea is to stay healthy stay focused and hopefully we can make it to the placement rounds Saturday evening."
2014 Whitehill Duals - Williams
Match #1 Champ. Round 1: Williams received a Bye
Match #2 Champ. Round 2: Williams defeated #25 Wis.-Stevens Point 23-15
125 - Daniel Sedita (Williams) over Ryan Osse (Wis.-Stevens Point) Maj 8-0
133 - Lance Fabry (Wis.-Stevens Point) over Dan Evangelakos (Williams) Dec 5-3
141 - Carson Brooks (Williams) over David Granatelli (Wis.-Stevens Point) Maj 13-3
149 - Timothy Garripoli (Williams) over John Roycraft (Wis.-Stevens Point) Dec 9-6
157 - Jorge Lopez (Williams) over Jamey Simmons (Wis.-Stevens Point) Fall 4:19
165 - Logan Hermsen (Wis.-Stevens Point) over Kyle Gaffney (Williams) Dec 4-1
174 - Martin Strenk (Williams) over Bill Langford (Wis.-Stevens Point) Dec 7-4
184 - Christoper Chorzepa (Williams) over Andy Borchardt (Wis.-Stevens Point) Dec 12-7
197 - Dustin Wozniak (Wis.-Stevens Point) over Anthony Brooks (Williams) Dec 6-1
285 - Jordan Koranda (Wis.-Stevens Point) over Ben Wertz (Williams) Fall 3:29
Match #3 Quarterfinal: #9 SUNY Cortland defeated Williams 29-9
125 - Mat Bradice (SUNY Cortland) over Daniel Sedita (Williams) Fall 1:31
133 - Sean Kempf (SUNY Cortland) over Dan Evangelakos (Williams) Dec 8-2
141 - Anthony Battista (SUNY Cortland) over Carson Brooks (Williams) Dec 6-0
149 - Timothy Garripoli (Williams) over Lucas Ciancamino (SUNY Cortland) Fall 6:22
157 - James Ondris (SUNY Cortland) over Austin Wruble (Williams) Dec 6-1
165 - Joeseph Cataldo (SUNY Cortland) over Kyle Gaffney (Williams) Maj 11-0
174 - Martin Strenk (Williams) over Colin Barber (SUNY Cortland) Dec 3-1
184 - Jagger Rebozo (SUNY Cortland) over Dan Kurnick (Williams) Dec 7-1
197 - Joey Giaramita (SUNY Cortland) over Anthony Brooks (Williams) Maj 12-4
285 - Lance Moore (SUNY Cortland) over Ben Wertz (Williams) Dec 5-0
