Zavatzky's win over Preisch helps No. 12 Virginia Tech to road win over No. 24 Lehigh, 23-9
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by Gary R. Blockus, Special to TheMat.com
Mitch Moore of Virginia Tech battles Lehigh's Ryan Pomrinca at 141 pounds. Photo by Hunter Julius/Lehigh Athletics.
Zack Zavatsky hit a big four-point move midway through the third period and held on for riding time to defeat Lehigh’s Ryan Preisch 6-2 in a rematch of last year’s NCAA quarterfinals.
Zavatsky’s decision at 184 clinched the team win as No. 12 Virginia tech rolled over Lehigh 23-9 on Sunday afternoon at Lehigh’s Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa.
“I felt great today,” said Zavatsky, ranked No. 8 in the country. “I knew my scores were going to come. I just had to put on the pressure as the match went on. I just kept wrestling in all positions and didn’t really panic. Finally I got to a leg and scrambled and got the two-and-two.”
The win for the Hokies (7-2) came in impressive fashion as the team surrendered just four take downs against the Mountain Hawks (6-8), who saw their six-match win streak come to a halt.
“We knew they were physical,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “I don’t care about losing, but we didn’t have the effort we needed to. If you don’t put any stress on anybody in the first period, you aren’t going to win late. You’ve got to stress them early to win late, and we didn’t do that.”
Other than No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (16-2), a 2018 Junior World champion, piling up a technical fall over Lehigh backup Kent Lane at 165, every individual bout was decided by five points or less.
“I think from a coaching standpoint, we still haven’t wrestled our best,” said Virginia Tech coach Tony Robie. “I feel like we can widen the gap more, and that’s a good thing because it shows we have a pretty good team. If we have everybody firing at the right time of the year I think we can do some really good things in March.”
The Hokies won seven of 10 bouts, jumped out to 12-0 lead and crusied from there.
Sophomore Joey Prata opened things up for Virginia Tech at 125 with a 5-1 decision over freshman Luke Resnick. Prata scored a first-period takedown and reversed in the middle period to take command of riding time, but couldn’t turn Resnick for back points.
The Hokies crushed Pitt 27-6 in their ACC opener on Friday night.
Korbin Myers, No. 14 in the nation at 133, worked hard for a 4-1 decision over Brandon Paetzell. He hit a takedown two minutes into his bout with Brandon Paetzell. Paetzell escape to start the final period and created a scramble on a deep double leg shot but couldn’t land the tying points. Myers went in on an ankle pick on the restart and Paetzell managed to force another scramble but couldn’t score again
The Hokies kept it rolling at 141 when Mitch Moore decisioned Ryan Pomrinca 3-1. Moore escaped from Pomrinca a few seconds into the second period, then hit a double-leg takedown with 14 seconds left for a 3-0 lead heading into the third. Pomrinca escaped to avoid riding time and shot in on a single left with 30 seconds left but couldn’t convert.
Ryan Blees (12-9) followed up on the momentum from the first three against Lehigh’s Schuyler (9-5) in a battle of seniors at 149. Blees scored a pair of first-period takedowns and built up 1:22 in riding time. He added another takedown in the final 10 seconds of the second period en route to an 8-3 decision and a 12-0 lead for the Hokies.
Lehigh freshman Joey Humphreys got the first win for Lehigh with a 6-1 decision over B.C. LaPrade. Humphreys also scored the first takedown of the afternoon for Lehigh, then added an escape after B.C. LaPrade needed to take injury time. LaPrade escaped in the second. He tried to hit a fireman’s carry before the end of the period, but Humphreys took control for the takedown to get Lehigh on the board down 12-3 at intermission.
In an evenly matched battle at 174, No. 7 Jordan Kutler of Lehigh scored first with a second period escape on No. 6 David McFadden, who escaped to start the third. But Kutler bullrushed in for a double-leg takedown with 1:30 to go and then rode him until a few seconds remained for a 4-2 decision counting the riding time.
At 197, seventh-ranked Tom Sleigh, who transferred to Virginia Tech from Bucknell, made a pair of first-period takedowns hold up for a 7-2 decision over Chris Weiler, a 184-pounder wrestling up.
Jordan Wood, Lehigh’s 285-pounder ranked seventh in the country, finished off the afternoon with a 3-2 decision over No. 18 Billy Miller. On the strength of a third-peroid takedown.
Women’s Exhibition
During intermission, Chloe Ayres, the daughter of Princeton head coach Chris Ayres, a former Lehigh wrestler and assistant coach, put on an exhibition of the growing sport of women’s wrestling.
Ayres, a sophomore at Princeton High School, went up against Tatyana Ortiz of Beat the Streets Philadelphia, who won the freestyle match 7-2. Both young women wrestle for the Athena Wrestling Club run by former Lehigh wrestler Jon Trenge.
Ortiz, a senior at Mariana Bracetti Academy in Philadelphia, became the first female wrestler to qualify for the PIAA District 12 Class 3A Championships during her freshman season. Last year as a junior, she became the first female wrestler to qualify for the Northeast Regional 3A Championships.
No. 12 Virginia Tech 23, No. 24 Lehigh 9
125 – Joey Prata (VT) dec. Luke Resnick (L) 5-1.
133 – No. 14 Korbin Myers (VT) dec. Brandon Paetzell (L) 4-1.
141 – Mitch Moore (VT) dec. Ryan Pomrinca (L) 3-1.
149 – Ryan Blees (VT) dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (L) 8-3.
157 – No. 18 Josh Humphreys (L) dec. B.C. LaPrade (VT) 6-1.
165 – No. 8 Mehki Lewis (VT) tech fall Kent Lane (L) 22-7, 7:00.
174 – No. 7 Jordan Kutler (L) dec. No. 6 David McFadden (VT) 4-2.
184 –No. 8 Zack Zavatsky (VT) dec. No. 7 Ryan Preisch (L) 6-2.
197 – No. 7 Tom Sleigh (VT) dec. Chris Weiler (L) 7-2.
285 – No. 7 Jordan Wood (L) dec. No. 18 Billy Miller (VT) 3-2
Women’s Exhibition – Tatyana Ortiz dec. Chloe Ayres 7-2.
Attendance: 1,769.
Referees: John Hnath and James Rivello III.
Zack Zavatsky hit a big four-point move midway through the third period and held on for riding time to defeat Lehigh’s Ryan Preisch 6-2 in a rematch of last year’s NCAA quarterfinals.
Zavatsky’s decision at 184 clinched the team win as No. 12 Virginia tech rolled over Lehigh 23-9 on Sunday afternoon at Lehigh’s Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa.
“I felt great today,” said Zavatsky, ranked No. 8 in the country. “I knew my scores were going to come. I just had to put on the pressure as the match went on. I just kept wrestling in all positions and didn’t really panic. Finally I got to a leg and scrambled and got the two-and-two.”
The win for the Hokies (7-2) came in impressive fashion as the team surrendered just four take downs against the Mountain Hawks (6-8), who saw their six-match win streak come to a halt.
“We knew they were physical,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “I don’t care about losing, but we didn’t have the effort we needed to. If you don’t put any stress on anybody in the first period, you aren’t going to win late. You’ve got to stress them early to win late, and we didn’t do that.”
Other than No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (16-2), a 2018 Junior World champion, piling up a technical fall over Lehigh backup Kent Lane at 165, every individual bout was decided by five points or less.
“I think from a coaching standpoint, we still haven’t wrestled our best,” said Virginia Tech coach Tony Robie. “I feel like we can widen the gap more, and that’s a good thing because it shows we have a pretty good team. If we have everybody firing at the right time of the year I think we can do some really good things in March.”
The Hokies won seven of 10 bouts, jumped out to 12-0 lead and crusied from there.
Sophomore Joey Prata opened things up for Virginia Tech at 125 with a 5-1 decision over freshman Luke Resnick. Prata scored a first-period takedown and reversed in the middle period to take command of riding time, but couldn’t turn Resnick for back points.
The Hokies crushed Pitt 27-6 in their ACC opener on Friday night.
Korbin Myers, No. 14 in the nation at 133, worked hard for a 4-1 decision over Brandon Paetzell. He hit a takedown two minutes into his bout with Brandon Paetzell. Paetzell escape to start the final period and created a scramble on a deep double leg shot but couldn’t land the tying points. Myers went in on an ankle pick on the restart and Paetzell managed to force another scramble but couldn’t score again
The Hokies kept it rolling at 141 when Mitch Moore decisioned Ryan Pomrinca 3-1. Moore escaped from Pomrinca a few seconds into the second period, then hit a double-leg takedown with 14 seconds left for a 3-0 lead heading into the third. Pomrinca escaped to avoid riding time and shot in on a single left with 30 seconds left but couldn’t convert.
Ryan Blees (12-9) followed up on the momentum from the first three against Lehigh’s Schuyler (9-5) in a battle of seniors at 149. Blees scored a pair of first-period takedowns and built up 1:22 in riding time. He added another takedown in the final 10 seconds of the second period en route to an 8-3 decision and a 12-0 lead for the Hokies.
Lehigh freshman Joey Humphreys got the first win for Lehigh with a 6-1 decision over B.C. LaPrade. Humphreys also scored the first takedown of the afternoon for Lehigh, then added an escape after B.C. LaPrade needed to take injury time. LaPrade escaped in the second. He tried to hit a fireman’s carry before the end of the period, but Humphreys took control for the takedown to get Lehigh on the board down 12-3 at intermission.
In an evenly matched battle at 174, No. 7 Jordan Kutler of Lehigh scored first with a second period escape on No. 6 David McFadden, who escaped to start the third. But Kutler bullrushed in for a double-leg takedown with 1:30 to go and then rode him until a few seconds remained for a 4-2 decision counting the riding time.
At 197, seventh-ranked Tom Sleigh, who transferred to Virginia Tech from Bucknell, made a pair of first-period takedowns hold up for a 7-2 decision over Chris Weiler, a 184-pounder wrestling up.
Jordan Wood, Lehigh’s 285-pounder ranked seventh in the country, finished off the afternoon with a 3-2 decision over No. 18 Billy Miller. On the strength of a third-peroid takedown.
Women’s Exhibition
During intermission, Chloe Ayres, the daughter of Princeton head coach Chris Ayres, a former Lehigh wrestler and assistant coach, put on an exhibition of the growing sport of women’s wrestling.
Ayres, a sophomore at Princeton High School, went up against Tatyana Ortiz of Beat the Streets Philadelphia, who won the freestyle match 7-2. Both young women wrestle for the Athena Wrestling Club run by former Lehigh wrestler Jon Trenge.
Ortiz, a senior at Mariana Bracetti Academy in Philadelphia, became the first female wrestler to qualify for the PIAA District 12 Class 3A Championships during her freshman season. Last year as a junior, she became the first female wrestler to qualify for the Northeast Regional 3A Championships.
No. 12 Virginia Tech 23, No. 24 Lehigh 9
125 – Joey Prata (VT) dec. Luke Resnick (L) 5-1.
133 – No. 14 Korbin Myers (VT) dec. Brandon Paetzell (L) 4-1.
141 – Mitch Moore (VT) dec. Ryan Pomrinca (L) 3-1.
149 – Ryan Blees (VT) dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (L) 8-3.
157 – No. 18 Josh Humphreys (L) dec. B.C. LaPrade (VT) 6-1.
165 – No. 8 Mehki Lewis (VT) tech fall Kent Lane (L) 22-7, 7:00.
174 – No. 7 Jordan Kutler (L) dec. No. 6 David McFadden (VT) 4-2.
184 –No. 8 Zack Zavatsky (VT) dec. No. 7 Ryan Preisch (L) 6-2.
197 – No. 7 Tom Sleigh (VT) dec. Chris Weiler (L) 7-2.
285 – No. 7 Jordan Wood (L) dec. No. 18 Billy Miller (VT) 3-2
Women’s Exhibition – Tatyana Ortiz dec. Chloe Ayres 7-2.
Attendance: 1,769.
Referees: John Hnath and James Rivello III.
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