Slipping away
Grapplers suffer first loss to Pitt in 20 years

By JONATHAN BOMBULIE
Collegian Sports Writer

BRIDGEVILLE -- It was just like Jan. 15. Or Feb. 3. Or Feb. 11. Or any of the wrestling team's 12 dual-meet losses this season.

Operating with a familiar depleted lineup, the Lions (5-12) dropped their final two dual meets -- 18-14 at West Virginia and 21-11 to No. 21 Pittsburgh at Chartiers Valley High School last weekend.

"I wish tomorrow was the first dual meet," Coach John Fritz said. "I'd like to do it all over again right now. We always have a good dual-meet team, we've just been decimated this year."

Saturday against Pitt, 126-pound All-Amercian Sanshiro Abe, Freshman Clint Musser and redshirt junior John Hughes were all out, suffering from leg injuries.

At West Virginia last Friday, the Lions were also missing Fritz, who was serving a one-match suspension for unsportslike conduct during the Lock Haven match Feb. 9. His team turned in a few outstanding individual performances, but lost at key weights and dropped the dual meet.

In two crucial matches, Gary Harris beat Lion John Strittmatter, 5-1, at 118, and Jason Frable defeated Lion John Lange 8-5 at 150.

"If we had lost at 150, we would have been in trouble," Mountaineers Coach Craig Turnbull said. "We both sent out freshmen who were a little gun-shy from a long season."

For the Lions, freshman Eddie Jayne, filling in for Abe at 126, destroyed David Sentner, 24-7. Redshirt senior Rob Piper also scored a huge win at 190 when he upset No. 12 Doug Vetter, 5-2.

"(Piper) gave a great effort in his match tonight," acting Coach Hachiro Oishi said. "We could give him the outstanding wrestler award for the dual meet."

The Lions' loss to Pitt was the first defeat at the hands of the Panthers since the 1974-75 season. Penn State was competitve in nearly every match, but could not win the close ones.

"I feel bad for John (Fritz)," Pitt Coach Rande Stottlemeyer said. "He's had a lot of injuries, and we all go through that. But the program is on a solid foundation -- they'll be back."

Heavyweight Kerry McCoy, who won his 80th and 81st consecutive matches and ran his season record to 34-0, is thankful the Lions will get to embark on a whole new season March 4 at the Big Ten Championships.

"Obviously, this year's wasn't a good dual team," Kerry McCoy said. "But we've done well in the tournaments we've been in, so we should do well in the rest of them."