After Friday's match, coach Troy Sunderland admitted that at the beginning the season, he never would have thought his squad would drop a home dual meet by 26 points, but it happened Friday night.
A lackluster performance by the No. 22 Penn State wrestling team sent the Rec Hall crowd heading toward the exit with two bouts still to go. The Nittany Lions (7-9-2, 0-3-2 Big Ten) fell to No. 6-ranked Ohio State 33-7, dropping their third-consecutive conference dual meet.
Three pins by Buckeye wrestlers gave their team a plethora of bonus points to propel them over the reeling Lion squad. Matt Dodds, Frank Molinaro and Colby Pisani were pinned by three potential national title contenders.
"It's tough, I think guys are hanging their heads too low," junior Brad Pataky said. "We need to get more belief in ourselves."
Pataky and freshman Quentin Wright registered the only two victories of the night for the Lions. Pataky continued his hot streak by majoring Buckeye sophomore Nikko Triggas, 14-3, recording five takedowns in the bout. Wright defeated former Lion Dave Rella in a thrilling 3-2 match.
There was disappointment, however, with two Lion captains. Senior Jake Strayer and junior Dan Vallimont both fell to the No. 2-ranked wrestlers at their respective weight class by the same score, 8-3.
The Lions will face No. 1 Iowa at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Rec Hall. Check the Back Points blog for live coverage during the match, and Monday's Collegian for complete coverage of the weekend.
