The Bloomsburg University wrestling team lost their fourth straight dual meet this past weekend, falling by a score of 21-18 to the host West Virginia Mountaineers. The Huskies were able to work their way back from an early deficit to take the lead, but were unable to hold onto it late in the match. The Huskies suffered a similar fate at the hands of West Virginia last year, losing 19-16 after holding a 16-3 advantage halfway through the dual meet. The loss drops BU’s record to (8-6, 0-2).
The dual meet began with the 125-pound weight class, where WVU’s Shane Young picked up a quick takedown and was able to work James Bak to his back, earning the fall in 1:47. In the ensuing match, Bloom’s Dan Gaylord faced off against 18th ranked Colin Johnston. The match was close going into the third period as Johnston held a 2-1 lead, but he was able to expand that with an escape and two takedowns in the period. With over four minutes of riding time built up, the point gave him an 8-3 decision.
In the 141-pound match BU’s Jason Guffey scored the first points on a takedown, but the Mountaineers’ Anthony Curcio was able to escape and pick up a takedown of his own. The first period would see no more scoring, but Curcio was able to grab three back points in the second period and held on for the 7-5 victory. Next, WVU’s Mike Rowe and Josh Roosa felt like the usual seven minutes of wrestling wasn’t enough to decide their match. The wrestlers were tied at four points each through three periods so they went to sudden victory, but neither was able to pick up a point. In the first tiebreaker Roosa was able to break free to earn the escape, as well as pick up a takedown, but Rowe earned a reversal before the whistle to keep the match close at 7-6 heading into the next 30 second tiebreaker. With Rowe starting from the bottom position and ready to score some points of his own, Roosa stayed tough and rode out the period, earning the victory and getting the Huskies on the board.
Now only down 12-3, 8th ranked Matt Moley, who was expected to earn much-needed bonus points for the Huskies, took the mat against Kyle Eason. Moley did just that, getting the pin near the end of the third period, at the 6:32 mark. Although he picked up six points for his team, Moley was not satisfied, saying, “I’m not happy with my performance because I didn’t wrestle with any intensity or energy.”
At 165 pounds, Bloom’s Rick Schmelyun, currently ranked 12th according to Intermat.com, took the match against a familiar opponent in Donnie Jones. Jones had beaten Schmelyun the past two years when these teams met for their yearly dual meet, picking up a 9-1 major decision just a year ago. But the story would be different this time around as the Husky drew first blood with a first period takedown and three-point near fall. He advanced his lead to 7-0 before Jones got on the board with a reversal. Schmelyun would then earn an escape, but Jones, always one to push the pace, secured two takedowns to close the lead. However, Schmelyun was able to keep him at bay for the remainder of the match, bringing in the 11-7 victory and tying the match at 12 points apiece. BU’s 165 pounder felt he wrestled well, saying, “I beat a guy that beat me in our two previous meetings so I was pretty happy about that.”
Despite the big win, Schmelyun stills sees room for improvement, adding, “Like other guys on the team, I got a lead early in the match and then backed off my opponent and tried to sit on my lead, which is something I need to work on.”
With the match now tied, West Virginia looked to Matt Weston to regain the lead for them, but Nate Graham would have none of that. The two exchanged points early, and the match saw Weston take a late 3-2 lead, but Graham would not be denied, earning a takedown with just seconds left in the match to notch the 4-3 win and put the Huskies on top for the first time all night.
The Huskies continued to roll as 184 pounder Derek Coffey picked up a 9-3 decision over Robert DeSano, lengthening the team lead to 18-12. WVU’s Kyle Rooney kept the match alive as he was able to finish a low single leg takedown very late in the match, winning a 3-1 decision over Brian Shaw.
The stage was set for the final match of the night, with the Mountaineers needing a decision to force a tie, and bonus points for the win. WVU heavyweight Brandon Williamson quickly took the lead over Zac Walsh with a first period takedown, eventually working for three back points. Williamson was then able to get Walsh to his back and secure the pin, bringing the home team back from their deficit and clinching the 21-18 dual meet victory.
Losing the match was a heartbreaker for the Huskies who felt that the match was theirs to win. Although they lost by a small margin, Moley commented, “I think it was the worst our team has wrestled since I have been a part of this program. I don’t know what it was, but nobody had energy for the most part.”
Schmelyun also felt the team did not wrestle well, explaining, “We had a lot of opportunities to close out matches and win but we couldn't pull through. I think we need to get better at wrestling through till the end of the match. We would get up early in the match and then coast to the end, and that’s something we need to work on.”
Bloomsburg is back on the mats twice this weekend with home meets against Clarion on Friday at 7 p.m. and against Cleveland State Sunday at 1 p.m. The team is looking to turn their recent struggles around with wins in both matches. Moley stated, “We need to win them both, we need to make a statement and let everybody know that we shouldn’t have lost to West Virginia, because Clarion just beat them two days before we wrestled them.”
Schmelyun feels “The most important thing to us being successful this weekend is to have confidence in our ability as a team and to wrestle each match through till last whistle.”
Moley believes “We definitely need to refocus and get our confidence level where it needs to be. We are a very talented team, but sometimes we forget that. It is real important for us to come together as a team and hold everyone accountable for making each other work hard in order to finish out the season successfully.”
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