Wrestling Loses Heartbreaker to Mules

Wrestling Loses Heartbreaker to Mules

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – It was déjà vu all over again for the Ursinus College wrestling team as the Bears suffered a heartbreaking 20-18 defeat in their Centennial Conference opener at Muhlenberg in a Wednesday night thriller.

For the second consecutive season, the Mules (17-5, 1-1) clinched victory in the final stages of the last bout. Scott Schaeffer took down senior William McGinley with 15 seconds remaining in the third period at heavyweight, securing a 3-1 decision at the death.

The pulse-pounding result was all too familiar for Ursinus (5-2, 0-1), which lost last year's matchup in eerily similar fashion. With the Bears trailing 21-20 inside Helfferich Hall, and the same two wrestlers battling with the match in the balance, Schaeffer eked out a 6-5 decision on riding time amid controversy and calls for stalling.

Early pins by freshmen Collin Wickramaratna and Kyle Seibert were enough to keep the Mules at arm's length until the end.

Wickramaratna was on his way to a technical fall deep into the third period against Matt Ferrante at 125, but gave the Bears an extra point by pinning his adversary with only 11 seconds remaining in the bout. The pin was the rookie's fourth of the season and improved his overall record to a robust 19-5.

Seibert turned what appeared to be a deadlock into a six-point swing in the blink of an eye. After battling with Matthew Castimore at 141 for nearly two minutes with neither grappler able to gain control, Seibert capitalized on a small window of opportunity and flipped his foe with a lightning-quick, maneuver. With Castimore on his back, it took Seibert only a few seconds to polish off his fourth fall of the season.

The Mules countered the pins by Ursinus' first-year duo with major decisions at 133 and 149.

Sophomore Jake Folk was first on the board against Brian Jamison at 157, scoring a takedown near the end of a first period featuring plenty of action but little in the way of points. Folk doubled his lead with an illegal hold by Jamison followed by an escape, but his opponent answered back with a takedown and accumulated more than a minute of riding time in the stanza. Jamison tied the bout at 4 with a takedown with a minute left in the third and managed to ride out the remainder of the period for a thrilling 5-4 victory.

Senior Zachary Goranson drew first blood against Ronnie Grevera with a late takedown in the first period, then rode out the entirety of the second and added another takedown in the third for a 5-1 decision at 165.

Freshman Gary Nagle kept things tight against Dylan Schwartz, dropping just an 8-3 decision at 174 to keep the Bears in front by a 15-14 margin.

Senior Anthony Cutrufello dropped Jimmy Fratantoni twice in the opening minute of their 184-pound clash, opening up a 4-1 advantage, but the Muhlenberg man quickly knotted the match at 4-all with an escape and his first takedown. Cutrufello escaped to take a 5-4 edge into the second frame.

Cutrufello spent most of the second period on top before turning Fratantoni and tacking on a pair of back points. A second stalling warning on Fratantoni gave Cutrufello an 8-4 lead to begin the third, and the pair traded reversals to make it 10-6 as the horn sounded and Cutrufello earned another point on riding time.

Wrestling at 197 for the first time in his career (and against the defending CC champion, no less), sophomore Ben Maack held his own before conceding a 7-2 decision to Gennaro Cerminara.

That set up the winner-take-all heavyweight rematch between McGinley and Schaeffer. After a scoreless first, McGinley chose the down position to open the second and quickly escaped for a 1-0 lead. Schaeffer returned the favor in the third with an immediate escape to even the bout. The two traded close calls before Schaeffer finally broke the stalemate with 15 ticks on the clock.

Ursinus continues CC competition at Stevens on Saturday with duals against the nationally ranked Ducks and Merchant Marine.

Muhlenberg 20, Ursinus 18

125 – Collin Wickramaratna (U) pinned Matt Ferrante, 6:49 (6-0)

133 – Josh Hickey (M) maj. dec. Brandon Miller, 10-2 (6-4)

141 – Kyle Seibert (U) pinned Mathew Castimore, 2:02 (12-4)

149 – Austin Sherman (M) maj. dec. Patrick Rowe, 13-4 (12-8)

157 – Brian Jamison (M) dec. Jake Folk, 5-4 (12-11)

165 – Zachary Goranson (U) dec. Ronnie Grevera, 5-1 (15-11)

174 – Dylan Schwartz (M) dec. Gary Nagle, 8-3 (15-14)

184 – Anthony Cutrufello (U) dec. Jimmy Fratantoni, 11-6 (18-14)

197 – Gennaro Cerminara (M) dec. Ben Maack, 7-2 (18-17)

285 – Scott Schaffer (M) dec. William McGinley, 3-1 (18-20)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – It was déjà vu all over again for the Ursinus College wrestling team as the Bears suffered a heartbreaking 20-18 defeat in their Centennial Conference opener at Muhlenberg in a Wednesday night thriller.

For the second consecutive season, the Mules (17-5, 1-1) clinched victory in the final stages of the last bout. Scott Schaeffer took down senior William McGinley with 15 seconds remaining in the third period at heavyweight, securing a 3-1 decision at the death.

The pulse-pounding result was all too familiar for Ursinus (5-2, 0-1), which lost last year's matchup in eerily similar fashion. With the Bears trailing 21-20 inside Helfferich Hall, and the same two wrestlers battling with the match in the balance, Schaeffer eked out a 6-5 decision on riding time amid controversy and calls for stalling.

Early pins by freshmen Collin Wickramaratna and Kyle Seibert were enough to keep the Mules at arm's length until the end.

Wickramaratna was on his way to a technical fall deep into the third period against Matt Ferrante at 125, but gave the Bears an extra point by pinning his adversary with only 11 seconds remaining in the bout. The pin was the rookie's fourth of the season and improved his overall record to a robust 19-5.

Seibert turned what appeared to be a deadlock into a six-point swing in the blink of an eye. After battling with Matthew Castimore at 141 for nearly two minutes with neither grappler able to gain control, Seibert capitalized on a small window of opportunity and flipped his foe with a lightning-quick, maneuver. With Castimore on his back, it took Seibert only a few seconds to polish off his fourth fall of the season.

The Mules countered the pins by Ursinus' first-year duo with major decisions at 133 and 149.

Sophomore Jake Folk was first on the board against Brian Jamison at 157, scoring a takedown near the end of a first period featuring plenty of action but little in the way of points. Folk doubled his lead with an illegal hold by Jamison followed by an escape, but his opponent answered back with a takedown and accumulated more than a minute of riding time in the stanza. Jamison tied the bout at 4 with a takedown with a minute left in the third and managed to ride out the remainder of the period for a thrilling 5-4 victory.

Senior Zachary Goranson drew first blood against Ronnie Grevera with a late takedown in the first period, then rode out the entirety of the second and added another takedown in the third for a 5-1 decision at 165.

Freshman Gary Nagle kept things tight against Dylan Schwartz, dropping just an 8-3 decision at 174 to keep the Bears in front by a 15-14 margin.

Senior Anthony Cutrufello dropped Jimmy Fratantoni twice in the opening minute of their 184-pound clash, opening up a 4-1 advantage, but the Muhlenberg man quickly knotted the match at 4-all with an escape and his first takedown. Cutrufello escaped to take a 5-4 edge into the second frame.

Cutrufello spent most of the second period on top before turning Fratantoni and tacking on a pair of back points. A second stalling warning on Fratantoni gave Cutrufello an 8-4 lead to begin the third, and the pair traded reversals to make it 10-6 as the horn sounded and Cutrufello earned another point on riding time.

Wrestling at 197 for the first time in his career (and against the defending CC champion, no less), sophomore Ben Maack held his own before conceding a 7-2 decision to Gennaro Cerminara.

That set up the winner-take-all heavyweight rematch between McGinley and Schaeffer. After a scoreless first, McGinley chose the down position to open the second and quickly escaped for a 1-0 lead. Schaeffer returned the favor in the third with an immediate escape to even the bout. The two traded close calls before Schaeffer finally broke the stalemate with 15 ticks on the clock.

Ursinus continues CC competition at Stevens on Saturday with duals against the nationally ranked Ducks and Merchant Marine.

Muhlenberg 20, Ursinus 18

125 – Collin Wickramaratna (U) pinned Matt Ferrante, 6:49 (6-0)

133 – Josh Hickey (M) maj. dec. Brandon Miller, 10-2 (6-4)

141 – Kyle Seibert (U) pinned Mathew Castimore, 2:02 (12-4)

149 – Austin Sherman (M) maj. dec. Patrick Rowe, 13-4 (12-8)

157 – Brian Jamison (M) dec. Jake Folk, 5-4 (12-11)

165 – Zachary Goranson (U) dec. Ronnie Grevera, 5-1 (15-11)

174 – Dylan Schwartz (M) dec. Gary Nagle, 8-3 (15-14)

184 – AJ Cutrufello (U) dec. Jimmy Fratantoni, 11-6 (18-14)

197 – Gennaro Cerminara (M) dec. Ben Maack, 7-2 (18-17)

285 – Scott Schaffer (M) dec. William McGinley, 3-1 (18-20)