Travis Frick’s Pivotal Decision

Frick decision pivotal for Mountain Hawks
Saturday, January 15, 2005
By BRIAN FORTNER
The Express-Times

BETHLEHEM — Recent history, coupled with a glance at the probable matchups, made it evident that one bout probably would be the difference Friday night in the Eastern Collegiate Wrestling Association dual meet between Lehigh and Cornell.

Lehigh junior Travis Frick needed no reminder.

It happened to be Frick’s 6-3 decision over previously unbeaten Joe Mazzurco at 174 pounds that proved pivotal in the Mountain Hawks’ 20-12 victory over the Big Red before a crowd of 2,008 in Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.

“Frick was the key to the match tonight, “Mountain Hawks coach Greg Strobel said. “Maybe we still win if he loses, but that bout definitely turned the tide in our favor.”

Frick’s victory gave Lehigh a 13-9 lead with three bouts remaining.

Lehigh, the No. 5-ranked team in the nation, according to Amateur Wrestling News, got a major decision from two-time NCAA runner-up Jon Trenge at 197 and a 7-3 decision from Paul Weibel over Matt Boumil at 285 to seal the win.

“Cornell is a very good team, and after last year’s match we knew every bout was critical, “said Frick, the Nazareth Area High School alumnus who is ranked 10th nationally. “(Mazzurco) is a proven wrestler and I was prepared for that. I wasn’t aware of his record or his ranking though.”

Mazzurco came in 22-0 and ranked No. 10 in the country.

Lehigh (11-1 overall, 2-0 EIWA) won last year’s dual meet on the criteria of greater number of nearfall points after wrestling to a 16-16 tie through 10 bouts.

Frick (7-3) took the lead with an ankle pick just seconds into the first period and led 2-1 heading into the second. He added an escape and takedown in the second period and built up more than two minutes of riding time earn the victory.

“My goal was to keep moving and be aggressive, “Frick said. “Any time I can be aggressive and push the action, it’s to my advantage. So that first takedown was huge.”

Lehigh lost three of the first four bouts, including Matt Ciasulli’s 5-1 defeat to three-time All-American Travis Lee at 133, and trailed the Big Red 9-3 when Derek Zinck collected a rare bonus point with a 17-8 major decision over John Cholish at 157.

Zinck (9-3) ranked eighth nationally, took Cholish down with 10 seconds left in the bout to earn the major and cut the deficit to 9-7.

Ciasulli, a three-time PIAA champion from Easton Area High School, did all he could against Lee, the 2003 NCAA champion at 125 pounds, but it wasn’t enough.

“(Ciasulli) wrestled really well. He did a great job against a very tough, quality opponent, “Strobel said. “Lee is just the real deal.”

“This is the closest I’ve been against (Lee) and I’ll take that for now, “said Ciasulli, who is 14-2 since returning to the starting lineup. “To put things in perspective, a pair of takedowns were his only advantage. So there’s not really that big of a gap between us. We’ll take what happened and go over the film and learn from it. I’m not one to keep losing to someone.”

Lee (18-1) defeated Ciasulli twice last year — 8-3 in Lehigh’s dual meet victory over the Big Red and 13-4 in the EIWA finals at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ciasulli lost his starting spot in wrestle-offs to Pen Argyl’s Jeff Santo in November, but reclaimed it before the holiday break.

Cory Cooperman, the junior All-American out of Blair Academy, got the Mountain Hawks on the scoreboard with an 8-2 decision over Jordan Leen at 141.

Cooperman clearly was the aggressor, dictating the action throughout, but Leen’s obvious objective was to avoid giving up bonus points.

“I understand the strategy from a team standpoint, but it’s frustrating, “Coorperman said. “(Leen) wasn’t trying to score the whole match. I came off the mat mad at myself for not scoring, but I can’t control what a kid does.”

David Nakasone reponded by holding Cornell’s fourth-ranked Dustin Manotti to a regular decision at 149.

Manotti (22-1), scored the bulk of his points — four takedowns, an escape and a riding time point — off counters to Nakasone’s offense.

“I was real happy that we didn’t give up bonus points at 125 and 149, “Strobel said. “If I’m Cornell, I’m counting on bonus at both spots.”

LEHIGH 20, CORNELL 12

125 — Sr. Mike Mormile (8-2), C, d. Sr. Andrew Rizzi (9-5), 12-6

133 — Sr. Travis Lee (18-1), C, d. So. Matt Ciasulli (14-2), 5-1.

141 — Jr. Cory Cooperman (11-1), L, d. Fr. Jordan Leen (13-9), 8-2.

149 — Jr. Dustin Manotti (22-1), C, d. Fr. David Nakasone (11-6), 10-4

157 — Jr. Derek Zinck (9-3), L, md. Jr. John Cholish (15-9), 17-8.

165 — Jr. Troy Letters (8-0), L, d. So. Joey Hooker (13-8), 7-2.

174 — Jr. Travis Frick (7-3), L, d. Sr. Joe Mazzurco (22-1), 6-3.

184 — Sr. Tyler Baier (22-2), C, D. So. Dave Helfrich (12-7), 6-0.