LEXINGTON, Va. ? It was a night of narrow, hard-fought matches, as The Citadel defeated VMI 21-9 in Southern Conference action on Thursday evening at the Thunderdome.
The Keydets (0-8, 0-3 SoCon) cut the advantage to 12-9 with three matches remaining, only to see the Bulldogs (7-4-1, 1-1 SoCon) pull out each of the final three bouts.
“We just lost too many close matches tonight,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. “Both teams fought hard all night, every match was close. All of them were under eight points, and a lot of those were closer than that even. I really sense that we're making progress, which excites me and I hope it excites the guys. We really appreciate the corps coming out, what a great turnout tonight. Having them come out and support us is always important to our program.”
The visitors got on the scoreboard first, as sophomore Derek Sickel fought back from an early deficit to score a 10-4 win at 165 lbs. Keydet sophomore Jayme Gordon jumped on top 2-0 in the first period, before Sickel scored a takedown and three back points to take control in the second period. The Bulldogs then moved ahead 6-0 with a 4-0 decision by J.C. Oddo at 174.
Freshman Vinnie Gallo put the Keydets on the board with a 3-1 decision at 184. After a scoreless first period, Gallo rode out sophomore Brian Hurley for the duration of the second period. The third period began with Hurley choosing the neutral position, where Gallo was able to score a takedown. Hurley escaped late in the period, but could do no more as Gallo's 3:34 of riding time led to a 3-1 decision.
The Bulldogs moved their advantage back out to 9-3, as freshman Odie Delaney took a 7-4 win over sophomore Ronnie Ellsworth. In the bout, Delaney built a 4-0 lead through the first two periods, before Ellsworth began his comeback. The Keydet had a pair of takedowns and allowed escapes after both to bring the deficit to 6-4, however, Delaney held on for the win, and with nearly four minutes of riding time, earned the 7-4 victory.
Sophomore Josh Wine's first period takedown proved vital in a VMI win at heavyweight. Wine then escaped in the second to move ahead 3-0, while neither combatant could score in the third period, again bringing the Bulldog lead to only three points.
At 125, Bulldog junior Tyler Sim jumped on top 2-1 in the first period with a takedown of John Pope. Sim grew his lead to 3-1 with a second period escape, while Pope countered with another escape early in the third period. Pope could muster nothing more, however, as Sim gained the riding time point to bring the final to 4-2.
Keydet freshman Tyler Hutchens made his first appearance in nearly a month at 133, wrestling a scoreless first period against freshman Richard Alarcon. Each wrestler escaped after choosing the bottom position, before a third period takedown by Hutchens led to a 3-2 decision, again bringing VMI to within three points in the team score.
The Bulldogs had the answer, however, as Derek Royster claimed a 10-6 win over David Yost at 141. Yost took a 3-2 lead through one period, before Royster escaped and notched a pair of takedowns in the second to take control.
Needing a win to stay in the match, the Keydets lost another tight decision at 149. The Citadel's Pierre Frazile jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first period, scoring a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall, before Munno scored an escape in the second period. In the third, Munno took down Frazile to bring the score to 6-5, but an escape by Frazile was the only scoring left in the match as the Bulldogs locked up the win.
Bulldog sophomore Keith Koziel won the final match of the night, a 10-4 decision over Keydet redshirt freshman Joel Hutchens.
Both VMI and The Citadel return to action on Saturday, participating in the 15th Annual All-Academy Championships, being hosted at the Thunderdome.
The Citadel 21, VMI 9
165 Derek Sickel (The Citadel) DEC Jayme Gordon (VMI), 10-4
174 James Oddo (The Citadel) DEC Andrew Szymborski (VMI), 4-0
184 Vinnie Gallo (VMI) DEC Brian Hurley (The Citadel), 3-1
197 Odie Delaney (The Citadel) DEC Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI), 7-4
285 Josh Wine (VMI) DEC Ivan Muller (The Citadel), 3-0
125 Tyler Sim (The Citadel) DEC John Pope (VMI), 4-2
133 Tyler Hutchens (VMI) DEC Richard Alarcon Jr. (The Citadel), 3-2
141 Derek Royster (The Citadel) DEC David Yost (VMI), 10-6
149 Pierre Frazile (The Citadel) DEC Joseph Munno (VMI), 7-5
157 Keith Koziel (The Citadel) DEC Joel Hutchens (VMI), 10-4
Attendance- 985
