CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel won seven of the first eight matches en route to a 24-10 win over VMI on Saturday at the McAlister Field House. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Conference, while the loss dropped the Keydets to 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in the league.
Andrew Bannister's 4-1 decision at 133 lbs. was the only Keydet win among those eight matches. The Keydets then closed with back-to-back wins, as Ronnie Ellsworth scored a 19-7 major decision at 197 lbs., improving to 12-4 overall and 4-0 in dual matches, while Josh Wine ran his record to 12-0 on the year with a 12-5 decision at heavyweight.
"We had our chances to win the dual, there's no doubt," said VMI head coach John "Rocky" Trudgeon. "We lost a close one at 125, then won at 133, and at 141, David (Yost) was dominating the match, but got caught out of position, and it ended up being a five-point move. Then we get down to 165, and Conor (Black) loses 2-1 on a fleeing-the-mat penalty. We're just struggling with finding a way to get everyone to wrestle well at the same time. But we've got a quick turnaround, we'll get a work out in in the morning, and get back at it against Duke tomorrow afternoon."
The Bulldogs began their run at 125, where Richard Alarcon used a pair of takedowns in the third to go along with a riding time edge that took out VMI's John Pope, 8-2. The Bannister evened the team score at 133 by downing The Citadel's Jordan Dix, 4-1, behind a pair of takedowns.
At 141, Nick LaFevre turned the table on David Yost, who led most of the match, by scoring a takedown and a near fall towards the end of the third period to give the Bulldogs a win, 6-2. Derek Royster then used three takedowns and a riding time point at 157 to oust Michael Long, 8-2, and put The Citadel up 9-3 in the dual. At 157, Turtogtokh Luvsandorj kept the Bulldogs rolling as he used a pair of takedowns at the end of the first period and to start the second period to down Joe Munno, 5-1.
Pierre Frazile won a narrow, 2-1 decision over Conor Black at 165 to continue the run. Each wrestler earned an escape point and the difference in the match was a technical foul point assessed to Black for fleeing the mat while in a hold by Frazile in the third period. J.C. Oddo put the Bulldogs in a commanding lead at 174, pinning Evan Dill in 56 seconds to put The Citadel up 21-3. In a back-and-forth affair at 184, Kelby Smith came back from an early deficit with five takedowns to take out Andrew Szymborski, 12-7.
At 197, Ellsworth was too much for freshman Scott Edelson, as he fell in a major decision, 19-7. Ellsworth used nine takedowns to cut the VMI deficit to 24-7. At heavyweight, Wine went up 6-0 early behind a takedown, reversal and near fall, but Odie Delaney came back with a reversal and a near fall to cut into the lead. Wine quickly turned that back with a near fall and a reversal and would go on to win 12-5 and end the dual with a 24-10 final.
The Keydets hit the mats again Sunday afternoon, taking on Duke in Durham, N.C. at 1 p.m.
The Citadel 24, VMI 10 (Jan. 16, 2010)
125: Richard Alarcon (CIT) dec. John Pope (VMI), 8-2 (CIT 3-0)
133: Andrew Bannister (VMI) dec. Jordan Dix (CIT), 4-1 (Tied 3-3)
141: Nick LaFevre (CIT) dec. David Yost (VMI), 6-2 (CIT 6-3)
149: Derek Royster (CIT) dec. Michael Long (VMI), 8-2 (CIT 9-3)
157: Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (CIT) dec. Joe Munno (VMI), 5-1 (CIT 12-3)
165: Pierre Frazile (CIT) dec. Conor Black (VMI), 2-1 (CIT 15-3)
174: J.C. Oddo (CIT) pins Evan Dill (VMI), :56 (CIT 21-3)
184: Kelby Smith (CIT) dec. Andrew Szymborski (VMI), 12-7 (CIT 24-3)
197: Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI) maj. dec. Scott Edelson (CIT), 19-7 (CIT 24-7)
HWT: Josh Wine (VMI) dec. Odie Delaney (CIT), 12-5 (CIT 24-10)
