HAMPTON, VA - Chris Kelly (Fr., Pittstown, NJ/Delaware Valley), Nico Somers (Fr., Green Village, NJ/Madison) and Shawn Coughlin (Sr., Berkley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston) went 2-0 as the Franklin & Marshall College wrestling team defeated Delaware State University and fell to Duquesne University in the opening matches of the 2006 Virginia Duals.
The Diplomats opened the meet versus Duquesne as the Dukes notched a 26-9 victory behind four decisions, a pair of major decisions and a pin fall to improve to 11-1 all-time against Franklin & Marshall.
Following a decision and pin in the 125 and 133 lbs. matches, Kelly put the Diplomats on the board by stopping Brad Cipriani 4-3 at 141 lbs. The Dukes put the mach away in the middle weights before Somers won 4-1 over Tim Frank at 197 lbs. and Coughlin pinned Joe Slisky in 1:07 at heavyweight.
In the consolation bracket, the Diplomats jumped out to a lead without having to grapple as Doug Ritchey (Fr., Curryville, PA/Central) and Trent Dixon (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Eastern Technical) notched forfeits at 125 and 133 lbs., respectively.
Kelly won 10-8 over Greg Davis at 141 lbs. before Al Gianforti (Fr., Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) and Andrew Smith (So., Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) received forfeits at 149 and 157 lbs., respectively. F&M then tallied back-to-back pin falls as Justin Herbert (Fr., New Milford, PA/Blue Ridge) dropped Ryan Gibbons in 4:45 at 165 lbs. and James Schulz (Fr., Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) put Derrick Loper on the mat in 5:54 at 174 lbs.
Franklin & Marshall finished off the match as RP Norley (Sr., Perkasie, NJ/Pennridge) recorded a 3-0 decision over Chris Woodall at 184 lbs., Somers pinned Shawn Nowrey in 4:15 and Coughlin handled Steven Bilbrough 10-5 at heavyweight to complete the shutout.
The victory marked the second in less than a week for Franklin & Marshall over Delaware State as the Diplomats stung the Hornets 38-3 at Rutgers University on January 7 in a tri-match.
Historically, the shutout marks the first for F&M since January 24, 2004 when the Diplomats blanked Delaware State 51-0 in the Mayser Center. Further, the win improves Franklin & Marshall to 6-0 all-time against Delaware State since the series began in 1983.
Franklin & Marshall (4-3) will continue the Virginia Duals on January 14 at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation semifinals versus either Princeton University or SUNY-Brockport. If the Diplomats win, Franklin & Marshall will meet either South Dakota State, Duquesne or Anderson College in the consolation finals.
Duquesne 26, Franklin & Marshall 9
125 - Jonathan Bittinger (D) DEC Doug Ritchey (F&M), 7-2
133 - Keith Pavlekovsky (D) FALL Trent Dixon (F&M), 6:38
141 - Chris Kelly (F&M) DEC Brad Cipriani (D), 4-3
149 - Brandon Baldini (D) DEC Al Gianforti (F&M), 10-5
157 - Cody Midlam (D) DEC Andrew Smith (F&M), 3-0
165 - Rob Dempsey (D) DEC Justin Herbert (F&M), 5-3
174 - Jared Ricotta (D) MAJOR James Schulz (F&M), 13-0
184 - Mark Himes (D) MAJOR RP Norley (F&M), 9-1
197 - Nico Somers (F&M) DEC Tim Frank (D), 4-1
HWT - Shawn Coughlin (F&M) FALL Joe Slisky (D), 1:07
Franklin & Marshall 48, Delaware State 0
125 - Doug Ritchey (F&M) FORFEIT
133 - Trent Dixon (F&M) FORFEIT
141 - Chris Kelly (F&M) DEC Greg Davis (DSU), 10-8
149 - Al Gianforti (F&M) FORFEIT
157 - Andrew Smith (F&M) FORFEIT
165 - Justin Herbert (F&M) FALL Ryan Gibbons (DS), 4:45
174 - James Schulz (F&M) FALL Derrick Loper (DS), 5:54
184 - RP Norley (F&M) DEC Chris Woodall (DS), 3-0
197 - Nico Somers (F&M) FALL Shawn Nowrey (DSU), 4:15
HWT - Shawn Coughlin (F&M) DEC Steven Bilbrough (DSU), 10-5
