LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College's Trent Dixon (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Eastern Technical) went 2-0 on the day at 133 lbs. with a pin fall as the Diplomats fell to Davidson College (27-22 L) and defeated George Mason University (26-18 W) in intercollegiate action at the historic Mayser Center.
Trailing George Mason (7-5) 3-0 following an 8-3 decision by Joe Coughlin over Doug Ritchey (Fr., Curryville, PA/Central) at 125 lbs., Dixon rallied from a 7-1 deficit following the second period to pin Will Powars with six seconds left in the match to put the Diplomats in front 6-3.
The pin was key to Franklin & Marshall's victory as Chris Kelly (Fr., Pittstown, NJ/Delaware Valley) recorded a 3-2 decision over Chris Cartella at 141 lbs., Al Gianforti (Fr., Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) picked up a forfeit at 149 lbs. and Steve Gregory (Jr., Winchester, MA/Winchester) notched a forfeit at 157 lbs. to put the Diplomats ahead 21-3.
The Patriots rallied in the match as Tyler Tisdell recorded a 12-4 major decision at 165 lbs. and Randy Oates tallied an 11-4 decision at 174 lbs. to pull George Mason to within 21-10 with three bouts remaining.
RP Norley (Sr., Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) gave F&M (10-4) some breathing room at 184 lbs. as he recorded a 15-0 technical fall over Ken Jackson at the 6:25 mark to register the winning points before the Patriots' Joel Caruso answered with a 20-5 technical fall in the 197 lbs. match to pull George Mason to within 26-15.
Ryan Kittrick added an 8-6 decision at heavyweight for the Patriots for the 26-18 final score as the win improves the Diplomats to 9-6 all-time against George Mason since the series began in 1975.
In the first match of the day, Davidson (6-5-1) held off the Diplomats courtesy a pair of pins and a disqualification.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the match as Pat Coman and Jim Avola recorded pins at 125 and 141 lbs., respectively, while Dixon handled Travis Hunter 4-1 at 133 lbs.
Matt Leonard added to the Davidson lead with an 8-4 decision over Gianforti at 140 lbs. before Andrew Smith (So., Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) was disqualified at 157 lbs. to put the Wildcats ahead 21-3 before two penalty points were added to raise the margin to 23-3.
The Diplomats attempted to rally as Justin Herbert (Fr., New Milford, PA/Blue Ridge) notched an 18-7 major decision at 165 lbs., but the Wildcats answered as Marcus Boyd tallied a 19-7 major at 174 lbs. to put Davidson ahead 27-7 and seal the win with three matches remaining.
Norley handled Sam O'Hair 6-2 at 184 lbs., while Nico Somers (Fr., Green Village, NJ/Madison) and Shawn Coughlin (Sr., Berkley Heights, NJ/) picked up forfeits at 197 lbs. and heavyweight, respectively, for the 27-22 final.
The loss marks the second consecutive defeat for the Diplomats at the hands of Davidson as Franklin & Marshall is now 4-2 all-time against the Wildcats since the series began in 1968.
Overall, the Diplomats 1-1 mark on the day raised the team's record to 10-4 as Franklin & Marshall tallied the third 10+ victory season in the last four years following a 10-12 mark in 2003 and a 15-8 record in 2004.
Franklin & Marshall (10-4) will continue the season on February 18 at SUNY-Binghamton in a 2:00 p.m. match.
Davidson 27, Franklin & Marshall 22
125 - Pat Coman (D) FALL Doug Ritchey (F&M), 1:50
133 - Trent Dixon (F&M) DEC Travis Hunter (D), 4-1
141 - Jim Avola (D) FALL Chris Kelly (F&M), 3:41
149 - Matt Leonard (D) DEC Al Gianforti (F&M), 8-4
157 - Matt Pendle (D) DQ Andrew Smith (F&M) (+ 2 team pts)
165 - Justin Herbert (F&M) MAJOR James Colavita (D), 18-7
174 - Marcus Boyd (D) MAJOR James Schulz (F&M), 19-7
184 - RP Norley (F&M) DEC Sam O'Hair (D), 6-2
197 - Nico Somers (F&M) FORFEIT
HWT - Shawn Coughlin (F&M) FORFEIT
Franklin & Marshall 26, George Mason 18
125 - Joe Coughlin (GM) DEC Doug Ritchey (F&M), 8-3
133 - Trent Dixon (F&M) FALL Will Powars (GM), 6:54
141 - Chris Kelly (F&M) DEC Chris Cartella (GM), 3-2
149 - Al Gianforti (F&M) FORFEIT
157 - Steve Gregory (F&M) FORFEIT
165 - Tyler Tisdell (GM) MAJOR Justin Herbert (F&M), 12-4
174 - Randy Oates (GM) DEC James Schulz (F&M), 11-4
184 - RP Norley (F&M) TECH FALL Ken Jackson (GM), 20-5 (6:25)
197 - Joel Caruso (GM) TECH FALL Nico Somers (F&M), 20-5 (7:00)
HWT - Ryan Kittrick (GM) DEC Shawn Coughlin (F&M), 8-6
Davidson 24, George Mason 22
125 - Pat Coman (D) DEC Joe Coughlin (GM), 8-7
133 - Will Powars (GM) DEC Travis Hunter (D), 9-3
141 - Jim Avola (D) DEC Chris Cartella (GM), 2-1
149 - Matt Leonard (D) FORFEIT
157 - Matt Pendle (D) FORFEIT
165 - Tyler Tisdell (GM) MAJOR Jim Colavita (D), 15-5
174 - Marcus Boyd (D) FALL Ken Jackson (GM), 5:25
184 - Randy Oates (GM) DEC Sam O'Hair (D), 8-5
197 - Joel Caruso (GM) FORFEIT
HWT - Ryan Kittrick (GM FORFEIT
