PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's wrestling team competed in a trio of matches at the Pitt Duals on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a 1-2 record at the event. The Diplomats (3-7, 0-3 EIWA) downed Davidson by a dominant 32-6 score, before falling to Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) opponent Columbia (27-15) and the nation's No. 20 ranked team Pittsburgh (25-12).
Against Davidson, F&M took the opening six matchups to storm out in front by a commanding 26-0 score. The run included a dominant 17-2 tech. fall score at 125 from Aaron Moldoff, who was competing in his first dual competition of the season, as well as pins from No. 17 Rick Durso at 141 (1:06) and Gordon Bolig at 165 (1:48).
The Wildcats scored their six points with a pair of closely-contested decisions at 174 and 197, however, Anthony Mancini (184) notched an 8-4 decision of his own at 184 and 285-pounder Antonio Pelusi wrapped up action with a 5-3 win.
To view the complete results from this match, click here.
Next up was EIWA-opponent Columbia. Moldoff was strong again at 125, putting the Diplomats out in front by a 4-0 score after earning a 15-1 major decision to begin the match. Following a 5-0 loss at 133, Durso answered with an impressive16-1 tech. fall over Joe Moita to extend the advantage to 9-3.
Columbia fought back with seven straight victories, including a pin and three major decisions, running away with the match by a 27-15 margin.
To view the complete results from this match, click here.
Action concluded against No. 20 Pitt, who opened the contest with back-to-back major decisions for the early 8-0 lead. Durso got F&M on the board with his third win of the day at 141, defeating the Panthers' Nick Xanetta by a 10-4 margin. After a Pittsburgh decision at 149, Sharron Townsend picked up his first victory of the season with a 6-4 decision of his own at 157.
A tech. fall at 165 in favor of the Panthers extended the lead to 16-6, however, Josh Young kept the Diplomats in the contest at 174 with a 6-3 decision to cut the deficit to 10. A narrow 5-3 sudden victory decision at 184, followed by a pin (4:38) at 197 sealed the match for Pittsburgh. Pelusi wrapped up the action on a high note for F&M, edging the Panthers' John Rizzo by a 3-2 tally en route to the 25-12 final.
To view the complete results from this match, click here.
The Diplomats return to action on Saturday when F&M hosts No. 10 Lehigh at the Mayser Center for a 2:00 p.m. matchup, as well as sending wrestlers out to compete at the annual Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open, hosted by Millersville.
