ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurstopened up PSAC action on Thursday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center with a 34-12 victory against Seton Hill.
With the win, the No. 10 Lakers improved to 5-0 and 1-0 in the PSAC. Seton Hill dropped to 2-3 and 0-1 in the PSAC.
The Griffins led the dual 12-10 after the opening five matches, but the Lakers outscored Seton Hill 24-0 during the final five to remain unbeaten on the season. Redshirt sophomore Angelo Bortoluzzi secured the victory with a win via fall at 184 pounds, eliminating any thoughts of a Seton Hill upset.
The dual meet started at 125 pounds with redshirt junior Ryan Bohince picking up the win by forfeit and a 6-0 lead for the Lakers. Bohince moved to 8-5 on the season. At 133 pounds, redshirt sophomore Kody Young squared off against Andy Schutz. Schutz struck first with a takedown, but Young quickly escaped and answered with a takedown of his own. However, while Young was riding from the top position, a scramble ensued and Schutz picked up a defensive fall at the 2:00 minute mark to even the team score at 6-6.
The Lakers then sent out sophomore Dylan D'Urso at 141 pounds to take on AJ Fisher. D'Urso secured a takedown and three nearfall points in the first period. He then added an escape in the second, another takedown in the third and a riding time point to earn a 9-0 technical fall victory. D'Urso improved to 12-2 on the season, scoring bonus points in 11 of those bouts. The win put the Lakers back on top 10-6.
However, the Griffins would take the next two bouts by decision to jump ahead of the Lakers, 12-10.
At 149 pounds, sophomore Joey Miller took on Kevin Laubach and dropped a tough 4-2 decision. Laubach used two takedowns to secure the victory. The 157-pound bout featured two talented freshmen in Mercyhurst's Francis Mizia and Seton Hill's Zach Voytek. The first period ended scoreless with each wrestler fending off shots from their counterpart. They traded escapes in the second and third period before Voytek struck late in the match with the winning takedown.
The Lakers took over from there.
Redshirt senior and team captain Clint Schaefer didn't waste any time at 165 pounds against Brett Smith. He got to work right away with a takedown and a three nearfall points in the first period. He added two more takedowns on his way to an 11-2 major decision, regaining a two-point lead for the Lakers at 14-12. With the win, Schaefer improved to 11-3 on the season.
At 174 pounds, redshirt sophomore August Mizia picked up a 15-0 technical fall in 3:15 against Tyler Mohlhenrich to give the Lakers a 19-12 lead. Mizia used two takedowns and four sets of nearfall points to secure the victory. Mizia moved to 10-2 on the season.
Bortoluzzi then secured the victory at 184 pounds, improving his record to 6-7 with a fall against Tyler Dombrowski at 1:48. Bortoluzzi used two first-period takedowns before locking up a cradle and securing his third fall of the season. The win put the Lakers ahead 25-12 with only two bouts left.
Redshirt sophomore Brian Beattie took to the mats at 197 pounds against Morris Lawson. Beattie improved to 7-4 on the season with a 5-0 victory. He used a takedown, reversal, and a riding time point to put the Lakers ahead 28-12. Freshman Andrew Welton closed out the dual in the heavyweight bout, needing only 33 seconds to pin Seton Hill's Ryan Simonica for the final margin. The pin was Welton's fifth on the season, which leads the team. He also improved his record to 10-3 on the season.
