The Case Western Reserve University wrestling team swept the Claude Sharer Duals on Saturday at the Veale Center in Cleveland, defeating Washington & Jefferson College 37-8, Mount St. Joseph University 35-9, and Otterbein University 20-19.
With the three wins, the Spartans improved to 6-1 in dual matches this season. The Presidents dropped to 2-7, the Lions fell to 3-6, and the Cardinals moved to 4-5.
CWRU 37, Washington & Jefferson 8
The Spartans started the dual with back-to-back pins. Sophomore E.J. Alizio, ranked eighth in the Central Region at 125 pounds, bested Michael Cruz in 4:18, and sophomore Jacob Gregg defeated Daniel Verscharen in 2:11. It was Alizio's sixth pin of the season, and the win by fall was the fourth this year for Gregg.
Sophomore Art Martinez, ranked fourth in the Central Region at 141 pounds, came away with a hard-fought 7-5 decision to make the score 15-0. Following a W&J technical fall, sophomore Thomas Wagner added three points to the team score with a 7-5 decision at 157 pounds. At 165 pounds, graduate student Mitchell Arch, ranked third in the region at the weight class, secured his team-leading 17th pin of the season in 2:16.
A forfeit at 174 pounds secured the dual win for CWRU. First-year Mathew Gummere, ranked seventh in the region, followed with a 5-4 decision at 184 pounds, and graduate student Stephen Andryc finished the team's scoring with a major decision at 197.
CWRU 35, Mount St. Joseph 9
The teams traded major decisions to begin the dual with Alizio winning 11-0 at 125 pounds and Gregg falling to the second-ranked wrestler in the region at 133. Martinez broke the deadlock with a 9-3 decision, and the Spartan lead increased following a MSJ post-match penalty. In the next match, junior Calvin Cai, ranked eighth in the region at 149 pounds, earned his fourth technical fall of the season with a 17-2 win in 5:19. Sophomore Marty Landes followed with a major decision to make the score 16-3, and Arch won his second match of the day by fall, winning at 165 in 45 seconds for his 75th career pin.
In the 174-pound match, first-year Simon Bishop, ranked sixth in the region at his weight class, clinched the Spartan victory with a 21-10 major decision. Gummere followed with a fall, his fifth of the campaign, in 1:59, and Andryc scored Case Western Reserve's final points of the dual with a thrilling 4-3 sudden victory.
CWRU 20, Otterbein 19
A forfeit to start the match gave CWRU a 6-0 lead, and Gregg increased the team's advantage with a 13-0 major decision. Martinez followed with a thrilling 9-6 decision to make the score 13-0 in favor of the hosts. Cai followed with a second consecutive tight decision, prevailing 10-9 over Nathan Leko.
A pin at 157 put the Cardinals on the board, and Otterbein prevailed in a battle of regionally ranked wrestlers at 165, with Cale Callahan besting Arch by decision to make the match score 16-9.
Bishop responded with a 13-2 major decision at 174 pounds, giving the Spartans an 11-point advantage with three matches remaining in the dual. The Cardinals won the next two by decision, including a thrilling 9-8 win at 197 pounds, but needed at least a technical fall at 285 pounds to win the match. The visitors could only manage a major decision, giving the Spartans a 20-19 victory in the dual.
CWRU will conclude the home portion of its season next Saturday with the Dr. Si Ostrach Duals. The Spartans will face Waynesburg, Albion, and St. John Fisher inside the Veale Center starting at 11 a.m.
