By Stephen Cooney
The individual wins and losses were split right down the middle; five wins and five loses for 13th ranked Pride against 7th ranked Missouri in their 22-21 defeat on Saturday. This split shows far more than wins and losses but the philosophy of Coach Tom Shifflet.
David Tomasette the Pride’s 125-pound wrestler exploded onto the mat and attacked Tony Pescaglia. Tomasette was aggressive and attacked his opponent from the opening whistle. He controlled the match and garnered a major decision with a score of 16-2.
Lou Ruggirello followed at the 133-pound weight class. Ruggirello pulled ahead to a 5-1 lead over second ranked Tyler McCormick before pinning him at 5:30 into the match.
Second ranked Charles Griffin wrestled his way to an easy 13-0 major decision over Marcus Hoehn in the 141-pound division. Then the pace of the match seemed to turn. The pride wrestlers moved from the offensive to the defensive.
The Pride’s Mitch Smith dropped a close decision to Joshua Wagner. Then Jonny Bonilla-Bowman and Ryan Patrovich dropped major decisions to Missouri. After three straight losses the match moved to intermission.
Returning from intermission Alton Lucas was on the attack for the Pride. Lucas controlled the mat and garnered a 10-1 major decision in the 174-pound weight class. Following Lucas, Missouri’s sixth ranked Raymond Jordan pinned Jeff Siciliano to move the match score to 18-17 with a one point edge for the Pride.
In what was the most even match of the night the Pride’s Joe Rovelli earned a tough decision over Max Askren. Both wrestlers struggled to gain the upper hand as the men pushed around the mat for control. Rovelli was able to gain the lead and maintain it for a Pride decision in the 197-pound weight class and move the match score to 21-17.
Missouri’s fourteenth ranked Mark Ellis gained a 22-5 technical fall over James Guerin. Ellis’ victory gave Missouri a one-point advantage and a victory to close the match.
The match showed a strong difference in the styles of the victors. “The main thing I told our guys was that the guys that won were offensive.” Shifflet said. “We are always trying to score points. When the whistle blows I expect our guys to attack and be on the offensive and set the tone of the match.”
Shifflet also explained that his philosophy is one that emphasis an offensive approach to wrestling. The Pride wrestlers that followed this formula were able to gain points and control the pace of their matches.
Even in the close defeat Coach Shifflet remained optimistic. “We have two sophomores and a freshman in the middle weights.” Shifflet said referring to the 149,157, and 165-pound weight classes. “There is a lot of room for growth.” Shifflet also said that the team needed to work hard and get better in order to continue success and learn from mistakes that happened during the match.
“It is a heartbreaker to lose a one point decision to one of the best teams in the country.” Shifflet said. “We started out losing a tight one but can walk away saying we are in the hunt. I am just looking for growth every week.”
The Pride continue their hunt on November 17 when they travel to meet eleventh ranked Penn State.