Edinboro Match Notes

The Lineups

EDINBORO Fighting Scots (7-6, 5-0 EWL)
 

			2015-16	Career
			Record	Record
125	Sean Russell	R-Fr.	21-5	21-5	Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hills
133	Anthony Rivera	R-Jr.	6-9	11-24	Mardela Springs, Md./Parkside
141	Tyler Vath	Fr.	7-11	7-11	Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown
149	#14/#12 Patricio Lugo	Fr.	24-3	24-3	Homestead, Fla./South Dade
157	#15/#8 Austin Matthews	R-So.	1-1	1-1	Greenville, Pa./Reynolds/Clarion
165	Casey Fuller	R-Sr.	21-5	66-54	Hamlin, Pa./Western Wayne
174	Patrick Jennings	R-Sr.	19-11	73-58	Ridge, N.Y./Longwood
	Ty Schoffstall	R-So.	7-2	27-9	Pottsville, Pa./Tri-Valley
184	#2/#2 Vic Avery	R-Sr.	2-0	85-29	Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro
197	Vince Pickett	Sr.	17-11	77-55	Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing
285	Billy Miller	R-Fr.	22-6	22-6	Perry, Ohio/Perry

LOCK HAVEN Bald Eagles (7-8, 2-2 EWL)
 

			2015-16
			Record
125	Jake Field	R-So.	13-13	South Elgin, Ill.
	David Sheesley	R-Jr.	10-9	Mifflinburg, Pa.
133	Bobby Rehm	R-Sr.	21-8	Lancaster, Pa,
141	Cody Wheeler	R-Sr.	4-7	Towanda, Pa.
	Joe Ghione	So.	15-11	Brick, N.J.
149	Dan Neff	R-Sr.	20-8	Quarrysville, Pa.
157	Aaron McKinney	R-Sr.	23-12	McDonald, Pa.
165	Cordy Cordes	Fr.	16-16	Edwardsville, Pa.
174	Tyler Wood	R-Jr.	15-14	West Chester, Pa.
184	Tristan Sponseller	R-Fr.	20-11	East Berlin, Pa.
197	Phil Sprenkle	R-Sr.	12-6	Seven Valleys, Pa.
285	Adam Mackie	Jr.	10-9	Bechtelsville, Pa..

The Match Stories

A busy week is in store for the Edinboro wrestling team. It all starts off with a match at Lock Haven on Thursday, February 4. On Saturday, February 6, the Fighting Scots will host the Edinboro Open at the Mike S. Zafirovski Sports & Recreation Dome. While the Edinboro Open was normally reserved for Edinboro's redshirting wrestlers and reserves, as many as three starters -- Tyler Vath (141 lbs.), Austin Matthews (157 lbs.), and Vic Avery (184 lbs.) -- could take part in the event. The weekend wraps up with the Fighting Scots hosting a Virginia Tech team which is ranked tenth in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.   

Thursday's match at Lock Haven will mark the final Eastern Wrestling League dual for Edinboro. Prior to Sunday, the contest was to decide the EWL regular season titleist. However, Cleveland State defeated the Bald Eagles, and in the process Edinboro claimed the crown. The Fighting Scots are in search of their 17th straight EWL dual win and look to go undefeated for the third straight year. Edinboro has a 7-6 overall record and is 5-0 in EWL action. Edinboro last competed on January 23, edging Rider, 18-15, for their 16th straight EWL dual win dating back to 2012-13. Four of Edinboro's losses are to nationally-ranked teams, and a fifth loss to a Pittsburgh team which has been in and out of the national rankings. The Fighting Scots opened the year in the EMU Duals, winning two of three matches. Ranked 24th to start the season, they defeated Olivet, 46-3, before falling to 22nd-ranked Ohio, 22-12. They ended the day with a 19-12 win over Northern Illinois. Edinboro opened EWL action with a 23-15 win at Clarion. That was followed by a 36-6 loss at 10th-ranked Lehigh on November 22. Edinboro defeated Bloomsburg, 37-12, in its first home dual on December 3.  The Fighting Scots then suffered a 24-9 loss at Pittsburgh, before wrapping up dual action in 2015 with a 25-10 defeat of Cleveland State.  After a 15th place finish against a strong field in the Southern Scuffle to open 2016, Edinboro dropped three straight duals at the Pittsburgh Duals. The Scots fell to 15th-ranked North Carolina, 26-11, to Duke by a 30-15 score, and to third-ranked North Carolina State, 31-10. Edinboro claimed a 31-7 decision over George Mason before defeating Rider. 

Lock Haven owns a 5-8 record and is 2-2 in the EWL. Head coach Scott Moore is in his third year in charge of the Bald Eagles. Lock Haven owns wins over Bloomsburg (39-3) and Clarion (24-19) in EWL action, while losing to Rider (27-6) and Cleveland State (18-15).  The Bald Eagles finished second at the PSAC Championships, trailing only Edinboro, with Bobby Rehm (133 lbs.) claiming his third PSAC title and Aaron McKinney finishing first at 157 lbs. Three other Bald Eagles finished second. A veteran lineup featuring as many as five fifth-year seniors is led by Rehm and Dan Neff (149 lbs.). Rehm won his 100th career match last week, and Neff also owns more than 100 wins.  

Edinboro has won the last 13 meetings with the Bald Eagles, including a 21-14 victory last year at McComb Fieldhouse.  The Fighting Scots hold a 21-8 lead in the all-time series with the Bald Eagles.

The Edinboro lineup received a huge boost recently with the returns of Vic Avery and Austin Matthews against George Mason. Both had missed the entire season while recovering from knee surgery. Avery has won both of his bouts since returning to wrestle at 184 lbs. and now has 85 career victories. The redshirt senior earned All-American honors for the first time a year ago with a third place showing. He was 34-7 a year ago and has been ranked as high as second in the various national rankings. Matthews had not competed since November of last season due to knee injuries. A former transfer from Clarion, Matthews was off to great start last year with a 9-0 record and climbed into the top five nationally. He would suffer a knee injury and miss the rest of the season. The redshirt sophomore began the year ranked as high as fourth at 157 lbs. He won a 6-1 decision in his 2015-16 debut. He is 1-1 this year, splitting a pair of difficult matches.

The return of Avery and Matthews give Edinboro's lineup a little more experience, but the ascent is still on youth, with true freshmen Tyler Vath (141 lbs.) and Patricio Lugo (149 lbs.) in the lineup along with redshirt freshmen Sean Russell and Billy Miller at 125 and heavyweight, respectively. Lugo has a 24-3 record and is ranked 12th by FloWrestling and 19th by InterMat. Miller has climbed into 19th in FloWrestling's rankings with a 22-6 record. Russell is 21-5.

While youth has been key in 2015-16, Edinboro's upperclassmen have stepped up. Casey Fuller is enjoying the best season of his career. The redshirt senior has a 21-5 record while competing at 165 lbs. and is ranked in a pair of polls. Coming off a 29-win season a year ago, redshirt senior Patrick Jennings owns an 19-11 record at 174 lbs. Finally, senior Vince Pickett has a 17-11 ledger at 197 lbs.  Pickett and Avery are the lone returning national qualifiers from last year's team. 

With a lineup featuring four true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen, it was anticipated that Edinboro would see its string of four straight PSAC championships come to an end. But someone forgot to tell the Fighting Scots. Six wrestlers reached the finals on December 5, with all six coming away with titles, and a total of eight Fighting Scots placed. It all added up to a fifth straight championship for the Scots, who finished with 136.5 points to outdistance Lock Haven, who finished second with 118 points. Mercyhurst was third with 108.5 points in the 12-team field. While the emphasis has been on the freshmen this year, it was a trio of seniors who led the way. Casey Fuller won his second straight title at 165 lbs., while Vince Pickett was doing the same at 197 lbs. Patrick Jennings won his first championship at 174 lbs. The freshmen did their part, as well. Redshirt freshmen Sean Russell and Billy Miller finished first at 125 and 285 lbs., respectively, while true freshman Patricio Lugo took home the crown at 149 lbs. Freshman Spencer Nagy added a third place finish at 157 lbs., with fellow freshman Nate Hagan fourth at 141 lbs.     

Edinboro comes off a monumental 2014-15 campaign which saw the Fighting Scots post their highest finish ever at the NCAA Division I National Championships. Edinboro earned a spot on the stand for the first time, finishing in third place, with four wrestlers earning All-American honors. That came after a fifth place showing at Nationals in 2014. Unfortunately, three of those All-Americans – A.J. Schopp, Mitchell Port, and Dave Habat -- have departed, and with them a total of eight All-American certificates and 399 career wins. In addition, four-year starter Kory Mines and his 88 career victories are gone, leaving Flynn to replace close to 500 wins in the starting lineup. Throw in Kasey Burnett-Davis, who was in-and-out of the Edinboro lineup during his career and had 64 wins, and Edinboro's five seniors accounted for 551 wins!

Head coach Tim Flynn is in his 19th season as head coach. Already the record-holder for career wins at Edinboro, Flynn joined the 200-win club with the early-season victory over Northern Illinois. He owns a 205-79-5 record. Flynn was named the EWL Coach of the Year for the second straight year and seventh time overall last season. In addition, he was selected the PSAC Coach of the Year for the 13th time.  

Edinboro has six wrestlers ranked in the various polls. Vic Avery is ranked second at 184 lbs. by InterMat, FloWrestling, and WIN Magazine despite sitting out two months while recovering from knee surgery. Like Avery, Austin Matthews returned against George Mason and jumped right back in to the rankings. He is tenth at 157 lbs. according to TheOpenMat.com. Patricio Lugo is ranked as high as 12th by FloWrestling at 149 lbs., and is one of two wrestlers ranked by InterMat, sitting in 14th place. Casey Fuller is ranked 15th in TheOpenMat.com rankings.  Sean Russell is 19th by TheOpenMat.com at 125 lbs. Heavyweight Billy Miller fell out of several rankings following a loss against Rider, but is still 25th in TheWrestlingReport.com poll. 


THE LOCK HAVEN SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS 21-8 
The Fighting Scots have won the last 13 meetings against the Bald Eagles.

LAST MEETING
2014-15: EDINBORO 21, LOCK HAVEN 14 -- The Fighting Scots won seven of the first eight matches, including a fall by Mitchell Port at 141 lbs.

THE COACHES
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86) is in his 19th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots.  He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 205-79-5 record.  Edinboro has had 13 top-20 finishes and five in the top ten at the NCAA Division I National Championships during his tenure.  That includes the two best finishes in school history the last two years. The Fighting Scots made the podium for the first time at Nationals with a third place showing a year ago, and in 2014 they were fifth. He has produced three national champions and 37 All-Americans.  All told, Flynn has been named the EWL Coach of the Year seven times and the PSAC Coach of the Year 13 times. Two years ago, Flynn captured nearly every Coach of the Year award, including being named the NWCA NCAA Division I Coach of the Year, WIN's Dan Gable Coach of the Year, and was InterMat's Co-Coach of the Year along with Minnesota's J Robinson.

LOCK HAVEN -- Scott Moore (Penn State '03) was named Lock Haven's head coach in July 2013 after serving as an assistant coach with the Bald Eagles for three seasons.  He guided the Bald Eagles to a 3-10 finish in his first season, and a 7-12 finish last year. However, Dan Neff earned All-American honors, becoming the first Bald Eagle All-American since 2007. Prior to coming to Lock Haven, Moore spent six seasons at the University of Virginia, serving as head assistant coach (2004-09) and associate head coach (2009-10).  At Virginia, he helped UVA to its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title in over 30 years and its best-ever NCAA finish (top-15). He coached two ACC Freshman of the Year, and one ACC Wrestler of the Year.  On the mat, Moore was a two-time All-American while competing for Penn State and Virginia. He was third at the 2004 NCAA championships for Virginia and placed fourth in 2003 as a Nittany Lion. The two-time Academic All-American was Virginia's 2004 Male Athlete of the Year and was a finalist for the 2004 Dan Hodge Trophy, given to the most dominating wrestler in the NCAA. The 2004 ACC champion at UVA, Moore was named the ACC Wrestler of the Year after going 51-1 with 34 pins. At Penn State he was the 2003 Big Ten Champion.