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Ciavarro, Derek vs George Mason
Matt Durisko

Men's Wrestling Bob Shreve, Sports Information Director

Edinboro Rally Comes Up Just Short in 21-19 Loss to George Mason

Derek Ciavarro staged a rally in the final seconds for a 7-6 win at 165 lbs.
EDINBORO, Pa. – It was called the Brawl in the Bubble. The Dual in the Dome. What it almost became was one of the greatest comebacks ever for the Edinboro wrestling team. Unfortunately, in the end the Fighting Scots found themselves on the short end of a 21-19 score to George Mason in a match that started at 12 noon and was held in the Zafirovski Sports & Recreation Dome.

The loss dropped Edinboro to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference. George Mason improved to 6-1 and is now 2-0 in the MAC with a match this evening at Cleveland State.
While it was a bit cool inside the dome, the wrestling quickly heated things up. Edinboro's Lucas Rodriguez gave the Fighting Scots a 3-0 lead with a 9-2 decision over Talha Farooq at 125 lbs. Rodriguez improved to 10-4 thanks to a strong second period that featured a reversal and four nearfall points.

George Mason would proceed to run off wins in the next four matches, the first two by fall, to jump out to an 18-3 lead. The anticipated 133 lb. match between Josh Jones of George Mason and Edinboro's Tye Varndell, a rematch of last year's PIAA Class AA 132 lb. state championship bout, never took place with Varndell unable to go. Jones would go on to pin his replacement, Richie Gomez at 1:46, after Gomez had jumped out to a 4-1 lead.

Alex Madrigal (14-5) followed with a fall at 4:29 over Nate Hagan (8-5) in their 141 lb. match to boost George Mason to a 12-3 lead. Tyler Vath turned in a strong showing at 149 lbs. against Colton DiBlasi, a national qualifier at 165 lbs. a year ago, but would fall to 5-7 with a 4-0 loss.

The next two matches set the tone for the rest of the match. Peter Pappas (11-5) and Kolby Ho (15-5) battled for two tiebreakers before Ho came away with a 7-6 decision in their 157 lb. match. A Pappas escape early in the third period would tie the match at 3-3. A scoreless sudden victory minute of wrestling was followed by a wild tiebreaker session. An escape and takedown by Ho gave the Patriot a 6-3 lead. A Pappas escape with 18 seconds left in the 30-second period made it 6-4, and Pappas proceeded to take Ho down with five seconds left to knot the score at 6-6. Another scoreless sudden victory minute ensued, forcing a second tiebreaker. Ho would ride out Pappas in the first 30-second period, and he would then escape with 21 seconds left for the winning point.

The 165 lb. match featured an even crazier finish. Derek Ciavarro would hold a 4-3 lead over Neil Schuster heading into the third period. Schuster knotted the score with a quick escape, then took a 6-4 lead with a takedown with 22 seconds to go.

Ciavarro staged a miraculous comeback in the final ten seconds. The transfer from Virginia Tech would escape with eight seconds to go, then registered a takedown in the final five seconds for an improbable 7-6 win. He improved to 6-6 with the win.

George Mason would rebuild the lead to 21-6 as Anthony Lombardo (10-8) upset Jacob Oliver (10-4) at 174 lbs. by a score of 7-5. Oliver trailed 5-1 before an escape and takedown closed the match to 5-4 with 46 seconds left. Oliver would have to cut Lombardo loose with 30 seconds to go with Lombardo owning riding time, and the redshirt sophomore was unable to come up with a takedown after that.
Back-to-back technical falls pulled the Fighting Scots to within striking distance. Cody Mulligan won 24-9 at 7:00 over a game Paul Pierce (8-9), who was injured late in the second period with Mulligan leading 9-3. Mulligan, a redshirt freshman, improved to 10-5 on the strength of nine takedowns, including five in the third period.

Dylan Reynolds took the mat at 197 lbs. and improved to 11-4 with a 18-2 technical fall (6:37) over Ramses Montalvo. Reynolds led 8-1 after one period and 12-1 after two. He would finish with five takedowns while pulling the Fighting Scots to within 21-16.

That left Jon Spaulding (11-4) needing a fall over Jake Slinger (7-9) at heavyweight to complete the comeback. The junior dominated the match, registering three takedowns in the first period and five in all, but he was never able to turn Slinger. A late Slinger takedown gave Spaulding a 12-8 decision, but the Patriots survived with a 21-19 win.       

Edinboro will return to the mat on Sunday, December 22, competing in the Mountaineer Quad at West Virginia. The Fighting Scots open with Hofstra, followed by a bout with VMI, before wrapping up the day against former head coach Tim Flynn and the Mountaineers.

GEORGE MASON 21, EDINBORO 19
December 20, 2019
Zafirovski Sports & Recreation Dome
 
125 lbs. – Lucas Rodriguez (EU) dec. Talha Farooq (GMU), 9-2 (EU leads 3-0)
133 lbs. – Josh Jones (GMU) fall over Richie Gomez (EU), 1:46 (GMU leads 6-3)
141 lbs. – Alex Madrigal (GMU) fall over Nate Hagan (EU), 4:29 (GMU leads 12-3)
149 lbs. – Colston DiBlasi (GMU) dec. Tyler Vath (EU), 4-0 (GMU leads 15-3)
157 lbs. – Kolby Ho (GMU) dec. Peter Pappas (EU), 7-6 tb2 (GMU leads 18-3)
165 lbs. – Derek Ciavarro (EU) dec. Neil Schuster (GMU), 7-6 (GMU leads 18-6)
174 lbs. – Anthony Lombardo (GMU) dec. Jacob Oliver (EU), 7-5 (GMU leads 21-6)
184 lbs. – Cody Mulligan (EU) tech. fall Paul Pierce (GMU), 24-9, 7:00 (GMU leads 21-11)
197 lbs. – Dylan Reynolds (EU) tech. fall Ramses Montalvo (GMU), 18-2, 6:37 (GMU leads 21-16)
Hwt. – Jon Spaulding (EU) dec. Jake Slinger (GMU), 12-8 (GMU leads 21-19)
 
RECORDS:  Edinboro 5-2, 2-1 MAC; George Mason 6-1, 2-0 MAC  
 
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Players Mentioned

Richie Gomez

Richie Gomez

133
Redshirt Sophomore
Nate Hagan

Nate Hagan

141
Redshirt Senior
Cody Mulligan

Cody Mulligan

184
Redshirt Freshman
Jacob Oliver

Jacob Oliver

174
Redshirt Sophomore
Peter Pappas

Peter Pappas

149/157
Redshirt Sophomore
Dylan Reynolds

Dylan Reynolds

197
Redshirt Senior
Lucas Rodriguez

Lucas Rodriguez

125
Redshirt Sophomore
Jon Spaulding

Jon Spaulding

285
Junior
Tyler Vath

Tyler Vath

149
Redshirt Senior
Derek Ciavarro

Derek Ciavarro

165/174
Redshirt Sophomore
Tye Varndell

Tye Varndell

133
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Richie Gomez

Richie Gomez

Redshirt Sophomore
133
Nate Hagan

Nate Hagan

Redshirt Senior
141
Cody Mulligan

Cody Mulligan

Redshirt Freshman
184
Jacob Oliver

Jacob Oliver

Redshirt Sophomore
174
Peter Pappas

Peter Pappas

Redshirt Sophomore
149/157
Dylan Reynolds

Dylan Reynolds

Redshirt Senior
197
Lucas Rodriguez

Lucas Rodriguez

Redshirt Sophomore
125
Jon Spaulding

Jon Spaulding

Junior
285
Tyler Vath

Tyler Vath

Redshirt Senior
149
Derek Ciavarro

Derek Ciavarro

Redshirt Sophomore
165/174
Tye Varndell

Tye Varndell

Freshman
133