Jan. 14, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Purdue University wrestling team lost its first match of the season on Sunday afternoon, suffering a 28-6 loss at the hands of Big Ten host Ohio State University (OSU). Eighteenth-ranked senior Nathan Moore and sophomore Jake Murphy secured the only wins for the Boilermakers, who fall to 10-1 on the year, while OSU moved to 2-3 with the win.
The match started at 141 pounds, where OSU sophomore J Jaggers posted a 10-1 decision over Purdue freshman Nick Bertucci. At 149 pounds, No. 19 OSU freshman Lance Palmer posted a 4-3 upset victory over Purdue's 10th-ranked sophomore Jake Patacsil. Patacsil tried to rally from a 4-0 deficit in the final period, but was only able to score a trio of back points and ran out of time.
Murphy put the Boilers on the scoreboard at 157, upending OSU sophomore Jason Johnstone, 6-4. Murphy scored a takedown 1:24 into the match, but allowed an escape to narrow the margin to one, and let Johnstone wriggle from his grasp again in the waning seconds of the second period to leave it 2-2 headed into the final period. Murphy took back the lead just 10 seconds into the third with an escape, but Johnstone earned his first takedown of the match to take the lead with 46 seconds left on the clock. However, the lead would be short lived as Murphy reversed Johnstone 16 seconds later and rode him the rest of the way.
Back-to-decisions came for the Buckeyes at 165 and 174 as 15th-ranked senior Chris Vondruska and junior Tommy Priestley earned respective wins over Purdue freshmen Justin Fraga and Jason Martin. Third-ranked OSU freshman Mike Pucillo remained unbeaten at 184 pounds, pinning Purdue senior Nick Skinner in 6:41, but the Boilermakers grabbed their second win of the day in the 197-pound match as Moore upset third-ranked junior J.D. Bergman, 7-2. Bergman led early in the match, taking down Moore 37 second into the match. However, it would be Moore the rest of the way as he notched escapes in the first and second period, a takedown in the final two seconds of the second frame and a trio of nearfall points in the final session.
Purdue freshman David Pisarcik made his heavyweight debut for the Boilermakers, but was unable to emerge victorious as he fell 7-3. The Buckeyes closed out the meet with a pair of narrow decisions at 125 and 133 pounds as freshman Will Livingston topped junior Brandon Tucker for the second time this season, 3-0, and junior T.J. Enright came away with a 3-1 sudden victory over fellow junior Sean Schmaltz.
The Boilermakers will look to rebound this Friday as they'll make the short trip to Bloomington, Ind. to face Big Ten archrival Indiana. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the Hoosiers' University Gymnasium.