Dec. 16, 2007
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team won its 2007-08 home opener on Sunday, defeating the College of Mount Saint Joseph (MSJ), 39-3. The win moves the Boilermakers to 2-2 on the year, while MSJ drops to 5-2-1.
The Boilermakers have now won their last 10 non-conference home matches and 10 straight home openers. It's also the biggest victory for Purdue since a 40-8 win over the University of Indianapolis in 2005.
Opening at 125 pounds, the first four matches of the day gave the signs of a close contest. Purdue freshman Akif Eren notched a 5-0 win over MSJ senior Steve Austin in the opening bout, but sophomore Eric Meyer bounced back for the Lions, outlasting Purdue senior Sean Schmaltz for a 6-3 tie-break victory. His first match in over a month, Schmaltz was forced to forfeit his choice in the tie-break session due to his second injury timeout, called for cramping, and Meyer used the two bottom opportunities to score escape points, while Schmaltz was tagged for an illegal hold to give Meyer the three-point win.
Sophomore Matt Redmond and freshman Kevin Lipp bounced back for the Old Gold and Black, taking decisions at 141 and 149 pounds. Redmond evened his record at 6-6 with a 9-3 win over MSJ freshman Tom Griffin, while Lipp scored his first collegiate victory with a narrow 4-3 victory over returning NCAA Division III All-American Elliot Spence.
From there on out there wouldn't be anything close as Purdue ran away with the match. Sophomore Sam Patacsil tallied a 15-3 major decision over Lions senior Josh Sasfy, and fellow Boilermaker sophomore Justin Fraga and junior Nick Corpe posted back-to-back technical falls to put the contest out of reach. Fraga scored a pair of reversals on his way to a 24-7 win over freshman Dave Harris. These two increase his career total to 22 and tie him for 18th-place in Purdue's history. Corpe bested MSJ sophomore Heath Lukacs 20-5, earning his first nearfall points of the season.
Purdue freshman A.J. Kissel notched a 12-0 major decision over junior Chad Craft at 184 pounds, nearly pinning him on several occasions. Kissel scored takedowns early in the first and second periods, but Craft did his best to deny the arm bar and stay off his back.
Freshman 197-pounder Logan Brown and sophomore heavyweight Chris Kasten put the exclamation points on the match sticking the Lions in the final two matches as Brown pinned freshman Pat Truster in 2:03, while Kasten scored a 2:27 fall over sophomore James Campolongo. Brown's fall is the first of his collegiate career, while Kasten moves his season pin total to two and his career mark to six.
The Boilermakers return to action after the holiday break on Dec. 29 at the prestigious Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.