Results
The University of Scranton wrestling team started Wednesday night's match against King's with four consecutive pins and rode that momentum to a 28-15 victory, the first win for the Royals over the Monarchs in nearly 11 years.
Scranton (6-5) had not beaten King's (4-9) in its last 10 tries, with the last win coming on Jan. 26, 2005, when the Royals scored a 24-14 win.
The four straight pins had the Royals' bench jumping for joy and was key as they were able to withstand five straight victories by decision by King's, which left the Royals with match in hand at 24-15 after 197 pounds.
Sophomore Brandon Davis (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley Senior) got things started in a hurry with a pin in 42 seconds at 125 pounds. It was just his sixth match of the season after missing the first semester with an injury, but he showed no ill effects while giving Scranton a quick lead.
Sophomore Nicholas DePierro (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold) followed with a pin in 4:33 at 133 pounds to give the Royals a 12-0 lead. Freshman Liam Gallagher (Aberdeen, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) then made quick work of his opponent at 141 with a pin in 1:08 for an 18-0 lead.
Then, freshman Danny O'Neill (Flanders, N.J./Mt. Olive) came through at 149 with the biggest pin of the four to start the match. He fell behind 3-0 after a period and looked overmatched at times. But his opponent chose to start the second period on defense and O'Neill made him pay, pinning him with 32 seconds left in the period for his second career pin and a 24-0 lead.
King's ran of five straight decisions, but when they only got the three points at 197, that left the Royals with an insurmountable nine-point lead. Senior Eric Calimano (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) finished the match by giving the Royals a 15-2 major decision at 285.
The Royals' six wins match their total from last season. They'll look to surpass that when they host Ursinus and Centenary on Sunday at noon in the Long Center.
--ROYALS--
