Spartan Wrestlers Can't Tame Nittany Lions
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
February 21, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 23rd-ranked Michigan State wrestling squad fell to 10th-ranked Penn State, 25-14, on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 547 at Jenison Field House. With the loss, Michigan State drops to 5-10-1, 2-7-1 in the Big Ten, while Penn State improves to 12-5, 5-3 in the conference. This was the final Big Ten dual for the Spartans.
The dual got off to a promising start for the Spartans as Matt Lamb (So., Pine Hill, N.J.) scored a 9-4 decision at 285 pounds. The Nittany Lions, however, would respond in strong fashion as Jeremy Hunter scored a pinfall in :44 at 125. #18 Nate Parker would follow with a 7-6 upset victory over Spartan All-American Pat McNamara (So., Jordan, Minn.). Parker scored a third period takedown to even the score at six and claimed the win with a riding time point.
Issac Miller (Sr., Flint, Mich.) would score an 11-1 major decision at 141 to narrow the defecit to 7-9, but Penn State would take the next four matches, including a major decision and a pinfall to increase the lead to 25-7.
Michigan State would take the final two matches as Nik Fekete (Fr., Cranford, N.J.) scored a 15-5 major decision at 184. After having lost eight consecutive matches, Fekete's victory was his second of the weekend. Fekete's victory was followed up by an 8-3 decision for Nick Muzashvili (Jr., Unadilla, N.Y.) at 197.
Despite the loss, Michigan State head coach Tom Minkel was pleased with the way his squad wrestled.
"Even though we didn't win, I was pleased with how hard and well our team wrestled," said Minkel. "There were about three matches that could have gone either way. Penn State is a real good team with a solid senior group. As a young team we try to mature and keep improving. The key is to maintain a positive approach, even when the team struggles."
Michigan State will conclude its weekend action with a Sunday evening dual at Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti at 7:30 p.m.
Michigan State 14 - Penn State 25 Results Match Score Meet Score 285 - Matt Lamb (MSU) dec. Mark Janus (PSU), 9-4 3-0 125 - #2 Jeremy Hunter (PSU) pinned Chris Williams (MSU),:44 3-6 133 - #18 Nate Parker (PSU) dec. #3 Pat McNamara (MSU), 7-6 3-9 141 - #19 Issac Miller (MSU) maj. dec. Mark Bost (PSU), 11-1 7-9 149 - Biff Walizer (PSU) dec. Mike Castillo (MSU), 9-5 7-12 157 - #3 Clint Musser (PSU) maj. dec. Cory Posey (MSU), 11-3 7-16 165 - Alex Leykikh (PSU) pinned Matt Koyl (MSU), 4:31 7-22 174 - #2 Glenn Pritzlaff (PSU) dec. #14 Will Hill (MSU),4-2,SV 7-25 184 - Nik Fekete (MSU) maj. dec. Andrew Butville (PSU), 15-5 11-25 197 - #6 Nick Muzashvili (MSU) dec. Brett Calabretta (PSU),8-3 14-25