Michigan State University
Penn State Open
Joe Williams, Clint Frutiger Place At Nittany Lion Open
12/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 2, 2007
Complete Nittany Lion Open Results
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Michigan State's wrestlers closed out the fall semester competing at the annual Nittany Lion Open hosted by Penn State University on Sunday, Dec. 2. Senior Joe Williams finished second in the 197 bracket, nearly defending his title from last year, while junior Clint Frutiger placed fourth at 125 pounds.
Williams started the day with three consecutive pins, taking down Deleware State's Shawn Nowrey in 4:39, Hofstra's Richard Vitale in 1:06 - his fastest fall this year - and Cornell's Jason Winckel in 3:27. Williams then followed with shutouts in the quarterfinals and semifinals; Williams defeated Kent State's Michael Blackwell 3-0 and bested Virginia's Brent Jones with an 8-0 major decision. In the final Williams faced Drexel's Jon Oplinger but fell in a close 4-2 match.
In the 125-pound bracket, Frutiger posted his first pin of the year with a first-round win over Virginia's Wyatt Anderson, forcing the fall in 0:57. Round two proved to be a tighter match up, although Frutiger held on for the 4-3 victory over Maryland's James Knox. Frutiger then earned two more victories, defeating Pitt-Johnstown's Derrek Bosso 5-1 and Cornell's Mike Rodriguez 7-3. After picking up four wins, Frutiger medical forfeited his semifinal and third-place match, though still placing fourth in the bracket.
Joel Trombly also competed at 125 pounds, but saw a first-round loss to No. 15 Fernando Martinez from Army. At 141 pounds, Jeff Wimberley broke his six-bout skid pinning Pitt-Johnstown's Cody Myers in 3:12. Wimberley then defeated Boston's Joey Whitaker 6-4 before injury defaulting to No. 13 Chris Bencivenga from UNC-Greensboro, the eventual third-place winner.
Tim Hammer advanced to the quarterfinals in the 149-pound bracket, tallying two major decisions among his four tournament wins. At 157, John Fulger defeated Kent State's Sli Bostelman 5-3 and won by forfeit in the round of 32. In the round of 16, Fulger dropped his match 3-2 to Army's Christian Snook. Additionally in the 157-pound bracket, Nick Shafer went 3-2, and Ben Boudro went 1-2.
At 165 pounds, Rex Kendle tallied a 3-2 record, while John Murphy and Blake Mesyn went 3-2 and 1-2, respectively, at 174 pounds. Jeff Ponder also competed at 174, and earned three wins before falling to unattached Chris Barrick. Ponder finished the day 3-2.
At 184 pounds, Nick Palmieri posted a 16-1 technical fall over King College's Billy Edwards, and went 4-2 on Sunday. Abe Cross posted a 1-2 mark, while Eric Anderson went 0-1, both at 184. In the heavyweight bracket, Nick Anurak went 0-1 and Freddie DeRamus went 0-2.
Full tournament results can be found at www. http://www.escapesports.com/Results/2007NLO.
The Spartans will break for the holiday season and return to tournament action at the Midlands Championships from Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. Michigan State's next dual isn't until next year, when MSU hosts Ohio at 7 p.m. in Jenison Field House on Jan. 4, 2008.
Players Mentioned
