Before Thursday's matchup between UW-Platteville and third-ranked UW-La Crosse, Pioneer Coach Chris Walter had one wish.
"I hope we can get some momentum early in the lower weights and see where it takes us," the 10th-year coach said.
Walter's plan proved perfect, as the Pioneers rode a stunning 22-0 start to a 25-21 victory over UW-La Crosse, the Pioneers' first win against the Eagles since 1988.
The match started at 125, where freshman Spencer Peterson got the upset rolling with a pin of Mark Girgis at 5:41. After the Pioneers' Jeff Gale received a forfeit at 133, two-time WIAC champion Zach Chambers avoided a near pin and flipped Kevin Barber to pin him in 2:34. Ryan Higgins, the other Pioneer returning conference champion, picked up a major decision over Jay Milz, 13-5, and suddenly UWP was ahead 22-0 in front of a large Williams Fieldhouse crowd.
The Eagles, however, boast a murderer's row in the mid- to upper-weights, with Jason Lulloff (184) ranked first in NCAA Division III at his weight, and Ross Needham (157) and Josh Chelf (174) second in theirs. All three won their matches, although only Chelf was able to pick up the full six points with a pin.
Just like last years' win over UW-Eau Claire, the Pioneers' fate rested on heavyweight Ryan Rozek. The senior national academic all-American wrestled a smart match against Kent Anderson, never giving up a takedown and earning a 2-1 decision by virtue of 1:58 of riding time.
The Pioneers, who had been ranked 25th in the NCAA III preseason poll,but had dropped out this week, improved to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC. The Eagles suffered their first loss of the year, falling to 4-1,0-1.
UW-Platteville is back in action Saturday at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Invitational, then wrestles at UW-Stevens Point Wednesday.
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Individual Matches UWP UWL
125
- Spencer Peterson (UWP) pinned Mark Girgis 5:41 6 0
133 - Jeff Gale (UWP) won by forfeit 12 0
141 - Zach Chambers (UWP) pinned Kevin Barber 2:34 18 0
149 - Ryan Higgins (UWP) def. Jay Milz 13-5 22 0
157 - Ross Needham (UW-L) def. Jesse Milks 7-3 22 3
165 - Tim Palmer (UW-L) def. Cory Zuberbier, technical fall 26-9, 6:55 22 7
174 - Josh Chelf (UW-L) pinned Brad Zellner 1:54 22 13
184 - Jason Lulloff (UW-L) def. Matt Beschta, technical fall, 18-2, 5:30 22 18
197 - Tim Winker (UW-L) def. Scott Nicholas 7-4 22 21
285 - Ryan Rozek (UWP) def. Kent Anderson 2-1 25 21
Records: UW-Platteville (5-2, 1-1 WIAC); UW-La
Crosse (4-1, 0-1 WIAC)
Notes: Pioneers’ first win against the Eagles
since 1988 … UW-La Crosse is currently ranked third in NCAA III … Chambers
ranked fifth in the country at 141 … Eagles’ Ross Needham (2nd), Josh Chelf
2nd) and Jason Lulloff (1st) are all nationally ranked at their
respective weights.