Edinboro 28  Bloomsburg 13

EDINBORO, Pa. (Feb. 5, 2010) – There might just be a correlation between Edinboro’s wrestling team getting healthy and the Fighting Scots starting to peak. It sure looked that way on Friday night, as a Fighting Scot team minus just two starters turned in an impressive performance in defeating Bloomsburg 28-13 in an Eastern Wrestling League match. It marked the 29th straight EWL match without a loss for Edinboro, with the Fighting Scots 27-02 during that period. Edinboro is now 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the EWL. Bloomsburg fell to 9-8 and 1-4, respectively.

“We wrestled well tonight,” related head coach Tim Flynn. “It was supposed to be a tight match against a good opponent, but we were able to win handedly. Kyle Fluke wrestled really well, and Torsten (Gillespie) came up with a much-needed pin. We really need to put two good ones together,” referring to Saturday night’s EWL match at Cleveland State.

With third-ranked Jarrod King out of the lineup at 165 lbs. and Phil Moricone unable to answer the bell at 174lbs., it looked as if Bloomsburg had a chance to hand Edinboro its first EWL defeat since 2004-05. The Huskies authored that last defeat.

But the return of Kyle Fluke (right) and Torsten Gillespie (left) to the lineup proved just the impetus the Scots needed. Unlike recent matches where the Fighting Scots found themselves in a large hole midway through the match only to rally behind the heavier weights, this time Edinboro won the first four matches, all by bonus points, to jump out to a 19-0 lead.

Eric Morrill got the night underway with a 14-1 major decision over James Bak at 125 lbs. Kyle Fluke, returning to the lineup at 133 lbs. for the first time since December, surprised Bloomsburg’s Jason Guffey, posting a 13-2 major decision in one of the swing matches of the season.

Joel Webster boosted Edinboro’s advantage to 13-0 with a 15-0 technical fall over Ian De Sol at 141 lbs. Then in the second big swing win, Torsten Gillespie scored a lightning-quick fall over Josh Roosa at 149 lbs. The junior had missed the last three duals with a concussion, but put an end to the match at 5:10 to give the Scots a 19-0 lead.

As expected, Bloomsburg picked up bonus points at 157 and 165 lbs. Matt Moley, ranked ninth, won via a 16-1 technical fall at 157 lbs. over Johnny Greisheimer. Rick Schmelyun followed with another technical fall, this one 16-0, over King’s replacement, Chris Hrunka. Schmelyun came in ranked 11th.

Bloomsburg made it 19-13 with their third win in a row at 174 lbs., as Nate Graham edged Paul Paddock 5-3.

Edinboro swept the final three bouts to conclude the impressive win. Pat Bradshaw claimed career win number 90 with a 4-1 decision over Derek Coffey at 184 lbs. Shawn Fendone followed with an 8-2 decision over Brian Shaw at 197 lbs., and 18th-ranked Chris Birchler finished the evening with an 11-4 decision against Zac Walsh.

#22 EDINBORO 28, BLOOMSBURG 13

125-#8 Eric Morrill (EU) maj. dec James Bak (BU), 14-1
133-Kyle Fluke (EU) maj. dec. Jason Guffey (BU), 13-2
141-Joel Webster (EU) tech. fall Ian De Sol (BU), 15-0 (5:23)
149-Torsten Gillespie (EU) fall over Josh Roosa (BU), 5:10
157-#9 Matt Moley (BU) tech. fall Johnny Greisheimer (EU), 16-1 (4:57)
165-#11 Rick Schmelyun (BU) tech. fall Chris Hrunka (EU), 16-0 (2:57)
174-Nate Graham (BU) dec. Paul Paddock (EU), 5-3
184-Pat Bradshaw (EU) dec. Derek Coffey (BU), 4-1
197-Shawn Fendone (EU) dec. Brian Shaw (BU), 8-2
285-#18 Chris Birchler (EU) dec. Zac Walsh (BU),