December 9, 2000

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech wrestling team gained a moral victory, but not a victory on the mat as the No. 20 Hokies battled to a 16-16 tie with No. 12 Edinboro Saturday night at Cassell Coliseum in front of 781 fans.

No. 16 Scott Justus got Tech on the board first with a 22-11 major decision. Edinboro's David Shunamon gained a major of his own with a 12-3 win over Wes Cummings. The Scots took a 7-4 lead when Josh Pearce downed Ben Fisher, 7-1, at the heavyweight class. Freshman Phill Niklowicz of Tech beat Charlie Soto, 9-5, to tie the match at 7-7.

The big surprise of the night came at 133 pounds when unranked Jeremy Gaysek of Tech came from behind in the final seconds to knock off Justin Wilcox, 10-6. Gaysek got an escape late in the third period to tie the match up. Wilcox was called for his second stalling offense, giving Gaysek a one-point lead. But Wilcox came right back and got the takedown to gain the lead back. Gaysek got a reversal and three points for a near fall in the closing seconds to grab the upset.

No. 4 Sean Gray of Tech got a 6-1 decision to give the Hokies a 13-7 lead heading into the final matches. No. 15 Ryan Shapert and No. 8 Shaun Shapert weren't able to get more than a decision over Brent Rider and Andrew Shuler at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. No. 4 Chris Martin of Tech came back with a 9-4 win over Yanni Diamond before No. 2 Josh Koscheck of Edinboro downed No. 11 Eric Hall of Tech, 7-3, to tie the match at 16-16.

Tech (1-0-1, 0-0-1 EWL) returns to action on Jan. 5, 2001, taking on nationally-ranked Lock Haven on the road.

MEET SCORES
184  #16 Scott Justus (VT) maj. dec. Justin Millard, 22-11    4-0
197  #11 David Shunamon (EUP) maj. dec. Wes Cummings, 12-3    4-4
285  #9 Josh Pearce (EUP) dec. Ben Fisher, 7-1                4-7
125  Phill Niklowicz (VT) dec. Charlie Soto, 9-5              7-7
133  Jeremy Gaysek (VT) dec. Justin Wilcox, 10-6             10-7
141  #4 Sean Gray (VT) dec. #19 Cory Ace, 6-1                13-7
149  #15 Ryan Shapert (EUP) dec. Brent Rider, 9-3            13-10
157  #8 Shaun Shapert (EUP) dec. Andrew Shuler, 11-4         13-13
165  #4 Chris Martin (VT) dec. Yanni Diamond, 9-4            16-13
174  #2 Josh Koscheck (EUP) dec. #11 Eric Hall, 7-3          16-16
* rankings used are from Amateur Wrestling News.