Jan. 9, 2001
In their second home match of the season the Cleveland State wrestlers fought hard against Kent State, but dropped the contest, 28-8. Despite the loss Head Coach Jack Effner was pleased with his young team's performance. "We wrestled much better out there tonight, we just need to find more offense," said Effner. "We had five freshmen out there and they had five seniors, but our guys battled hard."
The match was spoiled early for the Vikings after two controversial calls. Freshman Jason Effner started at 157 lbs. against senior Steve Bittinger. With the match tied at two apiece Bittinger was awarded a takedown with eight seconds remaining in the third period. The Viking bench was stunned by the call, arguing that Bittinger never got around on Effner. In the night's second match Kent State's Nick Nemeth used two leg-tilts for near falls against CSU's Jeff Polk. Towards the end of the third period Nemeth caught Polk in another tilt. As the buzzer sounded Nemeth was awarded a pin at 7:00. The CSU coaches were shocked once again, claiming the pin came after the match ended. "It was a little overwhelming and hard to handle, but it's just part of the game, the referee is going to call what he sees," admitted Effner.
Visibly upset, the Vikings tried to battle back. Freshman Joe Phillips beat senior Jack Hageman in a close match, 3-2. Sophomore Devin Pethtel provided a lift despite his loss. Pethtel moved two weight classes up to fill in for ailing Dom Abato. Clearly outweighed, Pethtel kept it close and allowed Kent only three team points. Junior and co-captain Nick Boucher won his fourth dual match of the season, 5-2, using a leg-tilt for a near-fall in the second period. The last match of the night featured two 1998 Ohio State Champions. CSU's Anthony Coleman, the 140-pound state champ, went up against Kent's Mike Tolar, the 152-pound state champ, at 149 pounds. Deadlocked at zero going into the third period, Coleman used a reversal to win the match, 3-0.
