Terps Look Forward To Season Ahead
11/18/2003 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 18, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
This season marks the dawn of a new era in Maryland wrestling. Pat Santoro takes the reins as head coach, one season after being named the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Assistant Coach of the Year at Lehigh University.
Excitement surrounds the future of the program as the Terps hope to bring back Maryland's tradition of being a powerful force in the wrestling community. Santoro inherits a young team that has potential to help with that quest.
The Terps' goal for the season is to compete at the highest level possible. They want to continually improve over the season and send as many wrestlers to nationals as they can. The team is young but very talented, and it expects to perform well in competition throughout the year.
Matt Kenny and Matt Pandullo will be the source of leadership for the team as the only returning seniors. Pandullo returns as a starter from last year with a career record of 46-31 overall and 17-12 in duals. Kenny will compete for a starting role this year and has an overall career record of 11-15.
The Terps have a strong junior class returning as they have potential to fill seven starting positions for the year. Mike Lupa, Jason Gribschaw, John Antonelli, Sean Fehn, Patrick Cissne, Brian Mullaney, and Dan Scheets will all be competing for those spots. This group will bring valuable experience to the team as they, along with Pandullo, wrestled in a total of 45 dual matches last year. The only other Terp slated to wrestle this season with any dual match experience is sophomore Jason Kiessling, who went 8-5 in duals last season.
Kiessling leads a sophomore class along with Bryan Rizzo and Barry Stein who will compete for a starting position. Kiessling had a record of 18-13 last season while Stein redshirted and Rizzo missed all but one match due to injury.
Freshmen Charlie Pinto, Jerad Villecco and Carlo Mercadante will also be vying for starting roles as they come in with impressive high school statistics. Mercadante had a career record of 127-18 at Elmer L. Myers High School in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Villecco compiled a career record of 95-30 at Kingsway Regional High School in Swedesboro, N.J. Pinto had a record of 126-16 at Wallkill Valley Regional High School in Stockholm, N.J.
Junior Adam James, the Terps' lone returning All-ACC selection from 2002, and sophomore John-Henry Zarzycki will redshirt this season so that they can grow into the 157 and 149 weight classes respectively. Also redshirting this season will be freshmen Jeff Oldham and Ryan Brown.
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Senior Matt Pandullo retains his starting position this year after earning an 11-12 overall record last year while compiling a 7-5 record in duals. Pandullo is one of only three Terps to have a hold on their starting role. He is also a co-captain along with junior John Antonelli. Pandullo had two pins on the season with the quickest coming against McDaniel's Steve
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There will be a battle for the starting spot between junior Mike Lupa and sophomore Bryan Rizzo. Lupa had the starting role last season after moving up from the 125 weight class his freshman year. He went 7-13 overall last year. Lupa had one pin on the season against Mike Sanders of Anderson in 4:11. Rizzo was a victim of misfortune last year as he suffered a season-ending injury in his first match at the East Stroudsburg Open.
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Junior Jason Gribschaw will compete against freshman Charlie Pinto for the starting position. Gribschaw moves up from the 133 weight class where he had an overall record of 5-7 last season and went 1-2 in dual matches. His lone dual win came against Brandon Ayres of Duke as he pinned him in 34 seconds. The pin was one of two on the season for Gribschaw. Pinto was named the All-West Jersey wrestler of the year in 2003 and was the state runner-up that year as well. He compiled a record of 126-16 for Wallkill Valley High School.
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Freshman Jerad Villecco will take hold of the starting job after a solid career at Kingsway Regional High School with a record of 95-30. Villecco is the only freshman who seems to have a lock on a starting position this year. In high school, he was a two-time district champion, two-time regional runner-up and two-time state qualifier. He also earned first team all-conference honors three times. Sophomore John-Henry Zarzycki is expected to redshirt the season.
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There will be fierce competition for the starting job between senior Matt Kenny and sophomore Jason Kiessling. Kenny brings leadership skills to the spot as he is only one of two returning seniors on the team. He went 3-5 last year wrestling in the 149 weight class. His most impressive victory was a 7-3 decision over James Madison's Jeff Jacobs. Kiessling is a very talented wrestler who had an impressive freshman year, going 18-13 overall. He also had a record of 8-5 in duals. Those eight wins represent the most dual wins last season by any returning Terp expected to wrestle this year. Kiessling had three pins on the season and wrestled in both the 149 and 157 weight classes.
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This starting role is not yet decided as junior co-captain John Antonelli battles freshman Carlo Mercadante for the spot. Antonelli has a career record of 21-23 overall and 8-8 in duals. Last year he wrestled at 157, compiling a record of 7-9 and 1-2 in duals. He had one pin on the year and his largest margin of victory was a 9-1 defeat of Chris Bailey of Anderson. Mercadante comes to Maryland after an impressive career at Elmer L. Myers High School in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. where he had a career record of 127-18. He also set a school record with 88 throughout his career. Mercadante was the 2003 Northeast regional champion and PIAA AA runner-up. He was also a three-time district champion.
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Juniors Sean Fehn and Patrick Cissne will both vie for the starting role this year. Fehn has a career record of 7-6 and has bulked up from the 165 weight class where he wrestled a year ago. Last year, his largest margin of victory came in a 6-2 decision over George Mason's J.C. Cuffee. Cissne brings a lot of experience with him as he competed in 27 matches last year, 14 of which were duals. Last season he had one pin wrestling at 165.
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The starting job will be fought for by fellow juniors, Brian Mullaney and Dan Scheets. Mullaney went 5-5 overall last season and 1-1 in duals. His lone pin of the year came against Rob Stephen in 3:25 during the first round of the East Stroudsburg Open. Mullaney has made a significant jump from the 165 weight class in which he wrestled last year. Scheets has limited experience as he has only wrestled in five career matches. Since last year, he has trimmed down from the 197 weight class in which he wrestled his only match last season during the Penn State Open.
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Two freshmen will compete to earn the right to start this year. Coaches expect to see good things from both Jerry Afari and David Blais this season at either 197 or Heavyweight. Afari finished with a record of 105-16 his career, and set a Columbia High School record with 117 takedowns his senior year. He was the 2002 state runner-up at 215 and recorded 33 pins during the season. Afari was named to the NHCA National duals second team All-American in 2002. Blais recorded 122 wins in his career at St. John's Prep. He was named a three-time Catholic Conference All-Star and was the 2003 state champion. Blais was also a New England finalist in 2003.
Heavyweight
Redshirt sophomore Barry Stein looks to challenge for a starting role after redshirting last season and competing only in open competition. He has significantly bulked up since wrestling in the 184 weight class last year. Stein had competed in the West Virginia Open, Wilkes-Barre Open and the East Stroudsburg Open during the season.
