The Observer, January 25, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 14
Grapplers take down Mount Union
click to enlarge
The Case wrestling team defeated Mount Union in Horsburgh Gym, 24-18, on Saturday. The Spartans were led by junior Drew Gardella, who reached a special milestone of 75 career wins. Coach Bob Del Rosa was pleased with his accomplishment.
"I'm extremely happy for him reaching 75 wins. He would have reached that number first semester if he didn't get hurt." Gardella got off to an impressive start and put his opponent, Sean Dreger, in an early 2-0 hole. Gardella then handily sealed the victory in the second period on a 6-0 decision, moving his career record to 75-18, good for the second all-time record at Case in his weight class.
Fortunately for the Spartans, Gardella's performance was not the only impressive one. Senior Dave Manoogian advanced his seasonal record to 12-1 by securing an 11-3 victory versus Mount Union's Shawn O'Neill. That win pushes Manoogian's winning streak to five matches this season.
Adding to the fun was junior Dave Bernolt. He and Mount Union's Mike Manypenny were closely matched throughout the second period, but Bernholt's persistence and strength proved to be too much for Manypenny in the ninth period, when Bernholt was able to grab the momentum for good. Freshman Ray Lonardo also was a big part of the team's effort. He was able to secure a commanding lead for the Spartans by successfully pinning his opponent, Mount Union's Tim Campbell. For Lonardo, pinning his opponents has become routine. In the seven victories he has had this season, only two haven't been pin decisions.
Del Rosa felt good after the match. When asked what he expected to see out of his team against the Purple and White from Mount Union, he said, "I felt that we were going to win, but the match would be decided by the heavyweights and I felt that our wrestler, Bob Gavlak, was superior to their wrestler." Gavlak definitely was, as his 16-0 decision sealed the win for the day. Gavlak has not lost a match this season.
Coach Del Rosa added that he was "proud of all the guys on the team and was glad to see that everybody wrestled tough on Saturday." The men headed to Wheaton, Ill. on Feb. 1 to face off against dozens of other schools in what is primarily an individual tournament. Each wrestler has a chance to do his best regardless of what the rest of the team does. Del Rosa hopes that three to four wrestlers will be able to finish in the top four of their weight class. "That would be great, because the competition at this tournament is at a high level, almost as tough as at the Nationals."
