Wrestling 11/16/2016 9:33:00 PM

Blue Jays drop home opener to No. 10 York, 35-6

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – York (Pa.) looked every bit the top 10 team it entered Wednesday night's dual at Elizabethtown as. The Blue Jays dropped the first eight matches, before getting decisions from nationally-ranked Luke Fernandez at 197 and Eric Eckstein at 285 to avoid being shut out, 35-6, in their home opener at Thompson Gymnasium.

While only two of York's starters carried individual national rankings into the match, the Spartans (1-0) were rock solid top-to-bottom. Six of their eight wins on the night included bonus points: three major decisions, two pins and a tech fall.

Fifth-year senior Bryan Pflanz, a D3wrestle.com contender at 133, battled two-time NCAA qualifier and nationally-ranked No. 3/4 Ryan Flynn hard in a 5-2 defeat.

Pins at 149 from Jeff Walker and 165 by David Keith, along with a Joseph Sindoni technical fall at 174 widened the gap to 35-0 in York's favor.

Fernandez, who recently jumped from seventh to fifth in the D3wrestle.com rankings at 197 pounds, notched three takedowns of John Shorter en route to his eighth win of the season. Fernandez was headed for a major decision with riding time on his side and up 7-0, but a penalized move in the final 10 seconds of the third period gave Shorter his only point and cost the E-town senior a bonus point. Fernandez instead settled for an 8-1 decision that matches his current record.

The most pleasant surprise of the young season has to be Eckstein, who is now just one win shy of doubling his career total entering the season. The junior held off Stefanos Karpontinis, 5-2, to improve to 9-4 on the season and maintain the team lead in victories. Eckstein grabbed a first period lead on a takedown with 32 seconds remaining. He got another late in the second and an early escape in the third, while Karpontinis could only muster a pair of escapes.

Elizabethtown will face its second straight ranked opponent when it heads to Lycoming Sunday for the Lycoming Quad. The Warriors were ranked No. 9 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in their preseason poll. The Blue Jays are also set to take on Penn College and Washington & Jefferson at the quad.

Elizabethtown vs. #10 York (Pa.) Wednesday, November 16, 2016 // Elizabethtown, Pa. (Thompson Gymnasium)
Wt.		EC	YCP
125	Dylan Nuttall (YCP) maj. dec. Philip Torresani (EC), 10-2	0	4
133	#3/4 Ryan Flynn (YCP) dec. #NR/CT Bryan Pflanz (EC), 5-2	0	7
141	#1/4 Greg Warner (YCP) maj. dec. Josh Paisley (EC), 9-0	0	11
149	Jeff Walker (YCP) pinned Christian Cooper (EC), 2:39	0	17
157	Chad Wickard (YCP) dec. Chris Kummerer (EC), 9-3	0	20
165	David Keith (YCP) pinned Dan Jerrems (EC), 3:37	0	26
174	Joseph Sindoni (YCP) tech fall Josh Stencler (EC), 18-3 (4:53)	0	31
184	Jackson Drum (YCP) maj. dec. Dayne Ross (EC), 13-4	0	35
197	#7/5 Luke Fernandez (EC) dec. John Shorter (YCP), 8-1	3	35
285	Eric Eckstein (EC) dec. Stefanos Karpontinis (YCP), 5-2	6	35
	Exhibitions
197	James Geer (YCP) pinned Wyatt Anderson (EC), 2:01
285	Max Rhoden (EC) dec. Thomas Tabatneck (YCP), 2-1
285	Connor Schmalz (EC) pinned Nicholas Carpenter (YCP), 6:27
Rankings: NWCA / d3wrestle.com NR - Not ranked CT - Contender HM - Honorable Mention

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Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein: 285; 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Fernandez: 197; 6' 2"; Senior

Chris Kummerer: 157; 5' 7"; Junior

Bryan Pflanz: 133; 5' 5"; Senior

Josh Stencler: 174/184; 5' 8"; Senior

Philip Torresani: 125; 5' 3"; Junior

Josh Paisley: 133/141; 5' 5"; Freshman

Christian Cooper: 141/149; 5' 6"; Freshman

Dan Jerrems: 165; 5' 11"; Freshman

Dayne Ross: 174/184; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Junior
: 285

Luke Fernandez
: 6' 2"; Senior
: 197

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Junior
: 157

Bryan Pflanz
: 5' 5"; Senior
: 133

Josh Stencler
: 5' 8"; Senior
: 174/184

Philip Torresani
: 5' 3"; Junior
: 125

Josh Paisley
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: 133/141

Christian Cooper
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: 141/149

Dan Jerrems
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: 165

Dayne Ross
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: 174/184