Feb. 22, 2007

ERIE, Pa. - The No. 10 Mercyhurst College wrestling team will head to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke for the Division II East Regional Championshipson Friday and Saturday, February 24-25. Friday's action starts at 4:00 pm with the action continuing on Saturday at 10:00 am. The top four finishers in each weight will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships to be held at the University of Nebraska-Kearney on March 9-10.

The Lakers are coming into the regional on a roll as they have gone 9-0-1 over their last 10 meets including wins over five ranked opponents and last Friday night's tie against arch-rival Pitt-Johnstown. Mercyhurst has a quartet of wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the East Region coming into the tourney (141 - J.J. Zanetta, 149 - Don Cummings, 157 - Andy Lamancusa and 174 - Zack Schafer) more than any other team including UPJ, who has won each of the last six regional championships.

With the biggest region in the country, the East has a two day tournament with 13 teams participating. Below is a summary of the Lakers' entries and what they need to do to qualify to the National Championships:

125- Payne Lint-Payne is currently ranked No. 4 in the region and has major decision wins over No. 5 and No. 6. He also defeated No. 2 and No. 3 last season and owned a 5-0 first period lead on No. 1 Derek Bosso from UPJ before losing late.

133-Braxdon Scaletta-Braxdon dropped out of the rankings but is a very dangerous wrestler as he has not lost by more than three points to any of the top five wrestlers in the East. He will make a tough early draw for one of these wrestlers.

141-J.J. Zanetta-J.J. has only lost to two Division II wrestlers, his teammate Lenny Calhoun and to West Liberty's Doug Surra (twice). After dropping to as low as fifth in the region, he once again has claimed the top spot after his upset win of No. 2 Shane Valko from UPJ. This is one of the toughest weights in the region and he will have to be on top of his game to get the title.

149-Don Cummings-Don has returned to form after suffering a minor injury at National Duals. He looks to be the dominant 149 pounder in the region although lurking at No. 5 is Kutztown's Chris Chambers, who upset Cummings at last year's tourney and probably cost him an All-American certificate.

157-Andy Lamancusa-Andy returns to the lineup after an injury at the National Duals. It will be interesting to see how this freshman will respond after rising to as high as eighth in Division II before the injury. He has looked very good in practice and his teammate, Brian Pogel, who filled in admirably for him, did Andy a favor by defeating the region's No. 2, Joe Strittmatter of UPJ last Friday, 7-3.

165-Hudson Harrison-Hudson has one point losses to No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 in the region as this may be the most balanced weight in the region with up to seven wrestlers who could win it. If Hudson can reverse those scores, he could find himself at the top of the podium come Saturday.

174-Zack Schafer-Zack was cruising along until a shocking 9-6 loss last Friday night to UPJ's Eli Garshnick. Zack will probably still retain the first seed as he owns two wins over the No. 2 and a win over the No. 3 at this weight. The top four guys as this weight are all nationally ranked and 174 contains three returning All-Americans, which may make this the toughest weight in the region.

184-Gerred Tolson-Gerred is in for a tough road as the top three wrestlers in the region are all nationally ranked, including two returning All-Americans.

197-Trevor Gallo-Trevor comes in ranked #6 in the region and has a shot to get into the qualifying picture as he has two close losses to No.'s 4 and 5. He will have to be on top of his game to get the bid.

Hvy-Kenny Bluska-Kenny comes into the region ranked No. 5, but again this a highly volatile weight with as many as eight heavyweights who could win it. This might be the most exciting weight class to watch.

Team Outlook: The Lakers have a very legitimate shot to unseat defending champion UPJ if they can get their four No. 1 guys into the finals. They will need points from every weight class as UPJ will not go quietly. West Liberty (a team that defeated the Lakers twice) also can get a piece of the title, as could dark horse Newberry if things go their way. Still, the team to beat is UPJ.