SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- NDC Wrestling earned yet another lopsided victory Saturday, as the No. 1 (NAIA Coaches' poll) Falcons shut down Seton Hill (Pa.), 41-9.

Notre Dame (8-1) picked up eight wins on the evening, with five pins, two majors and one decision. Since losing to Ohio State on Nov. 22, the Wrestling Falcons have decimated seven straight foes by a combined score of 223-31.

With the loss, Seton Hill (7-14) ran their road record this season to 5-11.

#Brian Dean# opened the match for Notre Dame with a 9-1 major decision over Josh Testa at 133 pounds. Senior #Adam Koballa# followed that up at 141 with an 8-3 win over Dallas Evans, who came into the bout with a 15-10 mark. The win for the NAIA's top-ranked grappler at 141 marked his team-leading 25th of the season.

Sophomore pin specialist #Ashtin Primus# then dispensed his foe at 149, with a fall earned in 2:02. The pin marked Primus' 14th of the season, and it started Notre Dame on a string of three wins by fall - by the time #Thomas Straughn# and #Kevin Hardy# pinned their opponents at 157 and 165, NDC had built a 25-0 lead over the Griffins.

#John Bittenger# then won NDC's sixth straight bout on the afternoon with a dynamic 13-2 win over Quade Miller at 174.

At 184, in perhaps the bout of the day, #Alex Denman# earned a come-from-behind 2-2 tie in the final seconds of regulation before falling, 7-2, to Dan Matthews, who ran his season record to 10-5. That marked Seton Hill's first win of the day.

The rest of the action at NDC's Murphy Gymnasium took less than three minutes to complete. #Derek Foore# earned his eighth pin of the season when he downed Greg Vanucci in 1:39 in the match-up at 197. In the heavyweight bout, freshman #Orlando Scales# made even quicker work of winless Patrick McClure - Scales earned a fall in 39 seconds.

The Falcons forfeited the bout at 125 to close out the scoring at 41-9.

“I thought we wrestled well on our feet today, which is a good indication of form,” said Head Coach #Frank Romano#. “We had some different guys in, and I though they performed well. We're looking forward to next meet, next week at Mount Union.”

Notre Dame will be on the road for that next match. The Falcons will travel to Alliance, Ohio, to take on the Purple Raiders of Mount Union College on Friday, Feb. 5 (first bout 7 p.m.). NDC's final home match of the 2009-10 season is scheduled for Feb. 14.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

PRIME TIME: Ashtin Primus' last six wins on the mat have come by fall. Among those six, Primus went 4-0 with four pins in winning the title at 149 in the Purple Raider Open on Jan. 17. For the season, the Connellsville, Pa. native is 16-3.

DUALS WITH THE DEUCE: NDC has now faced three NCAA-II squads this season - the Falcons defeated current NCAA-II No. 15 (TheMat.com) Findlay, 31-9, on Nov. 22 and beat Ashland, 28-7, on Dec. 14. NDC's final dual-meet opponent of the season - West Liberty (W. Va.) is also a D-II program. … Notre Dame is currently competing as a Year-One Candidate in the NCAA-II application process.

MAT NOTES: No. 1 Derek Foore ran his perfect record this season to 19-0 with his victory at 197. … No. 1 Adam Koballa earned 14th straight win - the former St. Peter Chanel (Bedford) standout hasn't lost since Nov. 22. … Since Dec. 1, Orlando Scales is 13-0. For the season, the highly-touted recruit is now 19-2, with eight falls.



No. 1 Notre Dame 41, Seton Hill 9
Jan. 30, 2010 - Murphy Gymnasium

125: Kenny Trumbetta (SHU) by forfeit [NDC 41, SHU 9]
133: Brian Dean (NDC) maj. John Testa (SHU), 9-1 [NDC 4, SHU 0]
141: No. 1 Adam Koballa (NDC) dec. Dallas Evans (SHU), 8-3 [NDC 7, SHU 0]
149: No. 9 Ashtin Primus (NDC) pinned Buck Watkins (SHU), 2:02 [NDC 13, SHU 0]
157: No. 2 Thomas Straughn (NDC) pinned Aaron Pasczi (SHU), 2:20 [NDC 19, SHU 0]
165: No. 3 Kevin Hardy (NDC) pinned Randall Wagner (SHU), 1:06 [NDC 25, SHU 0]
174: No. 4 John Bittenger (NDC) maj. Quade Miller (SHU), 13-2 [NDC 29, SHU 0]
184: Dan Matthews (SHU) dec. No. 10 Alex Denman (NDC), 7-2 [NDC 29, SHU 3]
197: No. 1 Derek Foore (NDC) pinned Greg Vanucci (SHU), 1:39 [NDC 35, SHU 3]
HWT: No. 2 Orlando Scales (NDC) pinned Patrick McClure (SHU), 0:41 [NDC 41, SHU 3]

Attendance - 204, First bout - 133
Official - Joe Papalio