Injury bug bites Sun Devils

 by Sam Good
 published on Monday, February 18, 2008

Sunday afternoon was all about the seniors. And fittingly enough, they were the ones who stepped up in their final dual meet as Sun Devils.

But it wasn't enough, as the ASU wrestling team fell to Stanford 28-16 Sunday inside Wells Fargo Arena.

The Sun Devils fell to 9-8 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-10 while the Cardinal moved to 13-4 and 6-3 in the conference.

"We didn't win today, but we have to look at the big picture," ASU coach Thom Ortiz said after the meet. "I'm looking at the positives and I think we're going to be all right."

ASU sent two of its four seniors to the mat, as 197-pound Jason Trulson and heavyweight Quinton Pruett were sidelined with injuries.

Senior Patrick Pitsch defeated Cardinal freshman Kyle Barrett in a 3-0 decision at 165-pounds, while 174-pound senior Rick Renzi dropped his respective bout to Stanford junior Luke Feist in a close 1-0 decision.

"It's nice to get a win here my last time out," Pitsch said. "I really enjoyed wrestling here over the years. I just went 100 percent every time and that crowd would get behind me. I loved my years as a Sun Devil."

Renzi too was grateful for his years at ASU and said there isn't a better crowd to wrestle in front of than the one in Tempe.

"It was emotional and I got real excited because it's my last match here," he said. "It's something special wrestling here for the Sun Devils, wearing the maroon and gold, coming out here on a Sunday afternoon, and having the crowd get involved. I really appreciate everything that ASU and these fans have done for me over the years."

And for Pitsch and Renzi, the biggest thing they took away from Sunday's meet was confidence and momentum heading into the Pac-10 tournament, slated for March 2 and 3.

"I'm getting stronger and stronger, and I think I'm peaking at the right time," Pitsch said. "Everything we've been building for is Pac-10's and nationals, and I think we're ready for those."

Besides Pitsch, ASU had three other wrestlers, 141-pound freshman Chris Drouin, 184-pound freshman Brent Chriswell and 285-pound freshman Imanibom Etukeren, win their bouts on Sunday.

The meet began on a couple of low notes for the Sun Devils.

First, 125-pound freshman Anthony Robles was forced to forfeit his match due to injury. Then 133-pound freshman Todd Schavrien was wrestling strong until he was pinned with 16-seconds remaining in the match. Schavrien left the mat in noticeable pain, but Ortiz said both Schavrien and Robles will be ready for the Pac-10 tournament.

"All of those [injured] guys will be ready to go at Pac-10's," Ortiz said. "We haven't been full strength lately, but everybody will be back and we're a dangerous team. Our record doesn't necessarily show it, but we're tough and we'll make some noise in the tournament."

Reach the reporter at samuel.good@asu.edu.