CLEVELAND--Visiting Adrian College won five of the last seven bouts, but Case Western built an early lead and had to hang on for a 24-19 non-conference men's wrestling victory on Wednesday at the Horsburgh Gymnasium in the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center.
Case Western built a 15-0 lead after three bouts before Adrian got on the scoreboard when freshman Noah Nieman earned an 8-2 decision over Ben Kring at 149 pounds.
Adrian also won at 157 behind sophomore Dylan Steward who edged Andrew Munn in a 14-13 thriller to cut the deficit to 15-6.
Freshman Bryant Moore made it three wins in a row for the Bulldogs at 165, cruising past Connor Gordon, 10-1, in a major decision. The CWRU Spartans led 15-10.
Twin brothers Nick and Nate Tommas clinched the team victory for Case at 174 and 184, respectively. Nick Tommas slipped by freshman Michael Jacobs in overtime, 9-7 OT. Nate Tommas pinned Ethan Garcia in 54 seconds to take a commanding 24-10 advantage with two bouts to go.
But the Bulldogs ended the evening on a strong note with wins at 197 by freshman Jake Burns and senior co-captain Zach Rieger. Burns pinned Gavin Dersh-Fisher in 3 minutes, 43 seconds and Rieger had a takedown in each of the first two periods to beat Brian McNamara, 5-1. Rieger has won 17 bouts in a row to up his record to 23-1 on the season.
Adrian will need to regroup quickly because the Bulldogs travel to Olivet College tomorrow at 7 p.m. for a battle with the nationally-ranked Comets.
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