Penn upsets top-seeded Nowak in title fight
By BILL HART
Senior Sports Writer
Fans got their money's worth in one of the most anticipated fights at the Joyce Center on Friday evening, when Sean "The Erie Kid" Nowak faced off against Don "The Destroyer" Penn for the 165 lb. division title. In likely the most balanced bout of the night, Penn came from behind to take a split decision and shock the top seed.
Both fighters came out aggressively in the early rounds, each depending on the same styles that had gotten them through the semifinals on Tuesday. Penn relied on the left jab and hard right, while Nowak used high-low combinations and boxed his opponent within the ropes.
"I had to be aggressive, because I knew he was a strong boxer," Penn said about his strategy. "I needed to be [aggressive] continually throughout the course of the fight."
After trading blows through the first two rounds, Penn connected with a strong right hook that sent Nowak staggering. But the top seed recovered, responding with a hook of his own that sent Penn to the mat midway through the round.
"I was surprised," Penn said about the blow. "He took a lot of punches, and yet he was able to come back like that. He threw a lot of punches, and he didn't seem fazed by the punches I was throwing."
By the time Penn brushed himself off with a standing eight count, both fighters were so tired that neither could land another solid blow. The crowd came to its feet for the fight's conclusion, drowning out the final bell.
170 lb. division
Siegfried sophomore Rob "The Golden Schlager" Joyce scored an impressive upset, defeating top seed Brian "Hoppe" Hobbins in a unanimous decision.
Joyce looked confident from the opening bell, putting Hobbins on the defensive early. In the latter half of the first round, Joyce landed several combos that left Hobbins staggering.
"I knew he had a better reach," Joyce said. "That made it pretty hard for me to get inside on him. He tried to prevent me from staying inside for most of the fight."
Hobbins seemed to be unable to recover from those early blows. With Joyce's endless assault, the Keenan junior was unable to both defend himself and time his punches effectively. A big right hook in the second round by Joyce gave him a commanding lead, but he had to also stop one of Hobbins' patented third-round comebacks to preserve the victory.
"I knew I had a slight lead in the third," Joyce said. "But I also knew I had to keep things up. He was a pretty tough fighter, and he really came at me in the third. I didn't face that in my other two fights."
175 lb. division
With his family in attendance, Tom "The Tulsa Bomber" Biolchini continued his family's 40- year commitment to the Bengal Bouts, earning his third straight title through a unanimous decision over Josh "The Sandman" Thompson.
Biolchini came out ready to fight, using a strong right hook to keep Thompson on the defensive. By controlling the center of the ring, Biolchini was able to dictate the tone of the fight and move away from Thompson's blows.
Thompson looked better in the second round, but he wasn't able to land enough blows to come away with the victory. While Thompson held a slight advantage in reach, Biolchini used his agility and patience to wear down his opponent until the final bell.
180 lb. division
Keough sophomore Marc Criniti accomplished a feat few boxers can claim when he beat out both the first and second seeds to earn a division title.
After defeating Tom DeSplinter in the semifinals on Tuesday, he completed his improbable road to a championship with a split decision win over Joey "Soda Pop" Leniski in the championship bout.
With two left-handed fighters, this bout proved to be different for Criniti than his previous fights.
"For the whole time this year, he and I were sparring against right-handers, preparing for fights against them." he said. "We really didn't have any experience against left-handed opponents; It was pretty awkward."
The contender came out early with left-right combos in the center of the ring, and came back from an early deficit in the first round. Leniski seemed unable to connect with the jabs he used so frequently in the earlier bouts, and Criniti used that to press his advantage even more. After a vicious flurry in the second round, Leniski lost his balance and stumbled to the canvas.
While Criniti's strategy kept Leniski on the defensive early, he needed a strong defensive stand to hold off the top seed.
"I was starting to get a little more tired in the third round," Criniti remarked on the comeback. "Joey was really starting to come after me at that point, too. I just had to keep moving and using my jab, just trying to score points."
190 lb. division
After defending his top seed from freshman Chris Pearsall in the semifinals, senior Mike "Honey" Hammes proved he had what it takes to do it again and earned a split decision over sophomore Kevin "Hardcore" Brandl.
Brandl's slight advantage in reach had an effect on Hammes' performance early on, requiring the top seed to change his plan of attack. Hammes began to turn the tide in the second round, going on the defensive to deflect most blows and timing a flurry of jabs and combinations that stunned his opponent.
In the third round, Hammes landed two powerful left hooks before backing away from a potentially disastrous barrage from the challenger. While Brandl was able to anticipate multiple combinations from the top seed, Hammes' offensive versatility defeated Brandl in the end.
Heavyweight division
Using a combination of agility and caution, Keenan junior Peter "Beat the Rap" Ryan ended the night with a textbook display of boxing tact, beating graduate student Dan "Let Me" Adam by unanimous decision.
Adam came out strong, looking for a heavy hit to knock the top seed out. His aggressiveness paid off early on, with a set of punches putting Ryan on the ropes.
But after the initial fireworks ended, the junior captain settled into this game plan: after waiting for Adam to make his move, Ryan would wait for the threat to pass and pummel his opponent before he had a chance to put his guard back up.
"I played a little conservative because he's such a big, strong boxer," Ryan said. "I wanted to stay away from his punches and just play off his mistakes."
In that style, the champ got many shots in early on, prompting the ref to stop the fight early in the second round when Adam's face was dripping blood. Ryan eventually wore Adam out, prompting some wild roundabouts from the challenger throughout most of the third round.
"I don't think it was frustration more than it was exhaustion," Ryan said about Adam's movements. "We were both pretty tired by the third round. The guys in my corner were telling me to stay away, and he still had a powerful blow at that point."
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 6, 2000
