| Sophomore Phil Davis dropped a 10-3 decision to three-time national champion Jacob Rosholt in the 197-pound title bout at nationals. Davis went 4-1 in the tournament, placed second and is now a two-time All-American for Penn State. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. - March 18, 2006 - Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) fell in the national title bout at 197-pounds two defending champion Jacob Rosholt of Oklahoma State, but finished as national runner-up as a sophomore. The two-time All-American, just a sophomore, led head coach Troy Sunderland's Penn State team to a ninth finish at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Penn State leaves Oklahoma City, host site of this year's event, with three All-Americans.
Davis, who finished seventh last year as a freshman, entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed while his opponent, Jacob Rosholt, entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed and was the defending national champion at 197 having won the title a year ago. Rosholt got the first takedown of the match with 2:01 left in the first period and turned Davis quickly to pick up three back points. The first period ended with Rosholt leading 5-1 and holding over a minute's worth of riding time. Davis chose down to begin the second period and escaped to cut the lead to 5-2, but Rosholt added another takedown to lead 7-3 after two period. Rosholt began the final period in the down position and escaped to lead 8-3. Davis applied plenty of offensive pressure for the remaining minutes, but Rosholt held him off and went on to post a 10-3 win. Rosholt claimed his third national title at 197 with the win.
Davis became Penn State's first-ever national runner-up at 197. He went 4-1 on the tournament and ends his sophomore year with a 25-4 record. In two years, he is a two time All-American (7th last year, 2nd this year), the 2006 Big Ten Champion and has a 62-14 record. Davis is also 8-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, the 20th best NCAA tournament winning percentage (.727) in Penn State history. He is the 24th national runner-up in school history as well.
Davis became Penn State's first national runner-up since Josh Moore and Pat Cummins finished 2nd in 2004. Davis and Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) became the fifth and sixth repeat All-Americans under Sunderland. Junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) became the 13th different individual to earn All-America laurels under Sunderland as well. Both Bradley and Yonushonis took eighth place in their respective weight classes (184 and 174). In all, the veteran Nittany Lion mentor has now coached 18 All-Americans (including multiple winners who earned their second titles in Sunderland's first year).
Penn State finished the 2006 NCAA Championships in ninth place with 53.5 points. Oklahoma State won the team title with 122.5 points, far in front of runner-up Minnesota's 84.0. Oklahoma was third with 80.5. Iowa finished fourth with 70.0, followed by Cornell (62.0), Arizona State (61.5), Michigan (57.5), Edinboro (56.0), Penn State (53.5) and Lehigh (53.5). Penn State's ninth place finish is its best since placing sixth in 2003. The 53.5 total points is the 14th most ever scored by the Nittany Lions in the NCAA Championships.
The Nittany Lions ended the tournament with a 22-17 overall record (0-3 today, 12-7 Friday and 10-7 Thursday). Penn State's three All-Americans are the most for the school since it had four in 2003.
Sunderland's Nittany Lions received a bulk of its scoring from bonus points. During the course of the tournament, the Nittany Lions had seven pins (worth two bonus points each) and three majors (worth one bonus point each) for 17 bonus points.
Penn State concluded an outstanding 2005-06 season with its ninth place finish with three All-Americans at nationals. Sunderland's Nittany Lions went 13-4 in dual matches, including a 5-3 mark in Big Ten action. The Lions crowned one Big Ten Champion and placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships.
2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 125: No. 3 Joe Dubuque, Indiana 8-3 dec. No. 5 Troy Nickerson, Cornell 133: No. 6 Matt Valenti, Penn 3-2 dec. No. 5 Chris Fleeger, Purdue 141: No. 1 Nate Gallick, Iowa State 3-2 dec. No. 2 Teyon Ware, Oklahoma 149: No. 1 Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota 4-0 dec. No. 2 Tyler Eustice, Iowa 157: No. 5 Ben Cherrington, Boise State 7-3 dec. No. 10 Brian Stith, Arizona State 165: No. 2 Johny Hendricks, Oklahoma State 9-8 dec. No. 1 Ryan Churella, Michigan 174: No. 1 Ben Askren, Missouri, 14-4 maj. dec. No. 2 Jake Herbert, Northwestern 184: No. 5 Shane Webster, Oregon 3-2 dec. No. 2 Roger Kish, Minnesota 194: No. 4 Jacob Rosholt, Oklahoma State 10-3 dec. No. 6 Phil Davis, Penn State HWT: No. 1 Cole Konrad, Minnesota 5-2 dec. No. 2 Steve Mocco, Oklahoma State 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships FINAL TEAM STANDINGS - TOP 15 1: Oklahoma State 122.5 2: Minnesota 84.0 3: Oklahoma 80.5 4: Iowa 70.0 5: Cornell 62.0 6: Arizona State 61.5 7. Michigan 57.5 8. Edinboro 56.0 9: PENN STATE 53.5 9: Lehigh 53.5 11: Hofstra 52.5 12: Penn 51.0 13: Northwestern 48.5 13: Iowa State 48.5 15: Missouri 45.0 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships PLACING BOUTS 3 THROUGH 8 (ALL WRESTLERS ALL-AMERICANS) 125 3rd: No. 2 Sam Hazewinkel, Oklahoma 6-2 dec. No. 1 Nick Simmons, Michigan State 5th: No. 6 Coleman Scott, Oklahoma State WBF No. 9 Chad Mendez, Cal Poly (0:52) 7th: No. 8 John Velez, Northwestern 8-5 dec. No. 12 Tanner Gardner, Stanford 133 3rd: No. 1 Shawn Bunch, Edinboro 8-2 dec. No. 4 Mack Reiter, Minnesota 5th: No. 3 Tom Clum, Wisconsin 9-6 dec. No. 2 Nathan Morgan, Oklahoma State 7th: Tyler McCormick, Missouri 6-4 dec. No. 8 Matt Keller, Chattanooga 141 3rd: No. 3 Cory Cooperman, Lehigh 9-0 maj. dec. No. 6 Ryan Lang, Northwestern 5th: No. 4 Andy Simmons, Michigan State 11-2 maj. dec. No. 9 Brandon Rader, West Virginia 7th: No. 7 Alex Tsirtsis, Iowa 4-2 SV dec. David Hoffman, Virginia Tech 149 3rd: No. 3 Zack Esposito, Oklahoma State 5-4 dec. No. 4 Matt Storniolo, Oklahoma 5th: No. 6 Jonathan Masa, Hofstra 9-0 maj. dec. No. 8 Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan 7th: No. 7 Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro WBF No. 5 Mark DiSalvo, Cent. Michigan (6:22) 157 3rd: No. 7 Dustin Manotti, Cornell 8-2 dec. No. 1 Trent Paulson, Iowa State 5th: No. 11 Derek Zinck, Lehigh 9-8 dec. No. 9 Joe Johnston, Iowa 7th: No. 6 Brandon Becker, Indiana 9-4 dec. No. 8 Craig Henning, Wisconsin 165 3rd: No. 3 Muzaffar Abdurakmanov, American Med. Forf. Deonte Penn, Edinboro 5th: Joey Bracamonte, Oregon 4-3 dec. No. 8 Travis Paulson, Iowa State 7th: Daniel Thompson, The Citadel 8-2 dec. Eric Luedke, Iowa 174 3rd: No. 3 Mark Perry, Iowa 11-2 maj. dec. No. 5 Michael Patrovich, Hofstra 5th: No. 12 Matthew Herrington, Penn WBF No. 8 Travis Frick, Lehigh (6:44) 7th: No. 4 Jacob Klein, Nebraska 2-0 dec. No. 9 James Yonushonis, Penn State 184 3rd: No. 6 Pete Friedl, Illinois 13-2 maj. dec. No. 1 Joshua Glenn, American 5th: No. 10 C.B. Dalloway, Arizona State 6-1 dec. No. 4 Joseph Mazzurco, Cornell 7th: No. 3 Ben Wissell, Purdue 8-2 dec. No. 8 Eric Bradley, Penn State 197 3rd: No. 3 B.J. Padden, Nebraska 5-1 dec. No. 7 Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell 5th: No. 5 Joel Flaggert, Oklahoma Med. Forf. Chris Weidman, Hofstra 7th: No. 8 Ryan Bader, Arizona State 5-3 dec. No. 1 Wynn Michalak, Cent. Michigan HWT 3rd: No. 3 Greg Wagner, Michigan 9-1 maj. dec. No. 4 Cain Velasquez, Arizona State 5th: No. 8 Michael Faust, Virginia Tech 3-3 RT crit. Dec. No. 5 Ben Ogunwole, Harvard 7th: No. 7 Jacob Hager, Oklahoma WBF Kirk Nail Ohio State (2:28) PENN STATE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - TOURNAMENT COMPLETE: 197: Phil Davis, So. Harrisburg, Pa. - 6 seed (4-1 - National runner-up and All-American - 2nd place) Rd 1: W, 11-0 maj. dec. Jon Oplinger, Drexel Rd 2: W, 6-2 dec. No. 11 Ryan Goodman, North Carolina State Quarterfinals: W, 6-5 dec. No. 3 B.J. Padden, Nebraska Semifinals: W, 7-4 dec. No. 7 Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell Championship Final: L, 3-10 dec. No. 4 Jacob Rosholt, Oklahoma State 174: James Yonushonis, Jr., Philipsburg, Pa. - 9 seed (4-3 - All-American - 8th place) Rd 1: W, 8-4 dec. Brian Bernal, Wyoming Rd 2: L, 4-6 dec. No. 8 Travis Frick, Lehigh Cons Rd 2: WBF Donald Reynolds, Illinois (3:16) Cons Rd 3: W, 6-3 dec. Wes Roberts, Oklahoma Cons Qtr: W, 7-2 dec. No. 8 Kenneth Cook, UC-Davis Cons Semi: LBF No. 12 Matthew Herrington, Penn (0:41) 7th Place Bout: L, 0-2 dec. No. 4 Jacob Klein, Nebraska 184: Eric Bradley, Sr., Plaistow, N.H. - 8 seed (3-3 - All-American - 8th place) Rd 1: W, 10-2 maj. dec. Greg Perz, Eastern Illinois Rd 2: W, 7-4 dec. Paul Bradley, Iowa Quarterfinals: LBF No. 1 Joshua Glenn, American (6:30) Cons Qtr: W, 7-6 dec. No. 7 Kurt Backes, Iowa State Cons Semi: L, 4-11, No. 4 Joseph Mazzurco, Cornell 7th Place Bout: L, 2-8 dec. No. 3 Ben Wissell, Purdue 133: Jake Strayer, Fr., South Fork, Pa. - 7 seed (3-2 - eliminated in round of 12) Rd 1: W, 4-0 dec. Tommy Vargas, Cal State-Bakersfield Rd 2: L, 4-7 dec. Jason Borrelli, Central Michigan Cons Rd 2: W, 7-0 dec. Mark Budd, Buffalo Cons Rd 3: W, 7-1 dec. Gabriel Flores, Illinois Cons Qtr: L, 1-9 maj. dec. No. 8 Matt Keller, Chattanooga HWT: Joel Edwards, Sr., Upper Darby, Pa. (3-2 - eliminated in Round of 12) Rd 1: LBF No. 4 Cain Velasquez, Arizona State (1:06) Cons Rd 1: WBF Tyler Rhodes, Northern Iowa (1:55) Cons Rd 2: W, 3-2 dec. No. 10 Dustin Fox, Northwestern Cons Rd 3: WBF No. 12 Adam LoPiccolo, American (3:38) Cons Qtr: L, 3-3 RT Criteria No. 8 Michael Faust, Virginia Tech 141: DeWitt Driscoll, Sr., Connellsville, Pa. (3-2 -- eliminated) PT: L, 3-5 dec. Michael Keefe, Chattanooga Cons PT: W, 13-4 maj. dec. Cesar Grajales, Penn Cons Rd 1: WBF Brandon Carter, Central Michigan (3:54) Cons Rd 2: WBF Sal Tirico, Columbia (0:41) Cons Rd 3: L, 2-13 dec. David Hoffman, Virginia Tech 157: Nathan Galloway, Jr., State College, Pa. (2-2 -- eliminated) Rd 1: WBF Aric Fuhrman, Bloomsburg (0:26) Rd 2: L, 0-2 dec. No. 1 Trent Paulson, Iowa State Cons Rd 2: WBF James Strouse, Hofstra (0:34) Cons Rd 3: L, 3-9 dec. No. 8 Craig Henning, Wisconsin 149: James Woodall, Sr., Dupont, Pa. (0-2 - eliminated) Rd 1: L, 2-9 dec. No. 4 Matthew Storniolo, Oklahoma Cons Rd 1: L, 5-12 dec. David Jauregui, West Virginia