| Senior Aaron Anspach got a major decision over Edinboro??s Joe Fendone to advance to the quarterfinals at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Anspach and the Nittany Lions sit in fourth place after the first day of action. |
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.; March 15, 2007 ?C The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, coming off a perfect first session earlier in the day, will send three wrestlers to the national quarterfinals after a solid second session Thursday night in The Palace of Auburn Hills. Head coach Troy Sunderland??s team finds itself in fourth place in the team race after an outstanding 10-4 effort on day one.
Penn State??s three quarterfinalists top last year??s total of two. The 2006 Nittany Lions had two quarterfinalists on their way to a ninth place finish with three All-Americans. This year, three Lions are still alive in the championship bracket. A win in the quarterfinals also guarantees a wrestler All-American status. Four Penn Staters (including one seeded Lion who was the victim of an upset) can still finish as high as third by winning the consolation bracket.
First up for Penn State was junior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) at 125. McDonald met the tournament??s No. 1 seed, Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma. The wrestlers spent the first half of the period looking for openings. McKnight worked in on two near single leg completions, but Hazewinkel??s quickness kept the bout scoreless until McKnight countered a Hazewinkel shot to get the bout??s first takedown and lead 2-1 (after the OU escape) with :35 left in the period. McKnight carried that lead into the second period. Hazewinkel chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Hazewinkel then took the lead with a throw on with 1:26 left in the second. The OU All-American then rode McKnight until McKnight escaped with just :04 left. McKnight, trailing 4-3 but facing 1:03 in riding time, chose neutral to begin the final period. McKnight battled to break through Hazewinkel??s defense but to no avail. The OU grappler countered a McKnight shot and scored the decisive takedown with 1:05 to wrestle, opening up a 6-3 lead. McKnight escaped to a 6-4 deficit with :25 left to wrestle and worked gallantly for another takedown. But Hazewinkel kept the Nittany Lion junior at a distance and posted a hard-fought 7-4 win. The loss, the first for Penn State as a team, pushed McKnight into the consolation round tomorrow morning where he will face Oregon State??s Eric Stevenson.
At 133, Nittany Lion sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) battled Iowa State??s Nick Gallick. Gallick upset the tournament??s No. 3 seed to advance to the showdown with Strayer. Gallick drew first blood by countering a Strayer shot, sliding behind the Nittany Lion and getting a takedown at 1:37. Strayer quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit and began working for his first takedown. Strayer got in on Gallick??s left thigh but could not complete the move and the bout entered the second period with Gallick holding the slim 2-1 lead. The Cyclone grappler chose down to begin the second period. The decision gave Strayer the opportunity to put together a very strong ride, building up a huge 1:40 riding time edge while riding Gallick for the entire period. Trailing 2-1, but with a strong riding time edge, Strayer chose down to start the final period. Needing an escape, the Nittany Lion did it one better with a quick reversal. The sound move put Strayer up 3-2 and gave him the chance to build upon his already sizeable time edge. Strayer was simply dominant on top, not giving Gallick any room to maneuver and guaranteeing himself a riding time bonus. Strayer found himself in a major scramble as the bout wound down, nearly getting reversed with :15 left. But the sophomore fought through the danger, regrouped and rode Gallick out to a superb 4-2 win. The victory pushes Strayer into tomorrow morning??s quarterfinals, where he will face No. 6 seed Darrell Vasquez of Cal Poly.
Freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), the No. 12 seed at 149, met No. 5 seed Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro in round two. Gillespie wasted no time in getting the first takedown to lead 2-0 just :20. The Fighting Scot All-American then added a two-point near fall, all while building up a sizeable 2:40 riding time edge in the ride-out. With Gillespie up 4-0 heading into the second, Vallimont chose neutral to start the second period. Vallimont then got his first takedown, cutting the ??Boro lead to 4-2 with 1:10 left in the period. But Gillespie showed why he was a place winner last year with a reversal before the period ended. Leading 6-2 with 3:02 in time, Gillespie chose down to start the third and escaped to a 7-2 lead. Vallimont worked in on Gillespie??s body, nearly getting a takedown with 1:00 to wrestle, but Gillespie countered the move to get his own takedown and secure a 9-2 lead. The Scot grappler rode Vallimont out and, with the riding time point, grabbed a 10-2 win. The loss moved Vallimont into tomorrow morning??s consolation bracket, where he will face Boston??s Michael Roberts.
True freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, VA.) met No. 3 seed James Strouse of Hofstra in the second round. The duo spent the first part of the opening stanza working up around the shoulders, keeping things scoreless for almost the entire period. But Strouse scored a key takedown with just :13 left to lead 2-0 after the first period. Holding that slim lead, the Hofstra grappler chose down to start the second period. He quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Jenkins got hit with a first stall warning while working for a takedown of his own. Strouse, continuing to work Jenkins?? head and neck, nearly added a second takedown as the second period clock hit 1:00, but the Nittany Lion rookie slipped through the move to keep the bout close. Neither wrestler notched a takedown in the second and Strouse led 3-0 heading into the third. Jenkins, needing the points, chose down to begin the third period but could not work free of Strouse??s ride for the entire period. Strouse??s solid 4-0 win pushed Jenkins into tomorrow morning??s consolation round. Jenkins will meet No. 8 seed Seth Martin of Lock Haven in his first consolation bout.
The No. 4 seed at 174, senior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) took on Rudy Rueda of American. After falling behind early in his first round win, Yonushonis battled Rueda through a scoreless first period. Neither wrestler mounted a serious challenge through three minutes and action moved to the second tied at 0-0. Penn State??s senior All-American chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. After hand-fighting through the first 1:00, Yonushonis had the first real scoring chance of the bout, wrapping up on Rueda??s right leg and nearly getting a takedown to up his lead to three. But the American grappler fought out of the move to send the bout to the third period with Yonushonis holding the 1-0 lead. Rueda chose down to begin the third period and quickly escaped to tie the bout at 1-1. After a stalemate forced a reset with 1:00 left to wrestle, Yonushonis moved in on Rueda trying to force his opponent into making a mistake. As the third period wound down, Yonushonis and Rueda found themselves in a scramble on the edge of the mat. With just :10 left, Rueda worked his way around Yonushonis and got was awarded a takedown while action slipped out of bounds. The two-points awarded were enough to give Rueda a stunning 3-1 upset win over Yonushonis and send the Nittany Lion All-American to the consolation round tomorrow morning. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, will face No. 7 seed Brandon Sinnott of Central Michigan in the consolations tomorrow. One of the two seeded grapplers will not become an All-American after the bout.
Junior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 197, met Oregon State??s Travis Gardner in the second round. Davis was the true aggressor in the first period but could not break through Gardner??s solid defensive style at all over the first three minutes. Tied 0-0 after one period, Davis chose down to begin the second period. In typical Davis fashion, he did not go for the escape but worked his body out of Gardner??s control and scored a reversal to go up 2-0. The two-time All-American and defending national runner-up then turned Gardner to his back and got a very important pin at the 2:30 mark to move into the national quarterfinals. Davis will face No. 5 seed Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell tomorrow morning.
Senior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at HWT, met Edinboro??s Joe Fendone in his second round battle. Looking to finish off a superb first day for Penn State as the last Lion to wrestle on day one, Anspach quickly got the first takedown, finishing off a strong double-leg at the 2:16 mark to open up a 2-0 lead. He then put together a very strong ride, building up a 2:16 riding time edge while riding Fendone out. Up 2-0, Anspach chose down to start the second period and (like Davis before him) worked for a reversal instead of an escape. The Nittany Lion captain got the reversal and two near fall points in the process, finding himself up 6-0 with 1:00 to wrestle in the second stanza. Another ride-out gave Anspach a 6-0 lead with 3:08 in riding time heading into the third period. Fendone chose neutral to begin the final period, only to fall victim to Anspach??s relentless offensive pressure. Anspach got another takedown and, after cutting Fendone loose, led 8-1 with 1:33 left. The Penn State senior added one more takedown as the bout ended and, with the riding time point, posted an impressive 11-1 major decision. Anspach will face unseeded Payam Zarrinpour of Sacred Heart in the quarterfinals tomorrow morning. Zarrinpour upset No. 7 seed Matt Fields of Iowa in his second round battle.
Penn State??s first day featured 10 wins and only four losses. Of those ten wins, five were majors and two were pins, giving the Nittany Lions nine extra team points in bonus points alone. While the Yonushonis upset at 174 was a setback, the Nittany Lion captain also lost in the second round last year before bouncing back to earn All-America laurels with an eighth place finish.
Minnesota leads the team race with 34.0 points followed by Missouri (29.5), Iowa State (27.5) and Penn State (24.0). Iowa sits in fifth place with 20.0.
The three day tournament will continue tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. with the quarterfinals and continued wrestle-backs. The entire tournament can be heard on WBLF 970 AM and GoPSUsports.com. The quarterfinals will be broadcast live to a national audience on ESPNU.