Indiana University Athletics
NCAA Championship Recap
4/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Bloomington, Ind. - Coyte Cooper, Joe Dubuque, Pat DeGain and Brady Richardson represented the Indiana wrestling team at the NCAA Championships on March 18-20. Cooper and Dubuque became the 42nd and 43rd Indiana wrestlers to receive All-America accolades (61st and 62nd honors overall). It marked the first time both individuals have garnered All-America honors in their careers.
The duo became the eighth and ninth Hoosier grapplers to earn All-America recognition under head coach Duane Goldman (11th and 12th honors overall). In addition, they were the first Hoosier All-Americans since Viktor Sveda (third place at 184) and Kevin Stanley (sixth at 165) received the honors in 2001.
DeGain, competing at his second NCAAs, finished with a 2-2 record, while Richardson dropped a pair of tight matches in his first appearance at the Championships.
"We took four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament and all four of them really wrestled well," said head coach Duane Goldman. "I'm extremely proud of Coyte and Joe earning All-America honors. They wrestled great. Pat and Brady represented IU really well. They both wrestled extremely hard and had great seasons. I'm very proud of those two guys."
Making his fourth and final appearance at the NCAAs, Cooper captured the elusive All-America honor for the first time in four tries. Despite falling to Lehigh's Cory Cooperman, 7-1 in the seventh-place finale at 141, the senior completed his brilliant career with his best finish at the Championships.
Concluding the weekend at 3-3, the Anacortes, Wash., product closed out his campaign with a 41-6 record. His 41 victories were a career high and rank fifth on IU's single season win list.
Cooper wrapped up his career with an incredible 127-36 mark and four consecutive trips to the NCAA Championships. His 127 wins place him tied for third with former All-American Brian Dolph on IU's all-time wins list.
Additionally, Cooper's 39 career pins are good for third place on Indiana's all-time pins list, just one pin behind former All-American Roger Chandler.
Opening the Championships, Cooper defeated Juan Mora of Cal. St-Fullerton, 7-3 and Joe Clarke of West Virginia, 8-4 to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in his four appearances at the NCAAs.
In the quarterfinals, the eighth seed fell to top-ranked and undefeated Scott Moore of Virginia, 10-5, dropping the senior into the consolation bracket.
Cooper moved onto the consolation semifinals with a win over Stanford's Brad Metzler, 7-3 in the consolation quarterfinals, clinching a spot in the top eight in the 141-pound weight class. Up next, Cooper fell to fourth-seeded Jason Mester of Central Michigan, 13-0 before claiming eighth place.
"Coyte breaking through his senior year was great," said Goldman. "The 141-pound weight class had 15 seniors in the preseason rankings and four All-Americans returning at the weight, so it was really a tough weight to break into. The national runner-up didn't even place, and the national champion from last year finished fifth, so he really wrestled well to receive All-America honors."
Dubuque lost his opening bout at 125 to Matt Pitts of UT-Chattanooga by pin fall and then ran off five consecutive victories to capture All-America honors.
"Joe showed a side of himself that I have never seen before," said Goldman. "Losing his first match, I think he was kind of overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere, but then he really buckled down and came back to win five straight matches. He showed an incredible amount of composure and fortitude to accomplish that goal."
The sophomore rebounded from his opening round loss to defeat Tommy Schurkamp of UC-Davis, 9-4 in his first bout in the consolation bracket. Dubuque followed the win with a victory over Adam Smith of Penn State, 5-3.
Dubuque extended his winning streak after pinning Christian Bowerman of Fresno State and defeating 12th-seeded Efren Ceballos of Cal. St.-Bakersfield, 6-3 to advance to the final 12 in the 125-pound weight class.
A 6-4 victory over Mark McKnight of Buffalo clinched Dubuque a spot on the All-America squad. The eighth seed had his winning streak snapped the following match, falling by injury default to third-seeded Matt Valenti of Pennsylvania.
Seven matches in two days took its toll on Dubuque, who was unable to compete due to injury in his seventh-place bout against Rob Rebmann of Drexel. The sophomore closed out the season with a 34-9 record, setting a career high in wins, dual victories (21), major decisions (9) and pins (8).
In his first NCAA Championship appearance, Dubuque finished 5-3 and became the first Hoosier All-American at 125 pounds since Mark Galyan in 1986.
"When Joe was done it looked like he had been through a war," said Goldman. "He had a fractured leg, an injured knee, a sprained ankle and a messed up nose. I was really proud of what he went through and how he wrestled."
DeGain moved onto the quarterfinals for the first time in his two trips to the NCAA Championships. The junior downed sixth-seeded Matt Monteiro of Cal. St-Bakersfield, 12-10 at 197 after dropping Dave Burns of UNC-Greensboro, 7-4 in the opening round.
In the quarterfinals, the 11th seed lost his first match following an 8-4 defeat to third-seeded Sean Stender of Northern Iowa. DeGain's run at the Championships came to an end in the consolation quarterfinals following an overtime defeat to Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo.
DeGain finished the NCAAs with a 2-2 record and ended the season at 28-8, ranking as high as eighth during the season.
Richardson lost his opening round match, 9-5 against seventh-seeded Nate Yetzer of Edinboro and was eliminated from the Championships following a 4-0 loss to Michigan's Nick Roy.
The sophomore concluded his breakout season with a 27-13 record with career highs in victories (27), dual meet victories (18) and pins (5).
"I think our coaching staff did well getting the guys prepared for the end of the season," said Goldman. "I felt we really did our best wrestling at the Big Tens and NCAAs, and that's what we were gearing for and that's what we did. I'm just real proud of the guys."
The duo became the eighth and ninth Hoosier grapplers to earn All-America recognition under head coach Duane Goldman (11th and 12th honors overall). In addition, they were the first Hoosier All-Americans since Viktor Sveda (third place at 184) and Kevin Stanley (sixth at 165) received the honors in 2001.
DeGain, competing at his second NCAAs, finished with a 2-2 record, while Richardson dropped a pair of tight matches in his first appearance at the Championships.
"We took four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament and all four of them really wrestled well," said head coach Duane Goldman. "I'm extremely proud of Coyte and Joe earning All-America honors. They wrestled great. Pat and Brady represented IU really well. They both wrestled extremely hard and had great seasons. I'm very proud of those two guys."
Making his fourth and final appearance at the NCAAs, Cooper captured the elusive All-America honor for the first time in four tries. Despite falling to Lehigh's Cory Cooperman, 7-1 in the seventh-place finale at 141, the senior completed his brilliant career with his best finish at the Championships.
Concluding the weekend at 3-3, the Anacortes, Wash., product closed out his campaign with a 41-6 record. His 41 victories were a career high and rank fifth on IU's single season win list.
Cooper wrapped up his career with an incredible 127-36 mark and four consecutive trips to the NCAA Championships. His 127 wins place him tied for third with former All-American Brian Dolph on IU's all-time wins list.
Additionally, Cooper's 39 career pins are good for third place on Indiana's all-time pins list, just one pin behind former All-American Roger Chandler.
Opening the Championships, Cooper defeated Juan Mora of Cal. St-Fullerton, 7-3 and Joe Clarke of West Virginia, 8-4 to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in his four appearances at the NCAAs.
In the quarterfinals, the eighth seed fell to top-ranked and undefeated Scott Moore of Virginia, 10-5, dropping the senior into the consolation bracket.
Cooper moved onto the consolation semifinals with a win over Stanford's Brad Metzler, 7-3 in the consolation quarterfinals, clinching a spot in the top eight in the 141-pound weight class. Up next, Cooper fell to fourth-seeded Jason Mester of Central Michigan, 13-0 before claiming eighth place.
"Coyte breaking through his senior year was great," said Goldman. "The 141-pound weight class had 15 seniors in the preseason rankings and four All-Americans returning at the weight, so it was really a tough weight to break into. The national runner-up didn't even place, and the national champion from last year finished fifth, so he really wrestled well to receive All-America honors."
Dubuque lost his opening bout at 125 to Matt Pitts of UT-Chattanooga by pin fall and then ran off five consecutive victories to capture All-America honors.
"Joe showed a side of himself that I have never seen before," said Goldman. "Losing his first match, I think he was kind of overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere, but then he really buckled down and came back to win five straight matches. He showed an incredible amount of composure and fortitude to accomplish that goal."
The sophomore rebounded from his opening round loss to defeat Tommy Schurkamp of UC-Davis, 9-4 in his first bout in the consolation bracket. Dubuque followed the win with a victory over Adam Smith of Penn State, 5-3.
Dubuque extended his winning streak after pinning Christian Bowerman of Fresno State and defeating 12th-seeded Efren Ceballos of Cal. St.-Bakersfield, 6-3 to advance to the final 12 in the 125-pound weight class.
A 6-4 victory over Mark McKnight of Buffalo clinched Dubuque a spot on the All-America squad. The eighth seed had his winning streak snapped the following match, falling by injury default to third-seeded Matt Valenti of Pennsylvania.
Seven matches in two days took its toll on Dubuque, who was unable to compete due to injury in his seventh-place bout against Rob Rebmann of Drexel. The sophomore closed out the season with a 34-9 record, setting a career high in wins, dual victories (21), major decisions (9) and pins (8).
In his first NCAA Championship appearance, Dubuque finished 5-3 and became the first Hoosier All-American at 125 pounds since Mark Galyan in 1986.
"When Joe was done it looked like he had been through a war," said Goldman. "He had a fractured leg, an injured knee, a sprained ankle and a messed up nose. I was really proud of what he went through and how he wrestled."
DeGain moved onto the quarterfinals for the first time in his two trips to the NCAA Championships. The junior downed sixth-seeded Matt Monteiro of Cal. St-Bakersfield, 12-10 at 197 after dropping Dave Burns of UNC-Greensboro, 7-4 in the opening round.
In the quarterfinals, the 11th seed lost his first match following an 8-4 defeat to third-seeded Sean Stender of Northern Iowa. DeGain's run at the Championships came to an end in the consolation quarterfinals following an overtime defeat to Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo.
DeGain finished the NCAAs with a 2-2 record and ended the season at 28-8, ranking as high as eighth during the season.
Richardson lost his opening round match, 9-5 against seventh-seeded Nate Yetzer of Edinboro and was eliminated from the Championships following a 4-0 loss to Michigan's Nick Roy.
The sophomore concluded his breakout season with a 27-13 record with career highs in victories (27), dual meet victories (18) and pins (5).
"I think our coaching staff did well getting the guys prepared for the end of the season," said Goldman. "I felt we really did our best wrestling at the Big Tens and NCAAs, and that's what we were gearing for and that's what we did. I'm just real proud of the guys."
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