Indiana University Athletics
Dubuque & DeGain Into Semifinals
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 18, 2005
ST. LOUIS - In the third session of the 2005 NCAA Wrestling Championship, at the Savvis Center, Indiana grapplers senior Pat DeGain and junior Joe Dubuque advanced to the semifinal round of the main bracket, while redshirt freshman Brandon Becker moved into the fifth round of the consolation bracket.
Indiana sits in ninth place with 33.0 points. Oklahoma State is first with 78.5 points, followed by Cornell (55.5), Michigan and Minnesota (47.5), while Illinois (46.5) rounds out the top five. Oklahoma is sixth (43.5), as Iowa State (42.0) and Iowa (36.0) are seventh and eighth, respectively.
DeGain, the fourth seed in the heavyweight class, bested Greg Wagner, the fifth seed, of Michigan, 4-2, in the quarterfinal round of the championship bracket.
With the berth in the semifinal, DeGain garners All-America honors for the first time in his career, and improves to 33-5 on the year. The Clarkston, Mich., product has now won 20 of his last 21 contests. He will battle top-seeded Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
Dubuque seeded fifth at 125-pounds, downed Cal Poly's Vic Moreno, the fourth seed, by the score of 6-3 in the quarterfinal round of the championship bracket.
Moreno posted the first points of the match with a takedown, but Dubuque countered with a reversal and a pair of takedowns of his own to lead 5-2 at the end of the second period. The IU junior started down at the beginning of the third period and escaped for the final point of the contest.
With the berth in the semifinal, Dubuque garners All-America honors for the second consecutive year, and improves to 27-3 on the year. The Bloomfield, N.J., product will face top-seeded Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma in the semifinal round.
The heavyweight and 125-pound semifinal rounds will be contested during the fourth session Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The semifinals will be carried live on ESPNU and certain ESPN syndications.
At 157-pounds, Becker picked up an 8-4 overtime win Nate Galloway of Penn State in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.
The match headed in overtime tied at 4-4. Galloway shot a single leg to open the bonus frame, but Becker broke it off and spun behind for the winning takedown. He then posted a quick two back-points, from a tilt, before the referee stopped the action.
The Michleton, N.J., product is 29-13 on the year and 3-1 at the NCAAs. He will now face Alex Tirapelle of Illinois in the next round.
In other action, at 165-pounds, redshirt freshman Max Dean dropped a 6-2 decision to Patrick Pitsch of Arizona State in the third round consolation bracket. Dean closes the season with a 26-14 ledger.
Junior Brady Richardson fell, 7-4, to Iowa State's Nick Passolano in his third round consolation match at 174-pounds.
At 184-pounds, Andy Rios dropped a 14-13 decision to Frank Cornely of Duke in his third round consolation match. Rios finishes the campaign with a mark of 25-19 overall.
Session III Results
125-pounds:
Joe Dubuque (Indiana) dec. Vic Moreno (Cal Poly), 6-3
157-pounds:
Brandon Becker (Indiana) OT dec. Nate Galloway (Penn State), 8-4
165-pounds:
Patrick Pitsch (Arizona State) dec. Max Dean (Indiana), 6-2
174-pounds:
Nick Passolano (Iowa State) dec. Brady Richardson (Indiana), 7-4
184-lbs:
Frank Cornely (Duke) dec. Andy Rios (Indiana), 14-13
Heavyweight:
Pat DeGain (Indiana) dec. Greg Wagner (Michigan), 4-2
