Indiana University
NCAA Championships
Six Hoosiers Still Alive at NCAA Championships
3/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 15, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Redshirt freshmen Angel Escobedo (125) and Matt Coughlin advanced to the quarterfinals, while four other Hoosiers are still alive in the wrestlebacks at the 2007 NCAA Championships. The Hoosiers are currently tied for 12th with 15.5 points after two rounds.
Escobedo opened his run at the championships with his 35th victory of the year, topping Luke Smith of Central Michigan by a 6-1 score, and the seventh seed moved on to face Bloomsburg's Michael Sees in the second round. Escobedo then pinned Sees at 5:31 of the third period to earn bonus points and move on to the quarterfinals, where he will take on second-ranked Troy Nickerson of Cornell. The fall, his 14th of the season, moved him into a tie for sixth on IU's single-season list.
At 149, Coughlin posted a strong victory over David Jauregui of West Virginia in the opening round, taking a 5-3 decision to move on in the championship bracket. In the second round, Coughlin squared off with Oklahoma's Matt Storniolo, the second seed, and, trailing 1-0 in the closing seconds, scored a takedown as time expired to score a 2-1 victory and advance in the winner's bracket. He will face 10th-seeded Lance Palmer of Ohio State in the quarters
Andrae Hernandez opened with a 2-0 decision over Mark Budd of Buffalo, gaining a point on an escape and one on riding time, then moved on to face second seed Matt Valenti of Penn. Valenti proved too much for Hernandez as the defending national champion scored a crucial reversal while holding a two-point lead, then added back points to score a 9-3 decision over the sophomore and send Hernandez to the wrestlebacks.
Brandon Becker opened his challenge for a third straight All-America selection with IU's only bonus points of the opening round, taking an 8-0 major decision against Millersville's Jarrett Hostetter. In his second match of the day, Becker suffered an injury against 11th seed Matt Kocher and lost a 6-2 decision as Kocher scored three takedowns to send Becker to the wrestlebacks.
Two of the four Hoosiers who lost in the first round were bested by a single point to highly regarded foes. Bennett was edged by seventh seed Alex Clemsen, who Bennett had defeated in the season-opening Michigan State Open. This time, Clemsen got the better of the Hoosier, taking a 5-4 victory to bounce Bennett to the wrestleback. There, Bennett took on Rider's Michael Miller, and he scored bonus points for the Hoosiers with an 11-3 major decision to move on in the wrestleback.
In the heavyweight bracket, senior Josh Buuck took on ninth seed Michael Spaid of Bloomburg, and Spaid sent Buuck to the wrestleback with an 8-4 decision. Buuck then faced Drexel's Chris Cowen, and he scored his first fall of the postseason in the third period. He pinned Cohen at the 5:28 mark after holding the lead for the entirety of the match.
Bennett was joined by Max Dean in his fate, as he lost a heartbreaking match in his first outing of the championships, falling in a 6-5 decision to seventh-seeded Deonte Penn of Edinboro to fall to the wrestlebacks. There, Dean met Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer, and it was again a tight match that eliminated Dean from the Championships. Dwyer scored a takedown in the first sudden victory period to win by a score of 7-5.
Trevor Perry (174) lost his first match in the NCAA Championships, falling to sixth seed Kenneth Cook of UC-Davis, 8-3, in the opening round. In his first match in the wrestleback, Perry ran into Maryland's 12th-seeded Mike Letts, and Letts got an early takedown and then pinned the redshirt freshman at the 1:41 mark to end Perry's run at the Championships.
Session 3 of the NCAA Championships will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, March 16.
Players Mentioned
