Indiana University Athletics
Eight Hoosiers Advance to NCAA Championships
3/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 6, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Eight members of the Indiana wrestling team were selected to participate in the 2007 NCAA Championships, in Auburn Hills, Mich., from March 15-17. The championships will be hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission and the University of Michigan.
All wrestlers who finished in the top seven at the 2007 Big Ten Championships were automatically selected for NCAAs, including the Hoosiers' Angel Escobedo (125), Andrae Hernandez (133), Matt Coughlin (149), Brandon Becker (157), Max Dean (165), Trevor Perry (174) and Josh Buuck (HWT). Two additional wrestlers from the conference - including IU's Marc Bennett (184) - garnered wild-card selections.
Becker and Hernandez led the Hoosiers with their second-place finishes at the conference championships. Becker is in search of his third straight All-America selection, as he looks to become the fourth wrestler to accomplish that feat. Dean is making his third trip to the NCAAs, while Hernandez is making his second. Each is looking for his first All-America selection. The remaining five Hoosiers are making their first trips to NCAAs.
Hernandez' run at the championship ended with a 6-4 loss to top-ranked defending champion Nick Simmons at 133. Hernandez had defeated the second- and third-seeded wrestlers in his bracket en route to the championship bout. He will enter his second trip to the NCAA Tournament with a 26-13 record on the season.
Becker lost a heartbreaking, 1-0 decision to C.P. Schlatter in the 157-pound final to finish in second. Becker began with a 9-0 major decision over Purdue's Jake Murphy in the second round, his second major against Murphy this season. In the semifinals, Becker squared off with Wisconsin's Craig Henning for the third time this season, and for the third time he emerged victorious with a 6-4 decision. Becker is the only wrestler who has defeated Henning this season.
Escobedo began the day with a 5-2 win over Wisconsin's Colin Cudd to advance to the third place match against Illinois' Gabe Flores. The two grapplers each scored a point in regulation to go into overtime tied 1-1, when Escobedo registered an escape and a takedown to win 4-1. He is now 33-5 on the season heading into the NCAA Championships next weekend.
Coughlin earned a sixth-place finish at 149 after falling to Wisconsin's Tyler Turner for the second time this season, 5-2. Coughlin was sent to the fifth-place match after being defeated by Ohio State's Lance Palmer, 4-2. Coughlin will enter NCAAs with a 28-13 record on the season.
At 174, Perry found himself in the fifth-place match after a 6-1 loss to Iowa's Eric Luedke. Perry faced Matt Maciag of Wisconsin for fifth place and took a 4-1 decision to improve his season mark to 23-9 in his redshirt freshman campaign. In the heavyweight division, Buuck finished in sixth place after taking a medical forfeit in the fifth-place bout. In his first bout of the day, Buuck was bested by Iowa's Matt Fields, 7-3. Buuck will travel to Auburn Hills, Mich., with a 13-8 mark.
Dean qualified for NCAAs for the third time, having bested Dave Rella of Penn State, 3-2, to win his seventh-place bout and improve his season mark to 27-14. Bennett was awarded eighth place at 184, as he fell 9-5 to Phil Keddy of Iowa. Bennett enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 30-11.
In 2006, five Hoosiers advanced to the NCAA Championships, with Joe Dubuque leading the way with his second straight national championship and Becker grabbing All-America honors. The Hoosiers finished tied for 18th at the event. The 2007 Championships are slated to begin at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 16, with the pigtail rounds.
