Saunders falls just short of All-American honors at NCAA Championships
OMAHA, Neb. ? Junior Andrew Saunders came within one victory of becoming the first Spartan All-American as UNC Greensboro wrapped up competition at the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Friday in the Qwest Center.
Saunders, who began his day in the consolation bracket after falling in the Round of 16 on Thursday, started things off with a bang as he pinned Patrick Bradshaw from Edinboro in just 1:22.
In the fourth round of consolations, Saunders avenged his only loss at the Southern Conference Championships by defeating Chattanooga’s Jason McCroskey. Saunders scored a first period takedown and had a reversal and a takedown in the second period and held on late for the 6-5 decision.
Saunders sat just one match away from becoming an All-American as he was pitted against No. 9 Phillip Keddy from Iowa in the fifth round of consolations. Keddy held a 4-1 lead after the first period and Saunders was never able to recover as he fell by major decision, 14-5.
Byron Sigmon was also alive for day two, but he fell to Edinboro’s Philip Moricone in his first match of the day, 12-2, to be eliminated from the tournament.
AGATE
174 pounds:
Philip Moricone (Edinboro) maj. dec. Byron Sigmon (UNCG), 12-2
*Byron Sigmon eliminated from the tournament
184 pounds:
Andrew Saunders (UNCG) fall Patrick Bradshaw (Edinboro), 1:22
Andrew Saunders (UNCG) dec. Jason McCroskey (Chattanooga), 6-5
No. 9 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) maj. dec. Andrew Saunders (UNCG), 14-5
*Andrew Saunders eliminated from the tournament
Mocs Run Ends at the NCAA Championships
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Jason McCroskey's run at the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships came to an end this afternoon in Omaha, Neb. McCroskey finishes with a 2-2 record after advancing to the fourth round of the consolation brackets in 184-pound competition.
McCroskey started the day with an exciting 3-2 win over Ohio's Nick Purdue. The pair had already wrestled once this season, with Purdue taking an 8-6 win at the Hokie Open on Nov. 8.
McCroskey opened the match with a takedown in the first period for a 2-0 lead. After choosing down to start the second, he scored an escape for a 3-0 margin. However, Purdue built up 1:47 of riding time.
Purdue chose bottom in the third period and scored a reverse to cut the lead to 3-2, but McCroskey had erased the riding time and held on for the win.
In the fourth round of the wrestleback, McCroskey ran into another familiar foe in UNC Greensboro's Andrew Saunders. This tandem had split two matches in the regular season. Saunders took a 5-4 decision at UTC on Jan. 24 and McCroskey won 7-1 in the Southern Conference semifinals on March 6.
There was a lot of action in the first frame as Saunders opened with a takedown. McCroskey escaped and scored a takedown to go up 3-2.
Saunders took the lead in the second period with a reverse, but McCroskey tied it back up 4-4 with an escape. Saunders ended the period with another takedown and a 6-4 advantage.
McCroskey scored an escape in the third period, but could not get the go-ahead takedown. He finishes the season with a 17-14 overall record and is now 36-26 in his two-year career.
Chattanooga finishes with 2.5 points thanks to McCroskey's two wins. The Mocs are currently in 55th place in the team standings.
Freshman Dean Pavlou also competed at the NCAAs for UTC, dropping both of his 149-pound matches yesterday.
Gravely Falls in Consolation Round Friday Morning
OMAHA, Neb. - Appalachian State University freshman Tony Gravely lost in the consolation bracket at the NCAA Championships Friday morning to end his season with a 15-11 record.
The Martinsville, Va. native was the last Mountaineer standing in Omaha, but he couldn't overtake Old Dominion's James Nicholson, who pinned Gravely at the 4:19 mark. The pinfall was just the third time all year that he has been pinned.
Gravely's 15 wins are the most by an ASU 125-pounder since Rich Caisse won 31 in 2002-03.
The Mountaineers had three SoCon Champions for the first time since that 2003 season and sent three wrestler's to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2007, when two of the three earned at-large bids.
Junior Dylan Temple finished his season with a 22-11 record, his second career 20-win season. Temple has 60 career wins and needs 22 more to crack the ASU career wins list.
Sophomore Austin Trotman, the SoCon Wrestler of the Year, finished 23-6. Trotman set a career high in wins and major decisions and was just the second ASU sophomore to be named SoCon Wrestler of the Year, joining Travis Drake who did it in 2001.
The Mountaineers return all 10 starters from this season's team that went 9-11 and 3-2 in the SoCon.