Lehigh University
NCAA Championship
Mountain Hawks enjoy strong start to NCAAs
3/18/2010 3:45:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
 |
OMAHA, Neb. – Powered by upsets from senior co-captains Matt Fisk and Seth Ciasulli, Lehigh placed six of seven wrestlers through to the championship second round at the 80th NCAA Championships Thursday at Qwest Center. Fisk opened the tournament for Lehigh by pinning the No. 11 seed Scotti Sentes of Central Michigan at 133, while Ciasulli won a 4-3 decision over the No. 5 seed Zack Bailey of Oklahoma at 141. The Mountain Hawks are tied for third place after the first session with 15 points.
Fisk, the only Mountain Hawk to earn a pigtail match, picked up the first championship bracket win of his career with his win by fall over Sentes. Fisk trailed 2-0 after being taken down in the first period, but chose top for the second period and was able to lock up a cradle to pin Sentes in 3:29.
In the round of 32, Fisk scored a third period takedown to defeat Cory VomBaur of Wyoming 2-1. After being ridden out in the second period, Fisk yielded an escape to VomBaur in the third, but scored the takedown and was able to erase the Cowboy’s riding time advantage. Fisk will now face the No. 6 seed, Dan Mitcheff of Kent State in the round of 16.
Ciasulli followed Fisk’s win with some late heroics in a win over Bailey. The Easton native trailed 3-1 entering the third period, before escaping and then scoring a takedown off a scramble with just eight seconds remaining. Ciasulli will now face fellow Lehigh Valley native Scott Clymer of Liberty University Thursday night.
At 165, sophomore Brandon Hatchett needed sudden victory but prevailed in his NCAA debut. Hatchett broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown to defeat Ross Tice of Kent State 3-1.
The lone Mountain Hawk to lose his first bout was freshman Robert Hamlin at 174. Hamlin scored the only takedown of the match, but after being ridden out in the first 30 second tiebreak was reversed by No. 7 seed Ben Bennett of Central Michigan as Bennett prevailed 4-2. Hamlin now faces a consolation matchup against Duke Burk of Iowa State.
Senior David Craig provided Lehigh’s only other bonus win of the day as he rolled to a 9-0 major decision over Eric Cameron of Indiana at 184. Craig led 5-0 late in the third period before scoring a three-point near fall with a cradle in the final seconds to earn the bonus point. Craig, the No. 12 seed, will meet fifth-seed Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State.
At 197, Joe Kennedy was a winner in his NCAA tournament debut as he benefitted from a first period takedown to defeat Eric Simaz 3-1. Next up for Kennedy is No. 3 seed Hudson Taylor of Maryland.
The final Lehigh bout of the session brought some trepidation for fans of the Brown and White, as No. 3 seed Zach Rey was taken into overtime by Penn State’s Cameron Wade. The sophomore heavyweight finally scored the decisive takedown 42 seconds into the period to earn a 3-1 win and a match-up with Kurt Klimek of Cal State Fullerton in the next round.
The 80th NCAA Championships continue Thursday evening with second round championship matches and first round consolations. Action begins at 6:30 CDT with free live streaming of all Lehigh matches online at Lehighsports.com.
Pigtail Round
|
Weight |
Matchup |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
133 |
Matt Fisk (Lehigh) |
Fall |
Scotti Sentes (Cent. Mich.) |
3:29 |
Round of 32
|
Weight |
Matchup |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
133 |
Matt Fisk (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Cory VomBaur (Wyoming) |
2-1 |
|
141 |
Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Zack Bailey (Oklahoma) |
4-3 |
|
165 |
Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Ross Tice (Kent St.) |
3-1, s.v. |
|
174 |
Ben Bennett (Cent. Mich.) |
dec. |
Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) |
4-2, t.b. |
|
184 |
David Craig (Lehigh) |
maj. dec. |
Eric Cameron (Indiana) |
9-0 |
|
197 |
Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Eric Simaz (Cent. Mich.) |
3-1 |
|
285 |
Zach Rey (Lehigh) |
dec. |
Cameron Wade (Penn St.) |
3-1, s.v. |
Team Standings
|
Team |
Points |
|
1. Iowa |
21.5 |
|
2. Oklahoma St. |
16 |
|
T3. LEHIGH |
15 |
|
T3. Central Michigan |
15 |
|
T3. Wisconsin |
15 |
|
6. Cornell |
14 |
|
T7. Iowa State |
13 |
|
T7. Ohio State |
13 |
|
9. Oregon State |
11.5 |
|
T10. Minnesota |
11 |
|
T10. Missouri |
11 |
|
T10. Oklahoma |
11 |
