Thursday, March 19
St. Louis, Mo.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Four Mountain Hawks advance to round of 16 as NCAAs begin in St. Louis
3/19/2015 4:05:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Results/Team Scores | Free AudioÂ
ST. LOUIS – The Lehigh wrestling team advanced four wrestlers in the championship bracket as the NCAA Championships kicked off Thursday morning at Scottrade Center. The Mountain Hawks shook off a tough start, losing their first two bouts, to win four of their remaining five bouts in the session.
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Senior Santiago Martinez delivered the only bonus points for Lehigh with a late third period pin of Ray Waters at 174. The Mountain Hawks finished session one with six team points.
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Martinez and Waters appeared headed for overtime tied 1-1 late in the third period, but Martinez countered a Waters shot by throwing him to his back and getting the fall at the 6:56 mark. Next up for the 15th seeded Martinez is No. 2 seed Matt Brown of Penn State.
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The first Mountain Hawk to advance Thursday was sophomore EIWA Champion Randy Cruz, who used a strong performance from the top position to defeat Dante Rodriguez of Iowa State 4-0 at 141. Cruz rode out the second and third periods from top and scored three near fall points with a second period cradle. The No. 13 seed at 141, Cruz will now face No. 4 seed Devin Carter of Virginia Tech.
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Returning All-American Mitch Minotti advanced with an 8-4 decision over Andrew Atkinson in his first NCAA tournament match up at 157. Minotti scored a pair of first period takedowns and after giving up a takedown in the second reversed to establish a cushion. In the round of 16, Minotti will face Lou Mascola of Maryland who upset No. 5 seed Cody Pack from South Dakota State.
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Junior Nathaniel Brown was Lehigh's fourth winner as he held off Andrew Romanchik of Ohio 2-0 to advance at 184. Brown was unable to score a takedown but escaped early in the second period and rode out the third to advance to the round of 16 where he will face Willie Miklus of Missouri.
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The first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday was freshman Scott Parker, who gave No. 5 seed Sean Boyle of Chattanooga all he could handle in a 6-5 defeat at 125. Parker opened the scoring with a takedown but Boyle answered with takedowns in the first and second periods. Boyle escaped early in the third to go up 6-5 and fought off a pair of quality shots from Parker late. Parker will now faces Ares Carpio of Arizona State in the consolations.
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Lehigh's other returning All-American, junior Mason Beckman fell victim to the upset bug as the No. 10 seed at 133 dropped a 5-3 decision to Jade Rauser of Utah Valley. The difference in the match ended up being a pair of second period takedowns for Rauser off of two Beckman shots. Beckman will look to stay alive in the consolations where he will face Scott Delvecchio of Rutgers Thursday evening.
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In Lehigh's final bout of the session, sophomore Elliot Riddick was upended by Jeff Koepke of Illinois 5-3 in sudden victory. The 16th-seeded Riddick scored the only takedown in regulation but was reversed late in the period. Keopke got to Riddick's leg on the edge in sudden victory and pulled him back in towards center before securing the winning takedown. Riddick will face the winner of a pigtail consolation between Nathan Rotert of South Dakota State and Scottie Boykin of Chattanooga.
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The NCAA Championships continue Thursday evening at 6 p.m. (CT) from Scottrade Center in St. Louis with round of 16 matches and first round consolations. Session II will be televised on ESPNU and streamed online via ESPN3 while audio of every Lehigh match will be available for free at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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Round of 32
125 – No. 5 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh) 6-5
133 – Jade Rauser (Utah Valley) dec. No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 5-3
141 – No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Dante Rodriguez (Iowa St.) 4-0
157 – No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) 8-4
174 – No. 15 Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) Fall Ray Waters (Arizona St.) 6:56
184 – No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) 2-0
197 – Jeff Koepke (Illinois) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 5-3, s.v.
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ST. LOUIS – The Lehigh wrestling team advanced four wrestlers in the championship bracket as the NCAA Championships kicked off Thursday morning at Scottrade Center. The Mountain Hawks shook off a tough start, losing their first two bouts, to win four of their remaining five bouts in the session.
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Senior Santiago Martinez delivered the only bonus points for Lehigh with a late third period pin of Ray Waters at 174. The Mountain Hawks finished session one with six team points.
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Martinez and Waters appeared headed for overtime tied 1-1 late in the third period, but Martinez countered a Waters shot by throwing him to his back and getting the fall at the 6:56 mark. Next up for the 15th seeded Martinez is No. 2 seed Matt Brown of Penn State.
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The first Mountain Hawk to advance Thursday was sophomore EIWA Champion Randy Cruz, who used a strong performance from the top position to defeat Dante Rodriguez of Iowa State 4-0 at 141. Cruz rode out the second and third periods from top and scored three near fall points with a second period cradle. The No. 13 seed at 141, Cruz will now face No. 4 seed Devin Carter of Virginia Tech.
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Returning All-American Mitch Minotti advanced with an 8-4 decision over Andrew Atkinson in his first NCAA tournament match up at 157. Minotti scored a pair of first period takedowns and after giving up a takedown in the second reversed to establish a cushion. In the round of 16, Minotti will face Lou Mascola of Maryland who upset No. 5 seed Cody Pack from South Dakota State.
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Junior Nathaniel Brown was Lehigh's fourth winner as he held off Andrew Romanchik of Ohio 2-0 to advance at 184. Brown was unable to score a takedown but escaped early in the second period and rode out the third to advance to the round of 16 where he will face Willie Miklus of Missouri.
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The first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday was freshman Scott Parker, who gave No. 5 seed Sean Boyle of Chattanooga all he could handle in a 6-5 defeat at 125. Parker opened the scoring with a takedown but Boyle answered with takedowns in the first and second periods. Boyle escaped early in the third to go up 6-5 and fought off a pair of quality shots from Parker late. Parker will now faces Ares Carpio of Arizona State in the consolations.
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Lehigh's other returning All-American, junior Mason Beckman fell victim to the upset bug as the No. 10 seed at 133 dropped a 5-3 decision to Jade Rauser of Utah Valley. The difference in the match ended up being a pair of second period takedowns for Rauser off of two Beckman shots. Beckman will look to stay alive in the consolations where he will face Scott Delvecchio of Rutgers Thursday evening.
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In Lehigh's final bout of the session, sophomore Elliot Riddick was upended by Jeff Koepke of Illinois 5-3 in sudden victory. The 16th-seeded Riddick scored the only takedown in regulation but was reversed late in the period. Keopke got to Riddick's leg on the edge in sudden victory and pulled him back in towards center before securing the winning takedown. Riddick will face the winner of a pigtail consolation between Nathan Rotert of South Dakota State and Scottie Boykin of Chattanooga.
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The NCAA Championships continue Thursday evening at 6 p.m. (CT) from Scottrade Center in St. Louis with round of 16 matches and first round consolations. Session II will be televised on ESPNU and streamed online via ESPN3 while audio of every Lehigh match will be available for free at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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Round of 32
125 – No. 5 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh) 6-5
133 – Jade Rauser (Utah Valley) dec. No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 5-3
141 – No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Dante Rodriguez (Iowa St.) 4-0
157 – No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) 8-4
174 – No. 15 Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) Fall Ray Waters (Arizona St.) 6:56
184 – No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) 2-0
197 – Jeff Koepke (Illinois) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 5-3, s.v.
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
197
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