March 17, 2006
Oklahoma City, Okla. - Wrestling in front of 15,752 fans at the second session, the No. 9 Tigers advanced six grapplers to the second day of competition at the NCAA Championships in the Ford Center of Oklahoma City, Okla. Two grapplers remain alive in the championship bracket, while four Tigers are advancing through the consolation bracket.
Wrestling in his first action of the tournament, unseeded redshirt freshman Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) fought to a 0-0 draw against fourth-seeded Matt Lebe of West Virginia in the first period, then escaped 23 seconds into the second period to take a 1-0 lead into the final frame. Lebe reversed Chandler's hold to take a 2-1 advantage, but the Tiger freshman was able to get a reversal of his own to upset the Mountaineer, 3-2. The win represented a reversal of fortune for Chandler, who lost to Lebe Dec. 20, 6-1. Chandler faces No. 5 Ben Cherrington of Boise State in quarterfinal competition tomorrow.
No. 1 seed Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) gave up an early takedown to Oklahoma's Wes Roberts, a grappler whom Askren defeated twice during the regular season. Escaping Roberts' hold shortly after the takedown, Askren established 1:53 of riding time during the second period. Adding a pair of takedowns in the third, the Tigers junior stretched the riding time to 2:45 for a 6-4 victory. Askren squares off against No. 8 Travis Frick in the quarterfinals. Askren defeated Frick by technical fall, 22-7, at the Southern Scuffle Dec. 30.
No. 5 junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) reached the second day of competition with his third victory of the season over No. 12 Marc Harwood of Nebraska in the first round of consolation bouts at 165 pounds. Pell took down Harwood twice in the first period to establish a 4-1 advantage, then extended the lead with an escape and a takedown in the next two minutes. Pressing the advantage, Pell added a takedown and 3:34 of riding time to get the win, 10-1. Pell takes on Garrett Atkinson of North Carolina in consolation competition during Friday's morning session.
Competing at 184 pounds, No. 9 redshirt freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C) opened a 2-1 lead over Eastern Illinois' Greg Perz after the first three minutes. Adding a reversal in the second frame, Jordan sealed the bout with a takedown late in the third period and 1:30 of riding time to advance to Friday competition against Fresno State's Greg Gifford.
Senior Jeff Foust (Blue Springs, Mo.) picked up a first-period takedown against Michigan's Willie Breyer at 197 pounds, then escaped 19 seconds into the second frame to establish a 3-0 advantage midway through the first period. Dominating his opponent, Foust added two takedowns and a reversal to win by major decision, 9-1. Foust faces No. 10 Matt Delguyd of Northwestern in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Facing No. 1 seed Shawn Bunch of Edinboro for the third time this season at 133 pounds, sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) was unable to overcome the top-ranked grappler, dropping the bout 13-2. The loss placed McCormick in the consolation bracket for Friday's morning session, where he will compete against Mike Ciotti of Pittsburgh, whom McCormick beat 7-0 Dec. 19.
Senior Austin DeVoe (Columbus, Kan.), a first-time NCAA qualifier, dropped a tough overtime match against Matthew Fisk of Lehigh to finish the tournament 1-2. DeVoe and Fisk grappled to a 1-1 tie through regulation and the first sudden-victory period, but Fisk was able to execute a two-point nearfall to win the bout, 4-1.
"We didn't have a great first session, but it's a three-day tournament and one session isn't going to make or break our chances," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "After the first session I reminded the team that there's still a lot of wrestling left, and they responded with a solid showing in the second session."
Session 3 begins at 10 a.m. CST, with the quarterfinals being televised live on ESPNU. Live coverage of the NCAA Championships is available at www.ncaasports.com, and extensive coverage of Missouri wrestlers can be found at www.mutigers.com after each session is complete.
Round of 32
133 - No. 1 Shawn Bunch (Edin) maj. dec Tyler McCormick (MU): 13-2
157 - Michael Chandler (MU) dec. No. 4 Matt Lebe (WVU): 3-2
174 - No. 1 Ben Askren (MU) dec. Wes Roberts (OU): 6-4
First-Round Consolation
125 - Matthew Fisk (Lehigh) dec. Austin DeVoe: 4-1, TB
165 - No. 5 Matt Pell (MU) maj. dec. No. 12 Marc Harwood (NU): 10-1
184 - No. 9 Raymond Jordan (MU) dec. Greg Perz (EIU): 7-1
197 - Jeff Foust (MU) maj. dec. Willie Breyer (Mich): 9-1
Updated Records: Season (Career)
125 - Austin DeVoe: 31-15 (74-46)
133 - Tyler McCormick: 27-8 (47-22)
157 - Michael Chandler: 19-14 (19-14)
165 - Matt Pell: 31-5 (97-27)
174 - Ben Askren: 42-0 (108-8)
184 - Raymond Jordan: 32-11 (32-11)
197 - Jeff Foust: 16-8 (86-37)