March 19, 2010

Henrich Falls Just Short in NCAA Semifinals
Virginia's Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) dropped a heartbreaking 10-9 decision to second-seeded Jay Borschel of Iowa on Friday evening in the 174-pound semifinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb. Henrich, the third seed at 174, will wrestle seventh-seeded Ben Bennett of Central Michigan Saturday morning in the consolation bracket.

Through the four sessions, Virginia has racked up 28.5 points and stands 15th in the team standings.

Henrich (31-3) jumped out to an early lead, only to see the undefeated Borschel storm back to tie the match midway through the third period on a takedown, and Borschel rode Henrich for the remainder of the match to claim the riding time point and win, 10-9.

Taylor Drops 1-0 Decision In Semifinal
Senior Hudson Taylor dropped a final minute, 1-0 decision to second-seeded Craig Brester of Nebraska Friday night, ending his quest for a title at the NCAA Championships. Despite the loss, Taylor had already clinched All-American status and is Maryland's first three-time All-American.

Should Taylor win both of his matches on Saturday, he could secure a third consecutive third-place finish.

Steven Bell won his first match of the evening session and also clinched All-American status, while redshirt-freshman Josh Asper fell agonizingly short.

Dudziak Falls in NCAA Semifinals
Duke University senior Konrad Dudziak had his run through the NCAA Wrestling Championship stopped this evening in a narrow 6-5 decision against top seed David Zabriskie of Iowa State. With a win in the quarterfinal, Dudziak captured his second consecutive All-America award, the first wrestler in program history to become a two-time All-America choice.

In a rematch if the 2009 NCAA Semifinal, fourth-seed Dudziak and Zabriskie squared off for a chance to vie for a national title. Looking to avenge the loss he suffered a year ago, the Iowa State senior garnered the first points of the match with a takedown midway through the first period.

Dudziak was able to escape the grasp of Zabriskie a few seconds later to cut his deficit to just one at 2-1 after the opening three minutes. With the Blue Devil senior on bottom to start the second quarter, Dudziak evened the score with an escape. 

Diaz earns All-America honors
With day two of the NCAA Wrestling Championships close to being in the book, the Hokies can now claim an All-American thanks to an impressive performance Friday inside the Qwest Center. Chris Diaz became the seventh All-American in program history when his win over second-seeded Jamal Parks capped an improbable run to the podium. The junior, who is seeded 11th, dropped his opening match 5-0, but then reeled off four wins to stay alive. Along the way, he beat the No. 8 seed and the No. 2 seed to keep the momentum rolling. He’ll be back in action tomorrow as the only Hokie advancing to Saturday, taking part of the seventh-place match at 1141 pounds.

Jarrod Garnett fell one point shy of earning All-America honors as he was beaten 7-6 in the round of 12. Jesse Dong, who was seeded third, lost 5-1, thus eliminating him as well.

For head coach Kevin Dresser, Diaz is his first All-American and the first for the program since 2006.

Tar Heels' Season Ends at NCAA Championships
North Carolina junior 157-pounder Thomas Scotton, the lone Tar Heel who was in action Friday at the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb., dropped his only match Friday afternoon to close the Tar Heels' season. Scotton finishes the tournament 1-2 and the season 28-10. Scotton joined two Carolina wrestlers in the championships. 197-pound senior Dennis Drury and redshirt freshman heavyweight Ziad Haddad both dropped a pair of matches in Thursday action.

Scotton saw his season end Friday afternoon in a 6-2 defeat against Arizona State's Tejovan Edwards. The Tar Heel junior recorded the first takedown en route to taking a 2-1 lead after one period. Edwards took the lead for good in the second with a reversal. Trailing 3-2, Scotton chose neutral in the third, but Edwards took him down and added a point with riding time for the final.

Scotton worked his way into Friday's action by splitting his two Thursday matches. In his afternoon opener, he was victorious when former NCAA champion and sixth-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota was forced to default due to injury in the first period. The two had exchanged shots without either wrestler recording any score throughout the period. Scotton was victorious when the three-time All-America at 149 pounds re-injured an already bad knee.

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