March 21, 2008

Taylor Dominates In First Day Of NCAA Championships

Sophomore Hudson Taylor won his first two matches and sits in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket after the first day of the 2008 NCAA Championships on March 20 at Scottrade Center. Five of Maryland's six wrestlers are still alive in the tournament.

Taylor, seeded seventh at 197 pounds, faced Jared Villers of West Virginia and picked up his 18th fall of the season in the first round. After a slow start to the match in the early going, Taylor scored a takedown with 55 seconds left to take a 2-0 lead. Taylor was on top for the second period and rode Villers the entire way.

In the final period, Taylor started down and earned a reversal just 10 seconds in. The sophomore parlayed that into a pin with 1:21 to go in the match.

Taylor then overwhelmed 10th-seeded Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma in the second round by shutting him out, 7-0. Taylor scored an early takedown and got a three-point near fall to take a commanding 5-0 lead. Taylor escaped early in the second after starting down and then tacked on the bonus point for the win.

Taylor will try to avenge one of his two losses this season when he battles second-seeded Phil Davis of Penn State Friday morning in the quarterfinals.

Dobies Wins Twice At NCAA Championships

ST. LOUIS - North Carolina junior heavyweight Justin Dobies rebounded from an opening-round loss at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships to post back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket Thursday at the Scottrade Center. Thanks to the two victories, Dobies will be back in action at 11 a.m. Eastern Friday, but Tar Heel junior 165-pounder Keegan Mueller dropped a pair of tight matches to seeded opponents and saw his season come to an end.

Caldwell, Goodman Still Battle For All-America Status

After day one of the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships, two NC State wrestlers remained in contention for All-America finishes. Darrion Caldwell (149) reached the quarterfinals with victories in his first two bouts, while Ryan Goodman (184) went 1-1 on the day to remain alive in the consolation bracket.

Caldwell advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of first-period pins, his 22nd and 23rd pins of the season and his 19th and 20th first-period pins. Caldwell improved to 34-3 on the season, and heads into the quarterfinals having won 18 matches in a row.

Goodman won his opening round match 12-10 over Jesse Strawn of Old Dominion, building an early lead and holding on as Strawn made a late push in the third period.

Virginia Wrestling Opens Competition at NCAA Championships

The Virginia wrestling team kicked off the 2008 NCAA Championships Thursday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Ross Gitomer (So., Flemington, N.J.), Chris Henrich (Fr., Lansdale, Pa.) and Rocco Caponi (Jr., Uniontown, Ohio) competed at 125, 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, with Henrich and Caponi advancing to Friday action. Virginia is tied for 36th in the team competition with 4.5 points after day one.

Caponi (38-3), the No. 11 seed at 184, had a bye to start the tournament, then pinned Edinboro's Christopher Honeycutt in the first round in 4:04 to earn his first career NCAA win. It also marked Caponi's 12th pin this season - tying him for third most in a single season in UVa history.

Epperly falls in opening match at NCAAs

Virginia Tech's Matt Epperly dropped a 9-0 major decision to No. 8 seeded Moza Fay of Northern Iowa Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships being held at the Scottrade Center.

Epperly eliminated from NCAAs

Virginia Tech freshman wrestler Matt Epperly was eliminated from the 2008 NCAA Championships with a 8-6 loss to Roger Smith-Bergsrud in the consolations of the 165-pound bracket Thursday night.