March 21, 2009

Dudziak Marches His Way To National Title Match

Duke University junior Konrad Dudziak continued his thrilling march through the NCAA Championship tonight with an exciting 3-2 victory over top-seeded David Zabriskie in the semifinal round. Dudziak is the first Blue Devil to advance to the NCAA Tournament Championship match in program history. The finals will air on ESPN on March 21 starting at 6:30 p.m.

Going up against top-ranked Zabriskie of Iowa State in the semifinal, Dudziak was looking for his second consecutive upset. The pair battled to a stalemate after the first period.

The Bayonne, N.J. native will go up against second-seeded Mark Ellis of Missouri for the national title. Ellis defeated Kent State’s Jermail Porter 5-3 in his semifinal match and is 26-3 on the year. Dudziak is now 31-2 on the season and 61-15 for his career.

Dudziak Advances To NCAA Semifinals In Thrilling Fashion

Duke University junior Konrad Dudziak made history today, advancing to the NCAA Championship Semifinals with a thrilling overtime sudden victory win in the quarterfinal match. Dudziak now is guaranteed All-America honors as a top-eight finisher in the nation, becoming Duke’s first All-America wrestler.

Caldwell Dominates Saddoris, Will Wrestle For The National Championship on Saturday

NC State junior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell moved to within one victory of the national championship Friday with an easy 13-2 major decision over Bryce Saddoris of Navy in the semifinals at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Caldwell (37-1) will face unbeaten and top-seeded Brent Metcalf (37-0) in the championship round Saturday evening. The finals will begin at 6:30 p.m. The 149-pound bout will be the fifth of the 10 matches in the championship round. The finals will be televised on ESPN.

Henrich Clinches All-America Honors at NCAA Championships

Virginia wrestler Chris Henrich (So., Lansdale, Pa.) has clinched All-America honors at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Henrich defeated Illinois’ John Dergo, 6-1, in the wrestlebacks to earn his place among the top eight wrestlers nationally at 174 pounds.

Henrich becomes Virginia's first All-American since 2004, when Tim Foley and Scott Moore each finished among the nation's top eight.

The win over Dergo was a redemption of sorts for Henrich, who was bounced from the NCAA championships by Dergo last season. Henrich (39-3) then wrestled Cornell’s Steve Anceravage, the No. 6 seed, Friday night and lost by fall. He next will compete in the seventh-round match in the Championship Medal Round, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. ESPNU and ESPN360.com will have coverage.

Three Maryland Wrestlers Earn All-American Status at Day Two of NCAA Championships

The University of Maryland wrestling program had a banner day in day two of the NCAA Championships Friday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Terrapins finished the day with three wrestlers clinching all-American status, tying the school record for all-Americans in a season. As a team, Maryland is in 11th place, with 41 points entering the final day of competition.

Alex Krom (141 pounds), Hudson Taylor (197 pounds) and Steven Bell (133 pounds) all survived the second day to secure all-American honors. It is the third time in school history that Maryland will have three all-Americans in the same season. Maryland had three all-Americans in the 1964 and 1987 seasons.

Taylor repeats as an all-American, becoming only the fourth repeat all-American in program history.

All three Maryland grapplers can still finish as high as third place Saturday, but can finish no lower than sixth.

The day was highlighted by Krom's appearance in the national semifinals, two wins shy of a national championship. However, Krom was defeated by No. 8 seed Ryan Williams of Old Dominion, 4-1. Krom, who defeated Kent State's Drew Lashaway in the quarterfinals, will face No. 6 seed Nick Gallick of Iowa State Saturday morning for the chance to advance to the third-place match.

Krom Advances to NCAA Semifinals, Clinches All-American Status

Redshirt junior Alex Krom advanced to the 141-pound semifinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday evening at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, dominating his quarterfinal matchup with 12th-seeded Drew Lashaway of Kent State, 10-1, Friday afternoon.

With the victory against Lashaway, Krom has secured all-American status, guaranteeing Maryland at least one all-American for the second straight season, as Hudson Taylor did so last year, finishing third at 197 pounds.

Hokies conclude NCAA Wrestling Championships

Two Virginia Tech wrestlers made it to the round of 12 in their respective weight classes at the 2009 NCAA Championship Friday, but neither could pull off the upset to propel them to All-America honors.

Chris Diaz had the first opportunity with his match at 141 pounds, but the sophomore ran into a buzzsaw in sixth-seeded Nate Gallick of Iowa State. Diaz never mounted a serious offensive effort and ended up dropping at 6-1 decision.

Heavyweight David Marone had the other shot at finishing in the top eight, but he too ran into a heavily favored opponent and couldn’t pull off the upset. The sophomore from Colorado put up a good fight, but fell 5-2 to ninth-seeded John Wise of Illinois.

Diaz, Marone still alive after third session of NCAA Championships

Two Virginia Tech wrestlers made it through session three of NCAA Championship action Friday at the Scottrade Center and will continue their seasons tonight. In the first part of the session, Jarrod Garnett, Chris Diaz and David Marone each picked up wins while Tommy Spellman saw his season come to an end. In the second portion of the session Diaz picked up a hard-fought win and then Marone earned his third win in a row to wrap up the session.

Scotton Paces Tar Heels At Nationals

Sophomore Thomas Scotton led North Carolina with a 2-2 record at 157 pounds before being eliminated Friday at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center. Seniors Keegan Mueller and Justin Dobies both dropped their first bouts Friday morning and were eliminated as well with 1-2 records.

Scotton, who went 1-1 Thursday, opened Friday with a major decision over Bryan Deutsch of Northern Illinois to advance in the consolation bracket. The Willingboro, N.J., product came out of the gates strong with three first-period takedowns and closed with two more takedowns and a two-point near fall in the third for a 15-5 victory.