Wrestling: WVU Set For NCAA Tournament
March 15, 2006 01:37 PM | General
March 15, 2006
OKLAHOMA CITY - Six West Virginia University wrestlers, including four freshmen, are prepared for competition at the NCAA championships in Oklahoma City, from March 16-18 at the Ford Center.
Thursday’s first session begins at 11 a.m., with session two beginning at 6:30. Friday’s third session starts at 10 a.m. and the evening’s fourth session begins at 6 p.m. The fifth session on Saturday starts at 10 a.m., with the championship finals being settled in the 6:30 evening session. The championship session will be televised on ESPN beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Senior Matt Lebe (157), sophomore Jared Villers (197) and freshmen Brandon Rader (141), David Jauregui (149), Larry Hall (165) and Kurt Brenner (174) will represent WVU at the tournament.
It marks the fifth consecutive year that the Mountaineers have qualified at least six wrestlers for NCAAs and the 14th all-time.
Two Mountaineers earned a top 12 seed as Lebe was given the No. 4 seed in his weight class, while Rader was tabbed No. 9.
West Virginia returns one All-American in Lebe. The Jeannette, Pa., native needs one win in this season’s tournament take sole possession of second place at WVU in all-time wins. He is currently tied with former greats Scott Collins and Jim Akerly with 119 wins.
Last season Lebe defeated defending national champion Matt Gentry of Stanford en route to finishing seventh overall.
Lebe claimed his second consecutive EWL title two weeks ago, defeating Lock Haven’s Seth Martin in the 157-pound finals. So far this season he is 30-3 with six wins over Top 25 opponents. He is just the ninth wrestler in school history to qualify for four NCAA tournament appearances and currently ranks tied for fourth in NCAA tournament wins by a Mountaineer with 10.
Lebe is slated to face Brown’s Michael Savino in the opening round.
Rader is also looked on as a possible All-America candidate this year after a spectacular freshman campaign. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native has posted a 26-3 record to rank tied for third in wins as a freshman and fifth for wins by 141-pounder in a season. He has plenty of national tournament experience after winning a high school national championship in the 135-pound class last year.
Rader claimed the 2006 EWL title in the 141-pound weight class after defeating Pitt’s Ron Tarquinio. He will have to wait until Thursday morning to find out who he wrestles first as he fill face the winner of a pigtail bout between Penn’s Cesar Grajales and Illinois’ Cassio Pero.
Villers qualified for his second NCAA tournament after defeating Edinboro’s Joe Fendone in the EWL championship bout. The Akron, Ohio, native has compiled a 20-10 record so far this season and will face Northern Iowa’s Andrew Anderson in the first round on Saturday.
Brenner ranks third amongst Mountaineers in wins this season with a 23-6 record in 2006 and seventh in WVU history for wins by a freshman. The Freedom, Pa., native claimed the 174-pound EWL title by defeating Edinboro’s Eric Ring. Joseph Lowe of UNC-Greensboro awaits Brenner in tomorrow’s first round.
Hall pulled off the biggest upset of the EWL tournament by defeating Edinboro’s No. 1-seeded Deonte Penn in the semifinals, before finishing second to Pitt’s Justin Nestor. The Jeannette, Pa., native is 11-6 on the season and will square off against Nebraska Marc Harwood.
Rounding out the list of WVU qualifiers is Jauregui who took third at the EWL tournament by defeating Pitt’s Joey Ecklof. The Santa Ana, Calif., native ranks eighth in wins by a freshman at WVU with 22 in 2006 and will face Nebraska’s Robert Sanders in the first round.
Updates of the tournament throughout the weekend can be found at intermatwrestle.com. A wrap-up of each day’s action will be available each evening on MSNsportsNET.com.
