Wrestling: Three Advance in First Session
March 20, 2008 04:10 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
March 20, 2008
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Three members of the West Virginia University wrestling team advanced to the preliminary rounds during the first session of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 20, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
First-time participant Donnie Jones (165) made the most of his first NCAA Tournament bout with a 9-8 decision over Daniel Atondo of Cal State Bakersfield. Atondo, who finished third in the Pac-10 Championships, fell behind early after Jones scored the first takedown, then followed with another late in the first period to make it 4-2. Jones gave up over a minute of riding time and surrendered a takedown near the end of the second period. However, the sophomore battled back and scored two more takedowns in the final period, including a critical one with 15 seconds left to give WVU its first victory.
Chance Litton (174) earned a 7-1 decision over Shane Riccio of Bucknell to score his first NCAA Tournament win. The junior came out aggressive and scored two points with only five seconds left in the first period to take an early 2-0 advantage. Litton dominated in the third period by scoring on a reversal after starting in the down position and forced 1:04 riding time to advance in the championship bracket.
Dustin Rogers (HWT) garnered WVU’s third win in the first session after beating Old Dominion’s Andrew Totusek in a 4-2 decision. Rogers gave up an early escape in the second period but scored on an escape of his own in the third to tie the score 1-1. With five seconds left the senior notched a takedown and received an additional point for a penalty against Totusek to win the match and advance to the preliminary round.
Senior Zac Fryling fell in his first bout against No. 4 Brandon Becker of Indiana. Fryling lost by way of a 1-0 decision in what was a tightly-contested match. After producing a scoreless first period, the deciding point came on an escape in the second period by Becker after choosing the down position. A competitive third period featured two defensive-minded wrestlers as Fryling found it tough to shoot effectively on the two-time All-American.
David Jauregui, Kurt Brenner and Jared Villers each lost their first match and will compete in the wrestle-back rounds during the second session.
The Mountaineers end the first session tied at 27th with four points. Top-ranked Iowa leads the field with 19 points. Eastern Wrestling League rival Pitt is tied for 18th with eight points, while Edinboro garnered 7.5 and sits at 21st.
The second session begins at 6 p.m. and consists of the preliminary rounds, wrestle-back pigtail matches and the wrestle-back rounds. For live scoring of each match, log on to www.intermatwrestle.com.
First round results
149: #8 Jake Patacsil (PURDUE) TECHNICAL David Jauregui (WVU), 16-0 5:43
157: #4 Brandon Becker (INDIANA) DEC Zac Fryling (WVU), 1-0
165: Donnie Jones (WVU) DEC Daniel Atondo (CSB), 9-8
174 : Chance Litton (WVU) DEC Shane Riccio (BUCK), 7-1
184 : #3 Tyrel Todd (UM) DEC Kurt Brenner (WVU), 4-0
197: #7 Hudson Taylor (MARY) FALL Jared Villers (WVU), 5:39
HWT: Dustin Rogers (WVU) DEC Andrew Totusek (OD), 4-2
Second session matches
Preliminaries
165: Donnie Jones (WVU) vs. #4 Mack Lewnes (CORNELL)
174: Chance Litton (WVU) vs. #1 Keith Gavin (PITT)
HWT: Dustin Rogers (WVU) vs. #3 Ed Prendergast (NAVY)
Wrestle-back matches
149: David Jauregui (WVU) vs. Kyle Larson (OREG. ST.)
157: Zac Fryling (WVU) vs. Loser of Dan Vallimont (PSU) and Steven Brown (CM)
184: Kurt Brenner (WVU) vs. Andy O’ Laughlin (NO. IOWA)
197: Jared Villers (WVU) vs. Justin Bronson (MINN)
