NCAA Tournament Brackets
ST. LOUIS – SIUE wrestling advanced two wrestlers to day two of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center.
"We have more wins than losses," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates. "We have the most number of points since becoming Division I. We have a wrestler in the quarterfinals so we're excited, but we don't want to stop with this. We want to continue on and have an All-American."
Freddie Rodriguez moved on to the 125-pound quarterfinals with a pair of victories on the opening day of the Championships. He defeated Appalachian State's Vito Pasone with a 19-4 technical fall. Rodriguez then bested Buffalo's Kyle Akins 7-5.
"I don't think my game plan ever changes," said Rodriguez. "You just wrestle hard for seven minutes continuously. If I do that, I put myself in a position to win any match."
He will wrestle sixth-seeded Ethan Lizak, of Minnesota, in the quarterfinals Friday morning.
Jake Residori, competing in his first Championship, knocked off the Big 12 Conference finalists in his first two matches. He defeated Oklahoma's Matt Reed 6-5 in the preliminary round and followed that up with an upset over No. 7 seed Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma State 6-5. It was Oklahoma State's only loss of the first round. Residori later was knocked out of the championship bracket by Illinois' Zac Brunson 6-2.
"It's tough when you have a pigtail and have an Oklahoma wrestler in that match but he did a great job in that match," said Spates. "He's wrestling really well. Three matches in a day is a lot when you are wrestling the top kids, but he's going to come back strong tomorrow."
Residori will wrestle Edinboro's Ty Schoffstall in the wrestlebacks Friday morning.
Jake Tindle, appearing in his second NCAA Championship at the Scottrade Center, dropped his first-round 197-pound match to No. 10-ranked Kevin Beazley, a pin in 2 minutes, 47 seconds. He also was defeated by Princeton's Brett Hamer in a 1:08 fall.
NEXT MATCHES
Quarterfinals
125 – Rodriguez (SIUE) vs. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)
Wrestlebacks
174 – Residori (SIUE) vs. Ty Schoffstall (Edinboro)
