Jan. 18, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 10 Arizona State wrestling team dropped its first dual of the 2003 NWCA National Duals Saturday afternoon, falling to the No. 1 Oklahoma State Cowboys, 38-3, in the quarterfinal round of the event. The Sun Devils will face the winner of the No. 14 Central Michigan-No. 20 Boise State in the second round of the consolation bracket with the loser being eliminated from the tournament.
The dual opened with true freshman Aaron Suzuki (Fr., Flagstaff, Ariz.) falling to No. 6 Skyler Holman in a pinfall at 2:58, giving the Cowboys an early 6-0 lead. No. 2 Johnny Thompson followed with a close 6-4 defeat of ASU's No. 13 Mike Simpson (So., Anaheim, Calif.) to expand the lead to 9-0.
The lone bright spot in the dual was at 141 where No. 4 Dana Holland (Sr., Glendale Heights, Ill.) defeated Ronnie Delk, 8-6, to give the Sun Devils three team points. After that, OSU swept the remaining seven matches, including two forfeits at 184 and heavyweight, before eventually claiming a 38-3 win. Three of the final losses were by decision with No. 12 Rocky Smart (Sr., Pleasant Grove, Utah), No. 9 Nick Frost (Jr., Tucson, Ariz.) and No. 6 Curtis Owen (Sr., Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) each falling short in their matches. Chris Smith (Fr., Gilbert, Ariz.) at 149 lost by major decision while Ryan Bader (Fr., Verdi, Nev.) fell in a technical fall outcome at 197.
The Sun Devils are 1-1 on the day after defeating Missouri, 19-17, in the opening round of the tournament. ASU won five matches in the dual and won the dual over the Tigers on the strength of major decisions by Owen and No. 1 Eric Larkin (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.).
The Sun Devils will next face the winner of the No. 14 Central Michigan and No. 20 Boise State dual (slated to be contested at 3 p.m. EST) at 5 p.m. EST. ASU will return home Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. when they play host to Cal Poly in Pac-10 action.