Feb. 27, 2005
Complete Brackets/Results (pdf)
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Day One of the 2005 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships came to a close inside Mott Gym on the campus of Cal Poly Sunday evening with four members of the Arizona State University wrestling team earning a place in the finals of their respective weight classes as well as a ticket to the NCAA Championships. In the race for the team title, the Sun Devils moved into the lead with 88 points while Oregon sits second with 68 points. Defending champion Boise State (66.5), host Cal Poly (61.5) and Oregon State (58.0) round out the Top 5.
The championship semifinals provided some exciting moments for the Sun Devils with six wrestlers reaching the round and four winning their bouts. No. 4 Jeremy Mendoza (Jr., Temecula, Calif.) opened the semifinals for ASU by facing No. 1 Vic Moreno of Cal Poly. In a match filled with action, Moreno would come out on top with a 4-2 decision to relocate Mendoza to the consolation bracket.
No. 2 Brian Stith (So., Hampton, Va.) picked up the first win of the semifinal round for ASU as he defeated No. 3 Tony Hook (OSU), 4-2. Stith, who went 0-2 at the 2004 edition of the tournament, will look to claim the championship at 157 Monday evening as he faces No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Matt Gentry (SU). Following Stith was No. 6 Patrick Pitsch (Fr., Spanaway, Wash.) at 165 as he took on another Beaver in No. 2 Matt Ellis (OSU). In the end, one takedown cost Pitsch a shot at the title as Ellis would win the bout, 3-1.
The seesaw results for ASU would continue, this time on an upswing, as No. 2 C.B. Dollaway (Jr., Mt. Gilead, Ohio) punched his ticket to the finals as he defeated No. 3 Ryan Halsey (CPU), 3-1. The victory for Dollaway was the third of the season over his Mustang counterpart and the second in an eight-day period.
From there, two-time defending champion and No. 2 seed Ryan Bader (Jr., Reno, Nev.) made it three-for-three in reaching the finals as he recorded a 5-2 decision over another CPU wrestler, this time downing No. 3 Ralph Garcia. Bader will meet No. 1 Scott Parker of Oregon in the final that will pit a pair of Top 8 nationally ranked wrestlers against one another for the title.
At heavyweight, No. 1 Cain Velasquez (Jr., Yuma, Ariz.) pinned No. 5 Cody Parker of Oregon at 6:15 to reach the final in his first Pac-10 tournament. Velasquez, who will meet surprise finalist Allen Kennett of Portland State in the finals, was well on his way to a technical fall before catching Parker and pinning the Duck's big man.
In the consolation side of the tournament, four Sun Devils competed with three members of the team securing victories and remaining alive for a berth in the NCAA Championships (March 17-19, St. Louis). At 133, John Espinoza (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) recorded a 6-3 decision over Paul Tice (CSF) to advance in the back draw where he will meet No. 3 Derek Moore (UCD) in the consolation semifinals Monday morning. Curtis Ray (So., Mesa, Ariz.) could not follow suit at 141 as he dropped a tough 2-1 decision to Skyler Woods (UO) to fall from the event.
No. 2 Patrick Williams (Sr., Homestead, Fla.) rebounded from a stunning upset in the championship round to record a 5-1 decision over Stanford's Josh Zupancic. With the victory, Williams advances to face Anthony Baza of CS Bakersfield. From there, No. 6 Rick Renzi (Fr., Flagstaff, Ariz.) made it three-for-four for the Sun Devils in the back draw as he picked up a 7-4 decision over CPU's Yuri Kalika to advance in the consolation bracket.
The consolations, including bouts for third and fifth place, will begin at 11 a.m. with the finals taking place at 6 p.m. Monday night.
2005 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships
Mott Gym San Luis Obispo, Calif.
ASU's Session 2 Results ONLY
(number proceeding wrestler is tournament seed)
125 No. 4 Jeremy Mendoza (1-1)
Champ Semifinal - #1 Vic Moreno (CPU) dec. #4 Mendoza, 4-2
Conso Semifinal - #4 Mendoza vs. #6 Nathan Peterson (SU)
133 John Espinoza (1-1)
Conso Second Round - Espinoza dec. Paul Tice (CSF), 6-3
Conso Semifinal - Espinoza vs. #3 Derek Moore (UCD)
141 Curtis Ray (0-2, DNP)
Conso Second Round - Skyler Woods (UO) dec. Ray, 2-1
149 No. 2 Patrick Williams (1-1)
Conso Second Round - #2 Williams dec. Josh Zupancic (SU), 5-1
Conso Semifinal - #2 Williams vs. Anthony Baza (CSB)
157 No. 2 Brian Stith (2-0)
Champ Semifinal - #2 Stith dec. #3 Tony Hook (OSU), 4-2
Championship Final - #2 Stith vs. #1 Matt Gentry (SU)
165 No. 6 Patrick Pitsch (1-1)
Champ Semifinal - #2 Matt Ellis (OSU) dec. #6 Pitsch, 3-1
Conso Semifinal - #6 Pitsch vs. Frank Richmond (UCD)
174 No. 6 Rick Renzi (0-1)
Conso Second Round - #6 Renzi dec. Yuri Kalika (CPU), 7-4
Conso Semifinal - #6 Renzi vs. #1 Ronnie Silva (UCD)
184 No. 2 C.B. Dollaway (1-0)
Champ Semifinal - #2 Dollaway dec. #3 Ryan Halsey (CPU), 3-1
Championship Final - #2 Dollaway vs. #1 Shane Webster (UO)
197 No. 2 Ryan Bader (2-0)
Champ Semifinal - #2 Bader dec. #3 Ralph Garcia (CPU), 5-2
Championship Final - #2 Bader vs. #1 Scott Barker (UO)
285 No. 1 Cain Velasquez (3-0)
Champ Semifinal - #1 Velasquez fall #5 Cody Parker (UO), 6:15
Championship Final - #1 Velasquez vs. Allen Kennett (PSU)
TEAM SCORING
1. Arizona State - 88.0
2. Oregon - 68.0
3. Boise State - 66.5
4. Cal Poly - 61.5
5. Oregon State - 58.0
6. CS Bakersfield - 56.0
7. UC Davis - 53.0
8. CS Fullerton - 45.0
9. Stanford - 41.0
10. Portland State - 26.0