Feb. 24, 2007
Updated Brackets (through Session I)
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The first session of action came to a close Saturday afternoon inside the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif., at the 2007 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships with five members of the Arizona State University wrestling team advancing to the semifinals of their respective weight classes. Overall, the Sun Devils are seventh with 28.5 points while Oregon State leads the team standings with 43 points.
John Espinoza avenged a loss from earlier in the season during the quarterfinals as he scored a come-from-behind 12-10 decision over Brandon Zoetewey of CS Bakersfield. Espinoza, the tournament's third-seed, will take on second-seeded Eric Stevenson (OSU) in the semifinals. Brian Stith, the top-seed at 157 pounds and the 2005 Pac-10 champion, opened his senior tournament with a 13-4 major decision over Kyle Bounds (UO) in the quarterfinals and will now meet fourth-seeded Tyler Sherfey (BSU) in the semifinals.
At 165 pounds, defending conference champion and second-seeded Patrick Pitsch opened his title defense with an 11-2 major decision over Evan Barbre (CPU). Pitsch will look to reach the finals for the second year in a row as he faces third-seeded Brian Perry (SU) in the semifinals. Joining him in the semifinals are top-seeded Greg Gifford at 184 pounds and third-seeded Jason Trulson at 197 pounds. Gifford scored an 11-2 major decision over Brysen French (UO) and will now meet fourth-seeded Kyle Bressler (OSU) in the quarterfinals while Trulson, a 3-1 victor over John Drake (CSF), will now meet second-seeded Brandon Halsey (CSB) in the semifinals.
Freshman Shawn Jones put up a tough fight against the top-seed at 133 pounds before falling to Darrell Vasquez (CPU), 14-8. Jones will now meet Cameron Teitelman (SU) in the consolation second round. At 141 pounds, Robert Galvan took on second-seeded Justin Pearch (UO) and fell in a 16-5 major decision. Galvan will now take on Jeff Newby (BSU) in the consolation second round. The final Sun Devil to compete with out recording a victory was Rick Renzi at 174 pounds, where he fell to top-seeded Ken Cook (UCD) in an 18-3 technical fall. Renzi, who has a bye into the consolation quarterfinals, will await the winner of the Ryan Budd (SU)/Ron Lee (UO) bout.
Action continues later today (6 p.m. PT) with the championship semifinals as well as the consolation second round and consolation quarterfinals. All action can be seen live on the web at www.Pac-10.org with live updates of the brackets at www.GoRunners.com.
2007 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships
Icardo Center - Bakersfield, Calif.
Number before wrestler indicates tournament seed
125 - #3 John Espinoza (1-0)
Quarters - #3 Espinoza decision #6 Brandon Zoetewey (CSB), 12-10
Semis - #3 Espinoza vs. #2 Eric Stevenson (OSU)
133 - Shawn Jones (0-1)
Quarters - #1 Darrell Vasquez (CPU) decision Jones, 14-8
Conso 2nd - Jones vs. Cameron Teitelman (SU)
141 - Robert Galvan (0-1)
Quarters - #2 Justin Pearch (UO) major Galvan, 16-5
Conso 2nd - Galvan vs. Jeff Newby (BSU)
157 - #1 Brian Stith (1-0)
Quarters - #1 Stith major Kyle Bounds (UO), 13-4
Semis - #1 Stith vs. #4 Tyler Sherfey (BSU)
165 - #2 Patrick Pitsch (1-0)
Quarters - #2 Pitsch major Evan Barbre (CPU), 11-2
Semis - #2 Pitsch vs. #3 Brian Perry (SU)
174 - Rick Renzi (0-1)
Quarters - #1 Ken Cook (UCD) tech Renzi, 18-3
Conso Quarter - Renzi vs. Ryan Budd (CSF)/Ron Lee (UO)
184 - #1 Greg Gifford (1-0)
Quarters - #1 Gifford major Brysen French (UO), 11-2
Semis - #1 Gifford vs. #4 Kyle Bressler (OSU)
197 - #3 Jason Trulson (1-0)
Quarters - #3 Trulson decision #6 John Drake (CSF), 3-1
Semis - #3 Trulson vs. #2 Brandon Halsey (CSB)
Team Standings - After Session I
1. Oregon State (43.0), 2. Boise State (35.5), 3. UC Davis (33.0), 4. Stanford (32.5), 5 (tie). CS Bakersfield and Cal Poly (32.0), 7. Arizona State (28.5), 8. CS Fullerton (21.0), 9. Oregon (9.0), 10. Portland State (3.0)