March 17, 2011
Updated Brackets (pdf) | Updated Team Scores (pdf)
PHILADELPHIA - The Arizona State University wrestling team opened competition at the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday with four of the six Sun Devils in the tournament winning their first matches of the day. No. 1 Anthony Robles (125), No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (157), Jake Meredith (184) and Levi Cooper (285) each collected wins, including Cooper’s 5-2 upset of the fourth-ranked heavyweight in the tournament to close out the first session.
In the early team standings, ASU is tied with American for 12th place with 11.5 points, just 3.5 points out of the Top 5. Penn State holds the early lead with 20 points and is followed in the Top 5 by Iowa (18), Cornell (16.5), Wisconsin (15) and a tie between Minnesota and Oklahoma State (14) for fifth.
Robles opened the action with a 16-1 tech fall over Matthew Snyder (Virginia), the second time Robles has won by that score this season against Snyder. Robles built a 9-1 lead through the first period with a takedown, one three-point near-fall and a pair of two-point near-falls before Snyder chose top. In the second, Snyder was reversed by Robles for two more points to make it 11-1 before Robles added five points on near-fall counts to seal the win 4:32 into the match and advance in the tournament.
Jenkins also imposed his will in his first NCAA match as a Sun Devil, scoring a 16-5 major decision over Alex Medved (Gardner Webb) at 157 pounds. Jenkins, the No. 4 seed, opened with a takedown 40 seconds into the match and added two more takedowns in the first for a 6-2 lead through the opening stanza. Jenkins started down to open the second and escaped and then scored another takedown for a 9-2 lead. In the third, Jenkins allowed Medved to escape to start and then hit him with three more takedowns before adding the riding time point for the 16-5 final.
Meredith joined Robles and Jenkins with first-round wins as he scored a 10-0 major decision over Richard Shafer (Iowa State). With just over one minute gone, Meredith scored a takedown and rode Shafer for the remainder of the period to take a 2-0 lead into the second. After choosing down, Meredith escaped and then took Shafer down 10 seconds later to build a 5-0 lead to close out the second. In the third, Shafer chose neutral before Meredith had him down on the mat again, this time taking the Cyclone to his back for a two count to move to a 9-0 lead. With nearly three minutes of riding time, Meredith earned the riding bonus and took the major decision.
Of the 13 upsets in the first session, the biggest came at the biggest weight class as Cooper scored a 5-2 defeat of fourth-ranked Dominic Russo (Rutgers), scoring four points on a pair of reversals and adding one for riding time. The match was scoreless heading into the second where Russo chose down and reversed Cooper for a 2-0 lead. In another scramble, Cooper reversed Russo to tie the match at two. Cooper chose down in the third and reversed Russo to go up 4-2 before riding out the Scarlet Knight and adding the riding bonus. Cooper’s win came over the highest ranked individual among the upsets with two No. 6 seeds also falling on the day.
In the Round of 16, the Sun Devils will have one rematch and three new meetings, including one against a highly seeded wrestler. At 125, Robles will face Steven Keith (Harvard), who he defeated, 8-4, in the Las Vegas Invitational earlier this season. The three new meetings will be: Jenkins taking on Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo); Meredith meets No. 3 Steve Bosak (Cornell) and Cooper faces Joseph Rizqallah (Michigan State).
Eric Starks’ day opened with a 10-2 major decision loss to No. 5 Chris Henrich (Virginia), the same score Henrich won by in their first meeting earlier this year at the Virginia Duals. Starks was in on several shots and looked to score on his offense, but Henrich stuffed those attempts to stay ahead and win the match, sending Starks to the consolation rounds where any loss eliminates him from the tournament. In the consolation round, Starks will take on Brandon Wright (Chattanooga), who Starks met at the Virginia Duals in January with Starks taking an 8-3 decision.
Luke Macchiaroli was unable to get his offense going and hand No. 2 Clayton Foster his first loss of the year as the Cowboy won a 12-1 major decision at 197. Macchiaroli slips into the consolation rounds where he will face Tyler Dickenson (Michigan State) later tonight.
All six Sun Devils will be in action again tonight, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. in Arizona). Robles, Jenkins, Meredith and Cooper will all be looking to win and advance to the quarterfinals while Starks and Macchiaroli will need to win to remain in the tournament.
2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Wells Fargo Center • Philadelphia, Pa.
Day One Results - March 17, 2011
# before name indicates tournament seeding
125 - #1 Anthony Robles (1-0)
Round of 32 - #1 Robles tech fall Matthew Snyder (Virginia), 17-1 (4:23)
Round of 16 - #1 Robles vs. Steven Keith (Harvard)
157 - #4 Bubba Jenkins (1-0)
Round of 32 - #4 Jenkins major Alex Medved (Gardner Webb), 16-5
Round of 16 - #4 Jenkins vs. Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo)
174 - Eric Starks (0-1)
Round of 32 - #5 Chris Henrich (Virginia) major Starks, 10-2
Conso. First - Starks vs. Brandon Wright (Chattanooga)
184 - Jake Meredith (1-0)
Round of 32 - Meredith major Richard Shafer (Iowa State), 10-0
Round of 16 - Meredith vs. #3 Steve Bosak (Cornell)
197 - Luke Macchiaroli (0-1)
Round of 32 - #2 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) major Macchiaroli, 11-1
Conso. First - Macchiaroli vs. Tyler Dickerson (Michigan State)
285 - Levi Cooper (1-0)
Round of 32 - Cooper dec. #4 Dominic Russo (Rutgers), 5-2
Round of 16 - Cooper vs. Joseph Rizqallah (Michigan State)
Top 5 Team Standings - Through Session 1
1. Penn State - 20.0
2. Iowa - 18.0
3. Cornell - 16.5
4. Wisconsin - 15.0
5. Minnesota/Oklahoma State - 14.0
12. Arizona State/American - 11.5