InterMat: Inside info from the N.W.C.A
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Quick hitsDefending National Champion: Zack Esposito, Oklahoma State Rarely does a true freshman come into the NCAA championships as the favorite, but for Minnesota’s Dustin Schlatter, he’s done nothing to disprove theories that he’s not ready to take the title at 149 pounds. Schlatter comes in as the top-seed at 149 ahead of defending national champion Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State. But Schlatter isn’t the only wrestler seeded ahead of Esposito. Iowa’s Ty Eustice, who beat Esposito in a dual meet earlier this season, is the second seed. Oklahoma’s Matt Storniolo takes the fourth seed, with his only losses this season coming to Esposito (three times) and a December dual meet loss to Lehigh’s Trevor Chinn. Storniolo has won 14 of his last 16 matches and has a win over Hofstra’s Jon Masa at the ESPNU/DoubleSport Invitational during that stretch. Central Michigan’s Mark DiSalvo comes in with the fifth seed and he’s a returning All-American. DiSalvo is the only wrestler to beat Schlatter this season, edging him 1-0 in November at the Northeast Duals. Hofstra’s Jon Masa is the sixth seed and is a dangerous draw in the tournament. Masa, can look like a national champion one match and a backup the next, always turns up his level of intensity during the tournament. A possible quarterfinal with Esposito will be one the fans want to see. True freshman Gregor Gillespie climbed to as high as #3 in the nation after starting the season 23-0 before falling to Ohio State’s J Jaggers and Gardner-Webb’s Daniel Elliott in the Southern Scuffle. Those are Gillespie’s only two defeats this season as he’s beaten 14 NCAA qualifiers. He also won the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas in December. Gillespie comes in at a very favorable seventh-seed. Returning All-American Eric Tannenbaum hasn’t been as dominant this season as many expected, but he’s performed well enough to garner the eighth seed. That puts him into a potential quarterfinal with Eustice, a wrestler that’s beaten Tannenbaum twice this season, most recently in overtime at the Big 10 championships. Wisconsin’s Tyler Turner is the ninth-seed, while the East Region’s Elliott gets seeded 10 th at 149. Penn true freshman Matt Dragon is the third true frosh to be seeded at the weight. The EIWA champion is seeded 11 th, while redshirt freshman Troy Tirapelle earned a 12 seed by finishing atop the Big 10’s conference tournament. The Bad Draw ...With a clear separation between the haves and the have-nots, there’s a lot of youth in the bracket at 149. Who could cause problems? Plenty of folks. James Woodall, Penn State: This guy’s been around seemingly forever. Granted a sixth-year, Woodall’s hoping it wasn’t for nothing. A brawler with some slick stuff, he’ll get in your head, and pound on it. Not a great warm-up match for anyone. Josh Medina, Lock Haven: Just a solid competitor that’s going to find a way to win matches. He’ll adapt and wrestle pretty much everyone well. Joe Caramanica, N.C. State: True freshman from Nazareth, Pa., got into the nationals with a wild card after finishing third in the ACC, which is a rarity in itself. He’s got potential to win at this level and if overlooked, you’ll have problems. Aaron Martin, UT-Chattanooga: One of a handful of transfers from the University of Virginia that wound up with Joe Seay in Chattanooga. Seemingly an underachiever in college, it was an overtime fall nearly eight minutes into his SoCon final with Cody Harrington that got him to nationals. He’ll go and he’ll wrestle smart. Jeff Owens, Cal Poly: A veteran that’s beaten some good wrestlers in his day. Before his day is done, he’ll beat a few more. Seeds: 2005 Medal Match Results |
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