Michigan
NCAA Day 2
Five Wolverines Secure All-America Status at NCAA Meet
3/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Five University of Michigan wrestlers clinched top-eight finishes and All-America status Friday (March 16) as the third-ranked Wolverines maintained seventh place in the NCAA Championships team standings at the University of Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With 50 team points, Michigan has already surpassed its point total (38) from last year's 13th-place finish.
Sophomore 125-pounder A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS), senior 174-pounder Otto Olson (Everett, Wash./Everett HS) and junior 184-pounder Andy Hrovat (Gates Mills, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) will wrestle in the consolation semifinals Saturday with a shot at finishing as high as third and no lower than sixth, while junior/sophomore Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) and senior Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport HS) are in seventh-place matches at 149 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.
Michigan began the day with five quarterfinalists and two others in the consolation brackets, and Olson and Hrovat were the only Wolverines to reach the semifinals. Olson, ranked second at 174 pounds and the 1999 NCAA runner-up, reached the semifinals with a 3-2 win over No. 10 Jacob Volkmann of Minnesota but had his hopes of a national championship halted with an 8-6 semifinal loss to Army's No. 3 Maurice Worthy.
No. 7-ranked Hrovat upset No. 2 Nate Patrick of Illinois 3-1 in a tie-breaker in the quarterfinals but was pinned by Oklahoma State's No. 3 Daniel Cormier in the semifinals. Olson will face Iowa's No. 7 Gabe McMahan while Hrovat takes on Minnesota's No. 5 Damion Hahn in consolation semifinal action.
Grant, ranked 10th at 125 pounds, lost his quarterfinal match to Iowa's No. 2 Jody Strittmatter but battled in the consolation rounds in hopes of a third-place finish. Grant shut out Pittsburgh's Shawn Amistade (4-0) in fourth-round action to ensure his first All-America honor, then blanked Michigan State's No. 7 Chris Williams (4-0) in the consolation fifth round. Grant will face Lehigh's Mario Stuart in the consolation semifinals.
Kulczycki, ranked 12th at 149 pounds, dropped his quarterfinal match to Illinois' No. 3 Adam Tirapelle by fall (1:55) but earned a consolation fourth-round decision over Boise State's Collin Robertson (11-5) to sew up his All-America status. Kulczycki then lost a close decision to Lock Haven's No. 5 JaMarr Billman (13-11). Kulczycki will battle Hofstra's No. 8 Eric Schmiesing, whom he defeated 7-4 in Thursday's second round, for seventh place Saturday morning.
Brink, ranked fifth, dropped a 3-2 decision to Illinois' No. 3 John Lockhart in the quarterfinals but defeated Lehigh's Shawn Laughlin (9-4) to earn his second consecutive All-America honor. In the consolation fifth round, Brink lost a close decision to Oklahoma's Leonce Crump (5-3), which moved him to compete in the seventh-place match against Purdue's Jake Vercelli Saturday morning.
Charles Martelli (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS), ranked 10th at 165 pounds, pinned Cal State-Bakerfield's No. 13 Ian Nelms (6:24) in consolation third-round action but dropped a major decision (11-3) to Indiana's No. 9 Kevin Stanley in the fourth round of consolation to finish the tournament with a 3-2 record. Also finishing up Friday was No. 11-ranked senior 197-pounder Joe DeGain (White Lake, Mich./Clarkston HS), who dropped a 5-3 decision to No. 14 Corey Anderson of Cornell in the consolation second round and finished 1-2.
Action resumes at 8 a.m. CST Saturday with the consolation matches to determine final placings. The championship round begins at 1 p.m. CST and will be aired tape delayed by ESPN at 5 p.m. CST. Complete results are available on the NCAA Championships site.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 2)
1. Iowa 112.0 2. Minnesota 109.5 3. Oklahoma State 106.0 4. Illinois 76.5 5. Oklahoma 74.0 6. Iowa State 62.5 7. MICHIGAN 50.0 8. Nebraska 48.0 9. Boise State 43.5 10. Edinboro 42.0
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are rankings by Intermat (3/6/01)
#10 A.J. Grant (125)
Quarterfinals - major dec. by No. 2 Jody Strittmatter (Iowa), 12-0
Consolation Fourth Round - dec. Shawn Amistade (Pittsburgh), 4-0
Consolation Fifth Round - dec. #7 Chris Williams (Michigan State), 4-0
Consolation Semifinals - vs. Mario Stuart (Lehigh)
#11 Mike Kulczycki (149)
Quarterfinals - pinned by #3 Adam Tirapelle (Illinois), 1:55
Consolation Fourth Round - dec. Collin Robertson (Boise State), 11-5
Consolation Fifth Round - dec. by #5 JaMarr Billman (Lock Haven), 13-11
Seventh Place - vs. #8 Eric Schmiesing (Hofstra)
#10 Charles Martelli (165)
Consolation Second Round - dec. #19 Hunter Guenot (Bloomsburg), 3-2
Consolation Third Round - pinned #13 Ian Nelms (Cal State Bakersfield), 6:24
Consolation Fourth Round - major dec. by #9 Kevin Stanley (Indiana), 11-3
Eliminated with 3-2 record
#2 Otto Olson (174)
Quarterfinals - dec. #10 Jacob Volkmann (Minnesota), 3-2
Semifinals - dec. by #3 Maurice Worthy (Army), 8-6
Consolation Semifinals - vs. #7 Gabe McMahan (Iowa)
#7 Andy Hrovat (184)
Quarterfinals - dec. #2 Nate Patrick (Illinois), 3-1 (TB)
Semifinals - pinned by #3 Daniel Cormier (Oklahoma State), 4:36
Consolation Semifinals - vs. #5 Damion Hahn (Minnesota)
#11 Joe DeGain (197)
Consolation Second Round - pinned by #14 Corey Anderson (Cornell), 1:46
Eliminated with 1-2 record
#5 Matt Brink (Hwt)
Quarterfinals - dec. by #3 John Lockhart (Illinois), 3-2
Consolation Fourth Round - dec. Shawn Laughlin (Lehigh), 9-4
Consolation Fifth Round - dec. by #10 Leonce Crump (Oklahoma), 5-3
Seventh Place - vs. Jake Vercelli (Purdue)
Day 1 Results
Contact: Karen Simpson (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
