March 18, 2005
ST. LOUIS, MO – Hawkeye junior Joe Johnston and redshirt freshman Mark Perry advanced to tonight’s semifinals at the 2005 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, MO. The semifinal matches will be aired live on Mediacom, starting at 6 p.m. (CT). After Friday’s morning session, Iowa is in eighth place in the team standings with 36 points. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 78.5.
Johnston picked up his 25th season and 85th career win when he upset top-seed Alex Tirapelle of Illinois, 6-5, in the 157-pound quarterfinals. Before the match, Johnston was 1-3 against Tirapelle, with his last win in the series coming at the 2003 Iowa-Illinois dual. Johnston, the eighth-seed, will face fifth-seed Jake Percival of Ohio in the semifinals. It will be the first meeting between the two.
Perry, the fourth-seed, advanced with a 3-0 win over fifth-seed Tyron Woodley of Missouri at 165. He will face top-seed Troy Letters of Lehigh in the semifinals. It will be their first meeting.
Hawkeye juniors Ty Eustice (149) and Paul Bradley (184) and freshman Matt Fields (Hwt.) are still alive in the consolation bracket. All three have to win their first match tonight to ensure all-America status. Eustice and Fields lost their quarterfinal matches, dropping down to the consolation bracket. Bradley scored his 20th win of the season when he defeated American’s Josh Glenn, 9-6, in the session’s first consolation round. He then defeated Wisconsin’s Brady Reinke, 9-5, for the first time in their four meetings to advance. In tonight’s matches, Eustice will face Virginia Tech’s Tyde Prater, Bradley will face second-seed Kurt Backes of Iowa State and Fields will face seventh-seed Bill Stouffer of Central Michigan. Eustice is 1-0 against Prater, scoring a 12-5 win in this season’s Iowa-Virginia Tech dual. Bradley is 3-1 against Backes winning the two meetings this season, 7-6 and 4-2. It will be the first meeting between Fields and Stouffer.
Hawkeye junior Mario Galanakis (133) and freshman Alex Tsirtsis (141) were eliminated from the tournament today. Galanakis lost a 5-1 decision to fourth-seed Mark Jayne of Illinois, while Tsirtsis lost a 6-2 decision to Rider’s Don Fisch.
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER SESSION III (Top 10 teams)
Place Team Points
1. Oklahoma State 78.5
2. Cornell 55.5
3. Minnesota 47.5
Michigan 47.5
5. Illinois 46.5
6. Oklahoma 44.5
7. Iowa State 42
8. Iowa 36
9. Indiana 33
10. Lehigh 32
IOWA’S INDIVIDUAL SESSION III RESULTS
Championship Quarterfinals
149 – Dustin Manotti (Cornell) dec. Ty Eustice (Iowa), 8-2
157 – Joe Johnston (Iowa) dec. Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), 6-5
165 – Mark Perry (Iowa) dec. Tyron Woodley (Missouri), 3-0
Hwt. – Steven Mocco (Oklahoma St.) dec. Matt Fields (Iowa), 4-0
Consolation Matches
133 – Mario Galanakis (Iowa) dec. Mark Moos (Michigan), 5-2
133 – Mark Jayne (Illinois) dec. Mario Galanakis (Iowa), 5-1
141 – Don Fisch (Rider) dec. Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 6-2
184 – Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Josh Glenn (American), 9-6
184 – Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Brady Reinke (Wisconsin), 9-5