Hawkeyes In Fifth After NCAA First Day

Hawkeyes In Fifth After NCAA First Day

March 15, 2007

AUBURN HILLS, MI –

The Hawkeyes went 5-3 in the NCAA Championships second round, advancing three to Friday morning’s quarterfinals. Iowa is in fifth place with 20 points and all eight qualifiers still competing. Minnesota leads the team race with 34, and seven quarterfinalists. Attendance for the first day was 27,891.

Sophomore Charlie Falck (125), junior Mark Perry (165) and senior Eric Luedke (174) all advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals, while senior Mario Galanakis (133) and juniors Alex Tsirtsis (141) and Matt Fields (Hwt) dropped down the to the consolation bracket. Redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar (157) and Phillip Keddy (184) scored wins in the consolation bracket to stay alive in the tournament.

Falck opened Friday night’s session for the Hawkeyes with a 5-3 win over unseeded Steve Mytych of Drexel. Falck, the #5 seed, will face #4 seed Jayson Ness of Minnesota in Friday morning’s quarterfinals. Falck is 0-2 vs. Ness, losing an 8-0 major decision at the dual in February and a 12-1 major decision at the Big Ten finals less than two weeks ago.

Perry extended his winning streak to nine matches with his 1:53 pin of unseeded Zach Shanaman of Pennsylvania. Perry, the #2 seed, picked up his 25th season victory, his sixth pin of the season and 25th career pin with the win. It was also Iowa’s first pin of the tournament. Perry will face #7 seed Deonte Penn of Edinboro in the quarterfinals.

Luedke scored his 30th season win with a 4-1 victory over unseeded Kenneth Robertson of Eastern Illinois. Luedke, the #5 seed, will face unseeded Rudy Rueda of American in the quarterfinals.

Losing in the championship second round were Galanakis, Tsirtsis and Fields. Galanakis, who is unseeded, lost a 6-0 decision to #4 seed Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State. He will face #10 seed Evan Sola of North Carolina in the consolations. Tsirtsis, the #6 seed, lost a 3-1 decision in sudden victory to #11 seed Charles Griffin of Hofstra. Tsirtsis will face #5 seed Dominick Moyer of Nebraska in the consolations. Tsirtsis is 3-1 vs. Moyer, winning the last meeting – a 4-3 decision at the N.W.C.A./Cliff Keen National Duals in January. Fields, the #7 seed, lost a 4-0 decision to unseeded Payam Zarrinpour of Sacred Heart. He will face unseeded Paul Wiebel of Lehigh in the consolations.

Staying alive in the consolation bracket were Morningstar and Keddy. Morningstar, who is unseeded, won a 5-3 decision over unseeded Matt Dragon of Pennsylvania. Morningstar will face #6 seed Brandon Becker of Indiana in the consolation second round. Keddy, who is also unseeded, scored an 8-3 win over unseeded Greg Perz of Eastern Illinois. Keddy will face #10 seed Louis Caputo of Harvard in the second round.

Friday morning’s session will feature the championship quarterfinals and two rounds of consolation matches. Competition is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. (CT) at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI.

CURRENT TEAM STANDINGS (Top 10 Teams After Session II)
Place Team – Points – Quarterfinalists
1. Minnesota – 34 – 7
2. Missouri – 29.5 – 3
3. Iowa State – 27.5 – 4
4. Penn State – 24 – 3
5. Iowa – 20 – 3
6. Cornell – 19 – 4
7. Oklahoma State – 18 – 4
8. Edinboro – 17.5 – 3
9. Hofstra – 17 – 4
Northwestern – 17 – 4

IOWA’S SESSION II INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Championship Second Round
125 – #5 Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. Steve Mytych (Drexel), 5-3
133 – #4 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) dec. Mario Galanakis (Iowa), 6-0
141 – #11 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) dec. #6 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 3-1 SV
165 – #2 Mark Perry (Iowa) pinned Zach Shanaman (Pennsylvania), 1:53
174 – #5 Eric Luedke (Iowa) dec. Kenneth Robertson (E. Illinois), 4-1
Hwt. – Payam Zarrnpour (Sacred Heart) dec. #7 Matt Fields (Iowa), 4-0

Consolation First Round
157 – Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Matt Dragon (Pennsylvania), 5-3
184 – Phillip Keddy (Iowa) dec. Greg Perz (E. Illinois), 8-3

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