March 17, 2009
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IOWA CITY, IA — Eight of Iowa’s nine NCAA qualifiers have earned seeds for the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which are set to start Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. The defending team champion, Iowa will compete for the school’s 22nd NCAA team title at the three-day tournament.
Defending NCAA champion Brent Metcalf earned the top seed at 149 pounds. A two-time Big Ten champion, Metcalf brings a 33-0 season record and a 65-match winning streak to the tournament. Hawkeye junior Phillip Keddy is the second seed at 184, while junior Ryan Morningstar is seeded third at 165. Juniors Daniel Dennis (133), Alex Tsirtsis (141) and Jay Borschel (174) were each seeded fourth at their respective weight classes. Senior Charlie Falck is seeded fifth at 125, and junior heavyweight Dan Erekson earned the seventh seed.
Four Hawkeyes have already posted wins over their first round opponents this season. Falck posted a 9-3 win over Bucknell’s Derek Reber and Metcalf pinned Bucknell’s Kevin LeValley in 4:20 at the dual in Iowa City in January. Dennis won a 3-2 decision over Oklahoma State’s Chris Notte at the dual in Stillwater in January, and Tsirtsis posted a 4-1 victory over Maryland’s Alex Krom at the Journeyman Duals in November. The other five Hawkeyes will be meeting their first round opponents for the first time in their collegiate careers.
Following are Iowa’s first round-match-ups:
125 – #5 Charlie Falck (Iowa) vs. Derek Reber (Bucknell)
133 – #4 Daniel Dennis (Iowa) vs. Chris Notte (Oklahoma State)
141 – #4 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) vs. Alex Krom (Maryland)
149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. Kevin LeValley (Bucknell)
165 – #3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) vs. Donald Jones (West Virginia)
174 – #4 Jay Borschel (Iowa) vs. Shane Onufer (Wyoming)
184 – #2 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) vs. Mickey Moran (Buffalo)
197 – Chad Beatty (Iowa) vs. #8 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State)
Hwt. – #7 Dan Erekson (Iowa) vs. Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma)