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NCAA Championships
Nadhir Advances to Second Day of NCAA Championships Action
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 18, 2010
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OMAHA, Neb. -- After the first day of competition at the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Northwestern junior Andrew Nadhir remains alive in the wrestlebacks of the 149-pound weight class. Nadhir scored an 8-5 decision victory in Thursday's evening session over Virginia Tech's Brian Stephens to advance in the tournament.
Session III of the NCAA Championships at the Qwest Center Omaha gets underway at 9:30 a.m. CT. Nadhir will be pitted against North Carolina State's Bobby Ward, a sophomore who has compiled a 26-9 season record that included a third-place finish at the ACC Championships. Ward was a national runner-up at 149 pounds at the 2009 National Junior College Championships while wrestling for Nassau Community College.
"Andrew followed his match strategy against Stephens really well. We wanted him to force the action and he did that," said NU associate head coach Drew Pariano. "Now that he has that first win under his belt he can really open up and go after it."
Nadhir's consolation draw matchup with Stephens was interesting for the obvious contrast in body type between the two wrestlers. Nadhir, lanky for a 149-pounder, enjoyed a three-inch height advantage over the more compact Hokie true freshman. The advantage was clear throughout the bout as Stephens repeatedly got a hold of one leg without being able to reach Nadhir's second leg to finish the shot.
Nadhir took a 2-1 lead into the second period where he extended that advantage to 5-2 thanks to an escape and his second takedown of the match. It wasn't until there was one minute remaining in the third that Stephens finally was able to complete his shot and score a two, evening the match at five. But Nadhir immediately escaped and went back to his impeccable defense, even closing out the match with one last takedown to win 8-5.
Earlier in the day, Nadhir made his Championships debut against ninth-seeded Kevin LeValley of Bucknell, who came into the NCAA Championships with an impressive 37-6 season record. The first period did not see a lot of action until the late stages when Nadhir initiated a scramble by getting a hold of LeValley's leg. But the Bison turned it around and gained control for the first two points of the match as the remaining seconds ticked off the first period.
After an escape by LeValley to start the second, it was Nadhir who managed to turn the tables after LeValley appeared to be on his way to a takedown in the second period. LeValley quickly escaped, however, to boost his lead to 4-2 entering the third. Nadhir started that period on the bottom and got his one-point escape early on but was unable to get the go-ahead two.
LeValley capitalized on Nadhir's late aggressiveness by notching one final takedown and nearly earning back points, holding on for the 6-3 win.
Thursday Results
Session I (Championship): #9 Kevin LeValley (BUCK) dec. Andrew Nadhir (NU), 6-3
Session II (Wrestlebacks): Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. Brian Stephens (VT), 8-5
Friday Schedule
Session III (Wrestlebacks): Andrew Nadhir (NU) vs. Bobby Ward (NCST), 9:30 a.m.
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