Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Sends Three to NCAA Quarterfinals
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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NCAA Championships • Northwestern: 10.5 points, 15th place Scottrade Center • St. Louis, Mo. Watch Session III | 2015 NCAA Championships Bracket  |
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2015 NCAA Championships Session II Results
Northwestern Championship Notes
2015 NCAA Championships Home
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Jason Tsirtsis, Pierce Harger and Mike McMullan all secured spots in the quarterfinals of their respective weight classes with second round wins at the Scottrade Trade Center in St. Louis.
18, 414 fans saw all six Northwestern wrestlers advance to the second day at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Tsirtsis beat Bryant Clagon of Rider for the third time this season and, as usual, it was a very competitive match. After a scoreless first period, Tsirtsis nearly rode out Clagon for the entirety of the second period, but a locked hands call with five seconds left put the Rider wrestler in front 1-0. Tsirtsis had already locked up 1:55 of riding time and with a quick escape to begin the third, held a 2-1 advantage throughout the rest of the contest.
"It feels good to get that first day out of the way and come out of it with two wins," Tsirtsis said after his match.
The second-seeded Tsirtsis will match up against No. 7 Sal Mastriani of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals Friday morning with a spot in Friday night's semifinals on the line.
Harger had a much easier go of it in his second round match, taking down Stanford's Jim Wilson, 4-1. In his typical style, Harger got an early takedown and rode Wilson for most of the match, racking up over two minutes of riding time.
"Everyone is wrestling off emotion and trying to peak right now. I just have to go out there and do what I do," said Harger.
He will wrestle No. 15 seed Ethan Ramos of North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday.
McMullan dominated from start to finish in his second round matchup against Oklahoma's Ross Larson. The second-seeded McMullan scored two takedowns and five nearfall points on his way to an 11-2 major decision over Larson.
The Northwestern senior will continue his quest for an NCAA title with a quarterfinal match against No. 7 seed Blaize Cabell of Northern Iowa.
Dominick Malone and Jameson Oster both bounced back from opening round losses to advance in the consolation bracket. Malone's match against Ian Nickell of CSU-Bakersfield was never in doubt as he opened up a big lead with two takedowns, a reversal and five nearfall points on the way to an 11-0 major decision. Oster also won by major decision with a 9-1 victory over North Dakota State's Mitchell Bengtson. Oster picked up three takedowns and over three minutes of riding time to advance to the event's second day.
Alex Polizzi also won to stay alive at 197 lbs. with a 7-0 shutout of Edinboro's Vincent Pickett. The senior and 11th-seeded Polizzi will look to continue his march through the consolation rounds with a match against Cody Crawford of Oregon State Friday morning.
Northwestern sits 15th in the team standings with 10.5 points.
Session III, which includes the quarterfinals and two rounds of wrestlebacks, begins Friday morning at 10 a.m. inside the Scottrade Center. Matches can be seen live on ESPNU and ESPN3.
Second Round Matches
149: #2 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) dec. #15 Bryant Clagon (RID), 2-1
165: #7 Pierce Harger (NU) dec. #10 Jim Wilson (STAN), 4-1
285: #2 Mike McMullan (NU) maj. dec. #15 Ross Larson (OU), 11-2
Consolations
133: Dominick Malone (NU) maj. dec. Ian Nickell (CSB), 11-0
141: Jameson Oster (NU) maj. dec. Mitchell Bengtson (NDSU), 9-1
197: #11 Alex Polizzi (NU) dec. Vincent Pickett (EDIN), 7-0
Friday Morning Matches
Quarterfinals
149: #2 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) vs. #7 Sal Mastriani (VT)
165: #7 Pierce Harger (NU) vs. #15 Ethan Ramos (UNC)
285: #2 Mike McMullan (NU) vs. #7 Blaize Cabell (UNI)
Consolations
133: Dominick Malone (NU) vs. #14 Rossi Bruno (MICH)
141: Jameson Oster (NU) vs. #16 Mike Morales (WVU)
197: #11 Alex Polizzi (NU) vs. Cody Crawford (ORST)
