Northwestern University Athletics
Trio of #B1GCats Advance to NCAA 2nd Round
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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NCAA Championships • Northwestern: 3.0 points, 23rd place Scottrade Center • St. Louis, Mo. Watch Session II | 2015 NCAA Championships Bracket  |
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2015 NCAA Championships Session I Results
Northwestern Championship Notes
2015 NCAA Championships Home
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Northwestern trio of Jason Tsirtsis, Pierce Harger and Mike McMullan won their respective first round matches in front of 18,383 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis to advance to Thursday night's second round.
The three wins gave Northwestern three team points, good for 23rd place in the team race after Session I.
Tsirtsis took the first step toward defending his national championship at 149 lbs. with a convincing first-round win over Lock Haven's Daniel Neff. The second-seeded Tsirtsis took control early and rode Neff for much of the match on the way to an 8-2 decision.
He will wrestle 15th-seeded Bryant Clagon of Rider in the second round Thursday evening. Tsirtsis is 2-0 vs. Clagon this season. He won a 10-8 decision at the Keystone Classic and earned a 2-1 win at Midlands.
Harger marched his way into the second round at 165 lbs. with a 6-3 decision over Iowa's Nick Moore. The win was Harger's second over Moore this season after also beating him at Midlands.
After a scoreless first period, Harger started the second down and escaped with ease to grab the lead. The Northwestern senior drove Moore into the mat for takedowns twice in the period to grab a 5-1 lead that he would not relinquish. He is set to face Stanford's Jim Wilson in the next round. Harger beat Wilson 8-4 earlier this season.
McMullan ended the first session in style with a dominating 12-5 decision over Wyoming's Tanner Harms. The Northwestern senior, wrestling in his final NCAA Championships, scored four takedowns on his way to the win.
The 2015 Big Ten Champion at 285 lbs. will wrestle 15th-seeded Ross Larson of Oklahoma in Thursday night's second round.
Alex Polizzi and SIU-Edwardsville's Jake Tindle wrestled a crazy match in the first round at 197 lbs. In a bout that featured five reversals, Tindle scored the final one with just seconds remaining to pick up a 9-7 decision. Polizzi will wrestle Vincent Pickett of Edinboro in the consolations.
Dominick Malone and Jameson Oster were both pinned Thursday morning and will wrestle back the rest of the weekend for a chance at the medal round. Later today, Malone will take on Ian Nickell of CSU-Bakersfield at 133 lbs., while Oster wrestles North Dakota State's Mitchell Bengtson in the 141 lb. consolations.
First Round Matches
133: #13 Cody Brewer (OU) Fall Dominick Malone (NU), 3:28
141: #15 Jamel Hudson (HOFS) Fall Jameson Oster (NU), 5:16
149: #2 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) dec. Daniel Neff (LH), 8-2
165: #7 Pierce Harger (NU) dec. Nick Moore (Iowa), 6-3
197: Jake Tindle (SIUE) dec. #11 Alex Polizzi (NU), 9-7
285: #2 Mike McMullan (NU) dec. Tanner Harms (WYO), 12-5
Thursday Night Matches
Wrestlebacks
133: Dominick Malone (NU) vs. Ian Nickell (CSB)
141: Jameson Oster (NU) vs. Mitchell Bengtson (NDSU)
197: #11 Alex Polizzi (NU) vs. Vincent Pickett (EDIN)
Second Round Matches
149: #2 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) vs. #15 Bryant Clagon (RID)
165: #7 Pierce Harger (NU) vs. #10 Jim Wilson (STAN)
285: #2 Mike McMullan (NU) vs. #15 Ross Larson (OU)
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