Northwestern University Athletics
Tsirtsis, McMullan Reach NCAA Semifinals
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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NCAA Championships • Northwestern: 24.5 points, 13th place Scottrade Center • St. Louis, Mo. Watch Session IV | 2015 NCAA Championships Bracket  |
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2015 NCAA Championships Session III Results
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Jason Tsirtsis and Mike McMullan punched their tickets to the NCAA semifinals Friday night with wins in Friday morning's quarterfinal round.
Advancing to the semifinals guarantees All-American status for both Tsirtsis and McMullan. 2015 marks the fifth consecutive year that at least two Northwestern wrestlers were named All-Americans.
"They wrestled smart," head coach Drew Pariano said. "They never put themselves in a precarious situation."
They need to be ready for tonight, and they are."
The semifinal round will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
Tsirtsis used another strong riding effort to secure his spot in the semifinals. After a scoreless first period against 7th-seeded Sal Mastriani of Virginia Tech, Tsirtsis escaped almost immediately to begin the second and stayed neutral for the rest of the period. He then proceeded to ride out Mastriani for the entirety of the final frame to make the score 2-0.
The Crown Point, Ind. native secured 2015 All-American honors with the win and is now just two victories away from defending his national championship at 149 lbs.
Tsirtsis will wrestle third-seeded David Habat of Edinboro in the semifinals. The two met earlier this year in the championship match of the Midlands, and Tsirtsis came away with a 2-1 victory.
McMullan will also appear in the semifinals after a 6-3 win over Northern Iowa's Blaize Cabell. McMullan scored three takedowns and secured over two minutes in riding time on his way to victory.
He earns All-American honors at 285 lbs. for the fourth time in his Northwestern career. He joins Mike Funk and Jake Herbert as the only four-time All-Americans in Wildcat history, and McMullan is the only Northwestern wrestler to garner honors four times at the same weight class.
The Wildcats continue to climb in the team standings. With 24.5 points, Northwestern is in 13th place, trailing Iowa State by 1.5 points and just two points behind Illinois and Michiganfor 10th.
Pierce Harger was forced to default in his 165 lb. quarterfinal match after suffering a shoulder injury in warmups. The senior tried to give it a go in his final NCAA Championships, and after jumping out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period, was unable to finish the match against the 15th-seed from North Carolina, Ethan Ramos. Harger will wrestle tonight in the consolations at 165 with a guaranteed spot on the podium on the line.
Dominick Malone's NCAA run came to an end in the third session Friday morning. He scored an early takedown against Michigan's 14th-seeded Rossi Bruno in the 133 lb. wrestlebacks, but Bruno flipped Malone onto his back for a fall in 1:26. The Northwestern junior ends his season with a 22-19 record.
Jameson Oster also suffered a fall in his final match at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Up against 16-seed Mike Morales of West Virginia, Oster was thrown onto his back and pinned early in the first period. He ends the 2014-15 season with a career best 22-14 mark.
Alex Polizzi saw his Wildcat career come to an end on Friday with a 9-6 loss to Cody Crawford of Oregon State in the 197 lb. wrestlebacks. Polizzi ends the season at 26-13 and his career record at Northwestern stands at 73-45.
Tsirtsis and McMullan will wrestle in the semifinals tonight at 7 p.m. All matches will be televised live by ESPN.
Quarterfinal Matches
149: #2 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) dec. #7 Sal Mastriani (VT), 2-0
165: #15 Ethan Ramos (UNC) inj. def. #7 Pierce Harger (NU)
285: #2 Mike McMullan (NU) dec. #7 Blaize Cabell (UNI), 6-3
Wrestlebacks
133: #14 Rossi Bruno (MICH) Fall Dominick Malone (NU), 1:26
141: #16 Mike Morales (WVU) Fall Jameson Oster (NU), 0:20
197: Cody Crawford (ORST) dec. #11 Alex Polizzi (NU), 9-6
Friday Evening Matches
Semifinals
149: #2 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) vs. #3 David Habat (EDIN)
285: #2 Mike McMullan (NU) vs. #6 Adam Coon (MICH)
Wrestlebacks
165: #7 Pierce Harger (NU) vs. #4 Nicholas Sulzer (UVA)
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