Division II: No. 1-seeded Nebraska Omaha advances to semifinals, Taplin loses
Top-seeded Nebraska Omaha cruised through the first day. The Mavericks blasted Limestone College, 42-9, in the opening round before taking out Mercyhurst, 31-7, in the quarterfinals.
"This is our first duals so kind of just getting into this dual thing," said Nebraska Omaha coach Mike Denney. We've been wrestling all open tournaments. This is always our first duals. The duals are completely different than the open concept. It seems like it takes us a little while … but I felt a little better about this match (against Mercyhurst). We wrestled a little better. We showed some grit there in a couple matches. They have a nice little team, but our guys kind of got on a roll. We're pleased with our performance."
No. 1-ranked 174-pounder Ross Taplin of Nebraska Omaha was upset in his first match Joby Shreckhise of Limestone, but bounced back in his second match to pin Pat Carter in 2:10.
"He just didn't feel like he performed like he should have in the first match," said Denney.
Defending NCAA champion Todd Meneely has been sidelined the majority of the season because of an injury and is competing in only his second competition of the season. Meneely, who moved up from 149 to 157 this season, picked up a pin in 2:10 in his first match against Bryce Sopko of Limestone, but was then pushed hard in a 4-3 win over Andy Lamancusa of Mercyhurst
"He is just not in match shape yet," Denney said of Meneely. "So to wrestle a good, tough match like that is the best thing we could ask for. It's just the best thing because it deepens you. It gets you in match shape. Wrestling is kind of an unforgiving sport. You can't jump over matches in competition. You can't jump over practices. You just can't. It's unforgiving. It doesn't forgive you when you do that."
No. 3-ranked Aaron Denson of Nebraska Omaha upset No. 2-ranked Josh Shields, 5-2, at 165 pounds. Two-time NCAA champion Cody Garcia won by technical fall (17-1) over No. 5 Michael Baxter.
This marks the seventh straight season that Nebraska Omaha has reached the semifinals of the National Duals. The Mavericks will now face … the Mavericks. The Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks, that is, who advanced to the semifinals with victories over Findlay (26-15) and Central Oklahoma (27-14). The other semifinal match in Division II will pit No. 2-seeded Newberry against No. 3-seeded Newberry.
Division III: Wartburg dominates Day 1, set to face conference rival Coe in semifinals
Defending National Duals champion Wartburg completely dominated its competiton on Day 1, outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 86-3. The Knights opened the day by shutting out Wabash, 46-0, and then won 39-3 over Luther in the quarterfinals.
"I thought overall we did pretty well," said Wartburg coach Jim Miller. "Obviously, tomorrow is going to be a tougher day and we know that. But we're excited about it."
The Knights will now face conference rival Coe in the quarterfinals. The Kohawks defeated Concordia, 25-12, in the opening round before handling Wisconsin La Crosse, 31-7, in the quarterfinals.
"I thought we came out flat in the first dual," said Coe coach John Oostendorp. "Maybe we had some guys looking ahead a little bit. I was pretty pleased with that last one. I thought our guys really came out and competed. What we're really looking for … really wrestling with that extra gear, on the attack, attacking in all positions."
So what will Coe have to do to unseat defending National Duals (and NCAA) champion Wartburg?
"You've got to go out and win the tough matches," said Oostendorp. "Matches where we've given up some bonus points before, you can't give up bonus points.
NAIA: Top-seeded Lindenwood survives quarterfinal scare
No. 1 seeded Lindenwood took care of Oklahoma City, 38-9, in the opening round before hanging on to beat Notre Dame by a score of 22-16.
The Lindenwood-Notre Dame match came down to the final match of the dual. Lindwood led 19-16 before Jeremiah Fennell sealed the deal for the Lions with a 5-3 victory over Notre Dame's Don Stocum at heavyweight. The Lions will now face No. 4-seeded Dickinson State in the semifinals. The other NAIA semifinal match will pit No. 2-seeded Southern Oregon against No. 3-seeded UGF.
NJCAA: Top-seeded Iowa Central cruises through Day 1
No. 1-seeded Iowa Central handled Neosho, 43-3, and will now face Labette in the semifinals. Labette defeated Colby in the quarterfinals. No. 2-seeded Meramac will face North Iowa Area Community College in the other semifinal matchup.
Related:
Rev Audio: Day 1
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