University of Minnesota Athletics
Four Minnesota Wrestlers Advance to Semifinals of NCAA Championships
3/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
With his win, defending 149-pound champion Lawrence will become only the second four-time All-American in school history (Chad Kraft, 1996- 99). Lawrence can finish no worse than sixth. Meanwhile, with his loss, Becker needs to win two matches to match the feat.
Oklahoma State leads the team race with 77.5 points, followed by Minnesota (56), Oklahoma (51.5), Lehigh (50.5) and Iowa (41.5). Oklahoma State pushed five wrestlers to the semifinals, followed by Minnesota with four, and Iowa, Lehigh and Oklahoma with three apiece.
At 133 pounds, No. 3 seed Lewis posted his third fall in as many matches at the national meet, pinning Pat Garcia of Northern Iowa in 1:36. Lewis took the Panther down and immediately rolled him to his back for the Golden Gopher's team-leading 15th fall of the season. Lewis, the 2002 NCAA runner-up, will face Iowa's Cliff Moore in the semifinals tonight, in a rematch of the 2003 Big Ten final in which Moore won 3-1 in overtime.
At 149 pounds, No. 2 seed Lawrence easily dispatched of No. 10 Dustin Manotti of Cornell in an 11-1 major decision. Lawrence racked up 4:35 of advantage time and did not allow a Manotti point until midway through the third period. Lawrence moves on to his third consecutive national semifinals to take on No. 3 Jesse Jantzen of Harvard.
At 157 pounds, Becker's hope of repeating as national champ was dashed as Tirapelle won 2-1 via tiebreaker. After trading escapes during regulation and going scoreless in overtime, Tirapelle won the coin flip in the tiebreaker session and chose the down position. The Illinois grappler claimed the huge upset when Becker was ruled to have locked his hands. Becker now aims for a third-place finish in the consolation bracket.
Minnesota rebounded at 165 pounds as No. 4 seed Volkmann shut-out No. 5 Tyron Woodley of Missouri, 4-0, to advance to the first national semifinal of his career. Volkman scored the bout's lone takedown late in the first period and added points via an escape and advantage time to move on. He will battle top-seeded and undefeated Matt Lackey of Illinois in the semis. Lackey downed Volkmann, 5-3, in the 2003 Big Ten final.
The Golden Gophers made it four-for-five in the quarterfinals when No. 6 seed Hahn overwhelmed unseeded Tom Grossman in a 12-2 major decision. Hahn tallied four takedowns and 3:55 of advantage time to qualify for his second consecutive national semifinals. He will take on No. 2 Muhammed Lawal of Oklahoma State.
In the consolation bracket, unseeded 125-pounder Bobbe Lowe stayed alive while Derek Phillips (141) and heavyweight Garrett Lowney were eliminated from competition. Lowe posted two solid wins, a 10-5 triumph over Duke's Tommy Hoang and an 11-7 win over Ryan McClester of The Citadel. At 141 pounds, Phillips fell 5-3 to Penn State's Scott Moore. Lowney's career as a Golden Gopher came to a close as he injury defaulted to Oklahoma State's Willie Gruenwald.
Session IV of the 2003 NCAA Championships begins tonight at 5:30 p.m., with semifinals and wrestleback fourth and fifth rounds. The national tournament concludes Sunday, March 22, with the finals beginning at 2:30 p.m.
2003 NCAA Championships
Kemper Arena -- Kansas City, Mo.
Session III -- March 21, 2003
Championship bracket quarterfinal results
133 - No. 3 Ryan Lewis (MINN) pinned Pat Garcia (Northern Iowa), 1:36
149 - No. 2 Jared Lawrence (MINN) maj. dec. No. 10 Dustin Manotti (Cornell), 11-1
157 - No. 9 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) dec. No. 1 Luke Becker (MINN), 2-1 TB
165 - No. 4 Jacob Volkmann (MINN) dec. No. 5 Tyron Woodley (Missouri), 4-0
197 - No. 6 Damion Hahn (MINN) maj. dec. Tom Grossman (Oklahoma), 12-2
Play-by-play
133 - No. 3 Ryan Lewis (MINN) vs. Pat Garcia (Northern Iowa)
1st period: Lewis takedown 1:35 (2-0); Lewis pin 1:36
Final: Lewis pinned Garcia, 1:36
149 - No. 2 Jared Lawrence (MINN) vs. No. 10 Dustin Manotti (Cornell)
1st period: Lawerence takedown 1:46 (2-0); Lawrence 2 pt near fall 3:00 (4-0); Advantage time Lawrence 1:14
2nd period: Neutral start; Lawrence takedown 0:26 (6-0); Lawrence 2 pt near fall 1:19 (8-0); Manotti stall warning 1:45; Advantage time Lawrence 2:48
3rd period: Manotti starts down; Manotti escape 0:32 (8-1); Lawrence takedown 0:45 (10-1); Advantage time Lawrence 4:35 (11-1)
Final: Lawrence maj. dec. Manotti, 11-1
157 - No. 1 Luke Becker (MINN) vs. No. 9 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois)
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Tirapelle starts down; Tirapelle escape 0:04 (0-1); Advantage time Becker 0:04
3rd period: Becker starts down; Becker escape 1:00 (1-1); Advantage time Tirapelle 0:57
Overtime: Becker stall warning 0:29; No scoring
Tiebreaker: Tirapelle starts down; Becker locked hands 0:05 (1-2)
Final: Tirapelle dec. Becker, 2-1 TB
165 - No. 4 Jacob Volkmann (MINN) vs. No. 5 Tyron Woodley (Missouri)
1st period: Volkmann takedown 2:48 (2-0); Advantage time Volkmann 0:12
2nd period: Volkmann starts down; Volkmann escape (3-0); Advantage time Woodley 0:32
3rd period: Woodley starts down; Woodley stall warning 1:25; Volkmann stall warning 1:52; Advantage time Volkmann 1:28 (4-0)
Final: Volkmann dec. Woodley, 4-0
197 - No. 6 Damion Hahn (MINN) vs. Tom Grossman (Oklahoma)
1st period: Hahn takedown 0:09 (2-0); Grossman escape 0:41 (2-1); Hahn takedown 1:28 (4-1); Advantage time Hahn 1:54
2nd period: Hahn starts down; Hahn escape 0:02 (5-1); Hahn takedown 1:27 (7-1); Advantage time Hahn 2:25
3rd period: Grossman starts down; Grossman escape 0:11 (7-2); Hahn takedown 0:41 (9-2); Hahn 2 pt near fall 1:31 (11-2); Advantage time Hahn 3:55 (12-2)
Final: Hahn maj. dec. Grossman, 12-2
Consolation bracket second round results
125 - Bobbe Lowe (MINN) dec. Tommy Hoang (Duke), 10-5
141 - No. 9 Scott Moore (Penn State) dec. Derek Phillips (MINN), 5- 3
HWT - No. 8 Garrett Lowney (MINN) def. Willie Gruenwald (Oklahoma State), injury default
Play-by-play
125 - Bobbe Lowe (MINN) vs. Tommy Hoang (Duke)
Play-by-play not available
Final: Lowe dec. Hoang, 10-5
141 - Derek Phillips (MINN) vs. No. 9 Scott Moore (Penn State)
Play-by-play not available
Final: Moore dec. Phillips, 5-3
HWT - No. 8 Garrett Lowney (MINN) vs. Willie Gruenwald (Oklahoma State)
1st period: Gruenwald takedown 1:10 (0-2); Lowney injury default 1:38
Final: Gruenwald def. Lowney, injury default
Consolation bracket third round results
125 - Bobbe Lowe (MINN) dec. Ryan McClester (Citadel), 11-7
Play-by-play
125 - Bobbe Lowe (MINN) vs. Ryan McClester (Citadel)
1st period: McClester technical violation (1-0); Lowe takedown 0:27 (3-0); McClester escape 0:40 (3-1); McClester stall warning 1:02; Lowe takedown 1:06 (5-1); Lowe technical violation (5-2); McClester escape 1:45 (5-3); McClester stall warning 2:17 (6-3); Advantage time Lowe 0:40
2nd period: McClester starts down; McClester escape 0:29 (6-4); Lowe takedown 0:27 (8-4); McClester escape (8-5); Advantage time Lowe 1:30
3rd period: Neutral start; Lowe takedown (10-5); McClester reversal 1:20 (10-7); Advantage time Lowe 1:09 (11-7)
Final: Lowe dec. McClester, 11-7
Championship bracket semifinal match-ups
133 - No. 3 Ryan Lewis (MINN) vs. No. 2 Cliff Moore (Iowa)
149 - No. 2 Jared Lawrence (MINN) vs. No. 3 Jesse Jantzen (Harvard)
165 - No. 4 Jacob Volkmann (MINN) vs. No. 1 Matt Lackey (Illinois)
197 - No. 6 Damion Hahn (MINN) vs. No. 2 Muhammed Lawal (Oklahoma State)
Consolation bracket fourth round match-ups
125 - Bobbe Lowe (MINN) vs. Terrance Clendenin (Lehigh)
157 - No. 1 Luke Becker (MINN) vs. Rocky Smart (Arizona State)
Team standings after Session III
1. Oklahoma State 77.5
2. Minnesota 56
3. Lehigh 51.5
4. Oklahoma 50.5
5. Iowa 41.5
