University of Minnesota Athletics
NCAA Wrestling Blog: The Day Before
3/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Omaha, Neb. - The Minnesota Wrestling team had their final preps today (Mar. 17), before the 2010 NCAA Championships begin tomorrow with the first session at 11:00 a.m.
Before the tournament commences, though, selected athletes were on hand at Wednesday's student -athlete Press Conference. Of the 330 competitors set to take the mat tomorrow, only five were selected to meet the media, one of which was senior 133-pounder Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.).
This was the second selection to the press conference for Ness, and he was joined by fellow No. 1 seeds Lance Palmer (149) of Ohio State and Jake Varner (197) of Iowa State, as well as second seeded Troy Nickerson (125) of Cornell and fourth seeded Stephen Dwyer (174) of Nebraska.
The the five student-athletes were faced with 20-30 media members with questions ranging from past NCAA experiences to thoughts heading into your final tournament.
"You don't want to think of it as different being your last tournament, "Ness said. "You just have to approach it just like other tournaments, just like all the other matches I've wrestled. Just focus on wrestling seven minutes, wrestling seven minutes hard. Just focus on that one match."
Ness was the only athlete at the table who has won a team title in his career, and the thought of another was a topic of discussion.
"When the teams in the hunt, it makes a big difference, everybody's spirits are a little bit higher," Ness said. "Everyone's got a little something extra to work for when you're out there wrestling. You're not just wresting for yourself, you're wrestling for the whole team. All the bonus points you can get are very important. Every time you're out there wrestling, every point counts. But it makes a big difference team wise, everyone just gives a little extra effort."
After the press conference, Ness and his teammates headed out to the University of Nebraska, Omaha for their final tune-up before tomorrow's competition. Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) will take the mat first at 125, with the rest of the Gophers to follow in line.
First round action is Thursday (Mar. 18) morning, with Thursday night hosting the second round and consolation action.
When the quarterfinals begin on Friday morning, the action will be broadcast live on ESPN360, and can be accessed through ESPN.com. Friday and Saturday action will also be broadcast on ESPN and ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
