Our #4 Gopher Wrestlers are in Iowa City tomorrow for the Quarterfinals of the NWCA National Duals vs. #5 Cornell at 12pm - we have won the last three Duals titles and are looking for one more! All 4 QF matches are on BTN +, the Semifinals are on BTN and BTN + at 3pm, and the Finals and Consolation Finals are on Sunday at 11:30am. Intermat says that the quarters, one of the semis, and the consolation finals will be streamed free on BTN + - not 100% sure about this but it seems likely.
Last year we beat Cornell 24-15 in the finals, and from those teams 9 Cornell wrestlers and 6 Gophers will be wrestling again tomorrow. Here is the projected Cornell line-up - along with my predictions:
#5 Cornell Big Red...........................Weight Notes
#3 Nahshon Garrett (22-2)....................125 2X All-American, 2014 NCAA runner-up (0-5)
#16 Mark Grey (14-6)............................133 2014 NCAA qualifier 47-15 career record (4-5)
Nick Arujau (4-2) or Logan David (7-9) 141 2012 NCAA qualifier, 43-25; 22-23 record (8-5)
#5 Chris Villalonga (21-2)......................149 2014 EIWA champion, 113-38 career record (8-9)
#6 Brian Realbuto (12-2).......................157 2014 NCAA All-American, 48-10 career record (11-9)
#11 Dylan Palacio (13-2).......................165 NCAA qualifier in 2014 (11-13)
#18 Duke Pickett (24-4).........................174 59-27 career record (15-13)
#1 Gabe Dean (31-2).............................184 2014 NCAA All-American (15-16)
#9 Jace Bennett (30-9) ..........................197 2014 EIWA champ, 2x NCAA qual., 108-43(18-16)
Jacob Aiken-Phillips (12-14).................HWT Three-year starter, 52-36 career record (22/21-16)
This is a conservative prediction, but you know how this goes - if someone unexpected loses or gets pinned - the whole match can change drastically (for either side!) If we beat Cornell, we get #1 IA at 3pm, and if we win there, we would likely get #2 MO or #3 OSU in the Finals on Sunday. We have lost to IA and OSU lately - and we would need to have different results at several weights in each match to turn that around.
It's do-able...it will be interesting to see how our guys respond to the challenge!!!
This post was edited on 2/20 4:45 PM by Unlimited424
This post was edited on 2/20 4:48 PM by Unlimited424
Last year we beat Cornell 24-15 in the finals, and from those teams 9 Cornell wrestlers and 6 Gophers will be wrestling again tomorrow. Here is the projected Cornell line-up - along with my predictions:
#5 Cornell Big Red...........................Weight Notes
#3 Nahshon Garrett (22-2)....................125 2X All-American, 2014 NCAA runner-up (0-5)
#16 Mark Grey (14-6)............................133 2014 NCAA qualifier 47-15 career record (4-5)
Nick Arujau (4-2) or Logan David (7-9) 141 2012 NCAA qualifier, 43-25; 22-23 record (8-5)
#5 Chris Villalonga (21-2)......................149 2014 EIWA champion, 113-38 career record (8-9)
#6 Brian Realbuto (12-2).......................157 2014 NCAA All-American, 48-10 career record (11-9)
#11 Dylan Palacio (13-2).......................165 NCAA qualifier in 2014 (11-13)
#18 Duke Pickett (24-4).........................174 59-27 career record (15-13)
#1 Gabe Dean (31-2).............................184 2014 NCAA All-American (15-16)
#9 Jace Bennett (30-9) ..........................197 2014 EIWA champ, 2x NCAA qual., 108-43(18-16)
Jacob Aiken-Phillips (12-14).................HWT Three-year starter, 52-36 career record (22/21-16)
This is a conservative prediction, but you know how this goes - if someone unexpected loses or gets pinned - the whole match can change drastically (for either side!) If we beat Cornell, we get #1 IA at 3pm, and if we win there, we would likely get #2 MO or #3 OSU in the Finals on Sunday. We have lost to IA and OSU lately - and we would need to have different results at several weights in each match to turn that around.
It's do-able...it will be interesting to see how our guys respond to the challenge!!!
This post was edited on 2/20 4:45 PM by Unlimited424
This post was edited on 2/20 4:48 PM by Unlimited424
