| 2006 NCAA TOURNAMENT WEIGHT BY WEIGHT PREVIEW |
| A weight by weight preview with a look at New York State (in bold) prepped products: 125 pounds- Top-ranked and unbeaten Nick Simmons (32-0) of Michigan State should sail into the semi-finals. A quarterfinal battle could occur with Cornell freshman Troy Nickerson (32-1) and NCAA runner-up Kyle Ott (11-4) of Illinois, with that winner to face Simmons. Also to watch is Bloomsburg's Mike Sees (24-4) who has an opening bout with Ott. Defending champion Joe Dubuque (23-1) of Indiana is third-seeded and will likely face two-time All-American and second-seeded Sam Hazewinkel (25-1) in the bottom bracket. Two New Yorkers square off in the prelims, as Iowa's Lucas Magnani (15-12) will face Chris Clarke (23-22) of Slippery Rock, with the winner to meet Hazewinkel. 133 pounds- NCAA finalist Shawn Bunch (35-1) of Edinboro is the prohibitive favorite here and will be challenged by two-time All-American Chris Fleeger (10-2) of Purdue and Mack Reiter (27-4) of Minnesota in the top bracket. Second-seeded Nathan Morgan (28-1) of Oklahoma State has an opening bout with Cornell's Mike Mormile (26-4). Also lodged in the bottom bracket is third-seeded and returning bronze medallist, Thomas Crum (14-2) of Wisconsin along with Darrell Vasquez (19-3) of Cal Poly. 141 pounds- NCAA runner-up Nate Gallick (33-0) of Iowa State could face freshman standout Brandon Rader (26-3) of West Virginia in the quarterfinals. Also situated in the loaded top half is Josh Churella (25-3) of Michigan, fourth-seeded Andy Simmons (30-5) of Michigan State and Chris Davis (26-7) of Sacred Heart. Two-time champion Teyon Ware (22-2) of Oklahoma is the second seed, he is seeking a rematch with the aforementioned Gallick, but first must get past Iowa's Alex Tsirtsis (23-10) in a quarterfinal match-up. Also to watch in the lower bracket is returning All-American Cory Cooperman (23-1) of Lehigh who finished third at the 2005 NCAA meet. 149 pounds- Reigning NCAA titlist Zack Esposito (22-3) of Oklahoma State is third-seeded and should face Hofstra's two-time All-American Jon Masa (30-8) in a quarterfinal skirmish.Other standouts in the bottom tier are second-seeded Ty Eustice (24-2) of Iowa and Troy Tirapelle (24-9) of Illinois. Two NYS champions are pitted against each other in an opening bout, freshman Gregor Gillespie (36-2) of Edinboro will square-off with Trevor Chinn (17-13) of Lehigh. Freshman phenom Dustin Schlatter (37-1) of Minnesota is top-ranked and could reach the finals. Opponents along the way are Eric Tannenbaum (22-8) of Michigan and Matt Storniolo (20-4) of Oklahoma, along with another freshman Matt Dragon (29-6) of Penn. 157 pounds- Iowa State junior Trent Paulson (23-1) is top-seeded and could face a formidable opponent in Iowa's Joe Johnston (24-8), a NCAA finalist last year, they could meet in the quarterfinals. The bottom bracket has second-ranked C.P.Schlatter (34-5) of Minnesota, seventh-seeded Dustin Manotti (26-4) of Cornell, Brandon Becker (23-5) of Indiana and third-seeded Alex Tirapelle (27-2) of Illinois.In a tough opening bout, Hofstra's James Strouse (28-10) will face highly-regarded Derek Zinck (20-6) of Lehigh. Both Tirapelle and Zinck are returning All-Americans and could meet in a tough quarterfinal battle. 165 pounds- Top-seeded and unbeaten Ryan Churella (25-0) of Michigan is a two-time All-American and will be tough to defeat. Possible challenger in the top bracket is Travis Paulson (30-5) of Iowa State. In the bottom tier are NCAA champions, Johny Hendricks (24-1) of Oklahoma State and 2004 winner Troy Letters (17-4) of Lehigh. Letters is a three-time All-American (2-1-3) and from his seventh-seed postion could face Hendricks in a marquee match-up in the quarterfinals. Also to watch is third-seeded, Muzaffar Abdurakmanov (21-0), orignally from Uzbekistan, now of American University, he is a likely semi-final opponent for the winner of the Hendricks-Letters brawl. 174 pounds- Solid favorite here is unbeaten junior, Ben Askren (39-0) of Missouri, he was a NCAA finalist a year ago and should capture his first NCAA crown. A trio of talented grapplers are perched in the upper bracket, returning All-American,Travis Frick (23-5) of Lehigh, Hofstra's Mike Patrovich (31-3) and Matt Herrington (17-4) of Penn. Patrovich is fifth-seeded and could face Herrington in a second round match. The bottom bracket should see sophomore Mark Perry (16-3), a NCAA finalist, tangle with All-American junior, unbeaten Jake Herbert (32-0) of Northwestern. Dan Miracola (16-13) of Cornell will face Oklahoma's Wes Roberts (9-6) in an opening preliminary bout. 184 pounds- Top-seeded Josh Glenn (31-1), a junior from American University is a slight favorite here, but must get past All-American, Eric Bradley (Penn State) and fourth-seeded Joe Mazzurco (21-2) of Cornell. Minnesota junior Roger Kish (33-4), is seeded second and a likely finalist, but will face strong challenges from Kurt Backes (24-6) of Iowa State, Pete Friedl (24-4) of Illinois and third-seeded Ben Wissel (24-4) of Purdue. Both Friedl and Wissel are returning All-Americans. 197 pounds- Returning All-American sophomore Wynn Michalek (29-1) of Central Michigan is top-seeded and could face second-seeded Kyle Cerminara (37-2) of Buffalo in the finals. Michalek defeated Cerminara in the conference final and they could meet again for the NCAA title. Strong oppostion will come from reigning NCAA champion Jake Rosholt (22-4) of Oklahoma State who is fourth-seeded and could face Michalek in the semifinals. Also looming in the top bracket is Oklahoma All-American Joel Flaggert (21-4) and Ryan Baden (28-4) of Arizona State. Possible semifinal opponent for Cerminara could be returning All-American BJ Padden (27-3) of Nebraska. Hofstra's Chris Weidman (15-11) could face the aforementioned Michalek in a quarterfinal match-up. Hwt.- Top-seeded and unbeaten junior Cole Konrad (33-0) of Minnesota and returning two-time NCAA champion Steve Mocco (23-2) of Oklahoma State appear on a collision course to the finals. Mocco edged Konrad, 3-1 overtime, for the NCAA crown last season and this year Konrad flattened Mocco to help the Golden Gophers upset the Cowboys in their dual. Other top challengers are Greg Wagner (24-2) of Michigan and Cain Velasquez (34-5) of Arizona State, both are returning NCAA medallists. Harold Sherrell (35-7) of Buffalo has an opening bout with Tyler Shovin (24-8) of UNC-Greensboro. Team Title... Defending team champion Oklahoma State and Minnesota could be embroiled in a tight race entering the championship finals on Saturday. The Cowboys have won three consecutive team championships and are seeking their 34th mat title. The Golden Gophers defeated the Pokes in their dual meet this past season and feel they have enough talent to capture the coveted NCAA crown. Other teams that could reach the top five are Michigan, Illinois and Oklahoma... |