NCWA Nationals Brackets Announced

03/08/2010 - from www.ncwa.net

The 2010 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships kick off this week in Hampton Virginia at the Convocation Center Arena on the campus of Hampton University.
Preliminary Brackets can be found at www.ncwa.net/nationals

The event looks to field the toughest competition in the leagues 13 year history with the defending National Champions of The Apprentice School in the hunt again this year. Perennial powerhouse Grand Valley State University looks slightly down this year, but they can never be counted out for a national run when the going gets tough. The University of Central Florida & Marion Military locked horns 3 times this season with Marion winning 2 of 3, but this years conference turned out differently as Central Florida looks to have peeked at the right time. Strong contenders from the north east area of the country include a powerful Navy team led by Shane Gentry at 133 lbs. sporting a 17-0 undefeated season entering this weeks Nationals. Westchester in eastern Pennsylvania is returning National Champion Dillon Evans along with first year standout Kevin Bacci, both could take home a national title. Outside chance winning performances are possible by Oakland or Colorado State University.

UCF Finishes First in Southeast Conference Championship

The University of Central Florida Wrestling team travelled to Tallahassee to compete in the NCWA Southeast Conference Championship Tournament on February 27^th, 2010. The Wrestling Knights came home with the first place trophy, and 6 individual champions. This event marked the return of UCF as Conference champions, a title they have not held since 2008.

UCF finished with 213.5 points while runner-up, MMI, had 188.5. Team captain, Steve De Augustino said “Team championships are won by great individual performances, and everyone on the team deserves this win.” With 6 individual champions and 3 second place finishers, The Knights made an impressive showing in the final round of competition—qualifying at least one wrestler in every weight class. Assistant Coach David Miller said, “This was a great tournament. We have a lot of young guys on the team, and they are all peaking at the right time.”

Starting the Knights off at the 125 lbs. weight class, Alex Chiricosta won by fall in the championship match. Returning All-Americans, Steve De Augustino (133) and Richard Rippy (197) also claimed the title as conference champions. New comers to the team Nick Christian (165), Zumar Archer (184), and Mike Dominguez (235) also finished first. TJ Gillin (149), CJ Hauser (174), and Daniel Rowe (285) were runners-up. Finishing third place for UCF are DJ Frazier (141), Justin Crimmins (157), and Greg Gaught (174).

The Knights are currently gearing up for the NCWA National Tournament in Hampton, Virginia on Mar 11-13, 2010. “After our performance at conference, the team showed that we are ready and capable of taking back the national title,” said Head Coach, Jason Balma. UCF has not held the national title since their back-to-back grip on the title in 2004-2005. The Knights also finished the regular season as the NCWA team points leader with a 13-4 dual meet record. “We have the tools to finish a great season as national champions, it is just a matter of the guys rising to the challenge,” said Assistant Coach Johnny Rouse.

UCF Seeded #1 to the NCWA National Duals

www.ncwa.net

Three-time defending national duals champion Grand Valley State is poised among the favorites again, but a fourth straight title at the NCWA�s National Duals will have to come against one of the most balanced fields in the association�s history. The Lakers are seeded third in the 21-team tournament that begins Friday in Shelbyville, Tenn.

Middle Tennessee State, the tournament host at Calsonic Arena, joins Grand Valley State as one of eight seeded teams that begin competition on Saturday, Jan. 30, along with seeded teams (1) Central Florida, (2) The Apprentice School, (3) Grand Valley State, (4) Marion Military Institute, (5) Md.-Baltimore County, (6) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (7) Middle Tennessee State and (8) Connecticut.

The tournament bracket also includes 13 other teams which will compete on Friday, Jan. 29, vying to qualify into eight available spots in Saturday�s finals rounds. More than half of the field - 11 teams - are nationally-ranked in this week�s NCWA Coaches� Poll (see below).

The tournament schedule is below. More information can be found at http://www.facebook.com/l/3df60;www.ncwa.net.

Friday, Jan. 29 Schedule
2:30 p.m.
Match 1 - (9) Kennesaw State (Ga.), bye
Match 2 - (16) Tennessee Temple vs. (17) Dayton
Match 3 - (13) Georgia vs. (20) Virginia Military Institute
Match 4- (12) Southern Indiana vs. (21) Longwood (Va.)
Match 5 - (11) West Chester (Pa.), bye
Match 6 - (14) U.S. Naval Academy Prep vs. (19) Auburn
Match 7 - (15) Mercer vs. (18) Ohio U.
Match 8 - (10) Oakland Univ. (Mich.), bye

4 p.m.
Match 9 - Kennessaw State vs. Tenn. Temple/Dayton winner = Saturday qualifier #1
Match 10 - Georgia/VMI winner vs. So. Ind./Longwood winner = Saturday qualifier #2
Match 11 � West Chester vs. USNAPS/Auburn winner = Saturday qualifier #3
Match 12 - Mercer/Ohio winner vs. Oakland U. = Saturday qualifier #4
Match 13 - Tenn. Temple/Dayton loser, bye
Match 14 - Georgia/VMI loser vs. So. Indiana/Longwood loser
Match 15 - West Chester/Oakland CC loser vs. USNAPS/Auburn loser
Match 16 - Mercer/Ohio U. loser, bye

5:30 p.m.
Match 17 - Tenn. Temple/Dayton loser vs. Match 12 loser = Saturday qualifier #8
Match 18 � Match 14 winner vs. Match 11 loser = Saturday qualifier #5
Match 19 � Match 15 winner vs. Match 10 loser = Saturday qualifier #6
Match 20 � Mercer/Ohio U. loser vs. Match 9 loser = Saturday qualifier #7

Saturday, Jan. 30 Schedule

Pool matches are at 10 a.m., Noon, and 2 p.m.
Pool A
(1) Central Florida
(8) Connecticut
(9) Saturday qualifier #1
(16) Saturday qualifier #8

Pool B
(4) Marion Military Institute
(5) Md.-Baltimore County
(12) Saturday qualifier #4
(13) Saturday qualifier #5

Pool C
(3) Grand Valley State
(6) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(11) Saturday qualifier #3
(14) Saturday qualifier #6

Pool D
(2) The Apprentice School
(7) Middle Tennessee State
(10) Saturday qualifier #2
(15) Saturday qualifier #7

Semifinals, 5 p.m.
Pool A #1 vs. Pool B #1
Pool C #1 vs. Pool D #1
Winners advance to championship at 7 p.m.
Losers advance to third-place match at 7 p.m.

Pool A #2 vs. Pool B #2
Pool C #2 vs. Pool D #2
Winners advance to fifth-place match at 7 p.m.
Losers advance to seventh-place match at 7 p.m.

Pool A #3 vs. Pool B #3
Pool C #3 vs. Pool D #3
Winners advance to ninth-place at 7 p.m.
Losers advance to 11th-place match at 7 p.m.

Pool A #4 vs. Pool B #4
Pool C #4 vs. Pool D #4
Winners advance to 13th-place at 7 p.m.
Losers advance to 15th-place match at 7 p.m.

Here is the latest NCWA Coaches� Poll. Teams competing at the National Duals are listed in bold.

NCWA Coaches Poll for Jan. 26
Rank School 1st Place
Votes
1 Grand Valley State (3)
2 Central Florida
3 Marion Military Institute
4 U.S. Naval Academy Prep
5 The Apprentice School (1)
6 Md.-Baltimore County
7 West Chester
8 Northampton Community College
9 U.S. Military Academy Prep
10 Oakland University
11 Mott Community College
12 Southern Illinois - Edwardsville
13 Michigan
14 Kansas State
15 Dayton
16 Kennesaw State
17 Bowling Green State
18 Blair Academy
19 Illinois State
20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

UCF's Richard Rippy Competes at NCWA-NAIA Challenge

01/17/2010 -

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The team of all-stars from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opened the match with two falls, then posted four pins overall in winning its dual match, 39-3, over an all-star team from the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) in the inaugural American Airlines All-Star Challenge at Warrior Coliseum. The event, held in conjunction with the 10th annual Lone Star Duals, was a first-of-its kind event pairing both associations� defending national champions or highest-ranked wrestlers in a dual-match format.

Aaron Wilcox of Dana College opened the event with a second-period pin of Aso Palani of Douglas College in the 125-pound bout. Wade Lowe of McKendree University added another fall at 133 pounds over Marcus Chevres of The Apprentice School for a 12-0 lead. Adam Manz of Dana scored a takedown in overtime to beat Mario Giordano of Northampton Community College in the 141-pound bout, and the NAIA All-Stars were on their way.

In one of the highlight bouts of the dual, Aaron Winning of McKendree pinned Will Harcum of Apprentice in 3:50 in the 165-pound match following an 8-7 first period with Winning in the lead. Both wrestlers were ranked first in their respective associations, and Winning was the defending national champion. In the next bout, Jameon Rush of Hastings University scored a takedown in the third overtime to come from behind and edge Kevin Bacci of West Chester University, 4-3.

Andrew Sanchez, the defending NAIA champion and top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, won a 3-0 decision from Joseph Silverman of MIT. Silverman is ranked second in the NCWA.

The NCWA earned its points from a 7-3 win by Peter Rose of Southern Virginia over Brandon Roehrich of Jamestown. Rose is the NCWA�s two-time defending national champion and a three-time NCWA All-American.

Complete results are below:
125 lbs. Aaron Wilcox, Dana College (NAIA) def. Aso Palani, Douglas College (NCWA), by fall, 3:18

133 lbs. Wade Lowe, McKendree Univ. (NAIA) def. Marcus Chevres, The Apprentice School (NCWA), by fall 2:53

141 lbs. Adam Manz, Dana College (NAIA) def. Mario Giordano, Northampton CC (NCWA), 5-3

149 lbs. Sam Schmitz, Lindenwood Univ. (NAIA) def. Dillon Evans, West Chester Univ. (NCWA), 4-3

157 lbs. Peter Rose, Southern Virginia (NCWA) def. Brandon Roehrich, Jamestown Univ. (NAIA), 7-3

165 lbs. Aaron Winning, McKendree Univ. (NAIA) def. Will Harcum, The Apprentice School (NCWA), by fall 3:50

174 lbs. Jameon Rush, Hastings Univ. (NAIA) def. Kevin Bacci, West Chester Univ. (NCWA), 4-3 (3OT)

184 lbs. Mark Peiffer, Dana College (NAIA) def. Richard Rippy, Central Florida (NCWA), by fall 5:38

197 lbs. Andrew Sanchez, McKendree Univ. (NAIA) def. Joseph Silverman, MIT (NCWA), 3-0

285 lbs. Willie Hernandez, Jamestown Univ. (NAIA) def. Corey Melinn, Grand Valley State (NCWA), 3-0

UCF Finishes 5-0 at Florida State Duals

01/19/2010 -

The 1st Annual Florida State Duals was a great day of wrestling as every team slated had an opportunity for five duals.
The University of Central Florida won the round robin-style duals by going 5-0 and the University of Florida won a nail biter over Florida A&M University to clinch second place at 3-1. Florida A&M University went 2-2, Florida State University 1-2-1, Sante Fe Community College 1-3, and University of South Florida 0-4-1. Santa Fe Community College and University of Florida did not wrestle when it was schedule for them to do so as well as Florida State University and University of Florida.
There were a number of wrestlers who won every match they wrestled in: the University of Central Florida's Stephen DeAugostino (141), TJ Gillin (157), Christopher Hauser (184), the University of Florida's Mark Koski (235/285), and Florida A&M University's Roland Pitts (197) went 3-0. The University of Central Florida's Brian Asker (133), Santa Fe Community College's James Bradley (285), and Florida State University's Colby Borchetta (149) also went 2-0.
Wrestling started at 11:45 A.M. and concluded at 6:40 P.M. A very big thanks to Don Schroeder and Mike Decker, the referees for the tournament, and all the coaches for their advice and assistance into making this tournament flow very nicely. There were no incidents of unsportsmans and for that we thank the coaches and team captains again. All in all, the tournament was a great success. We look forward to an even stronger event next season with every team in Florida in attendance.

UCF Goes 1-1 at Menlo Duals in Atherton, CA

01/03/2010 -

Knights Finish 1-1 Against Ranked Foes in Menlo Duals

ATHERTON, Calif. University of Central Florida picked up an impressive victory over Pacific University before falling to a strong Simon Fraser University to finish 1-1 on the day at the Menlo Duals on Saturday inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion.

No. 5 Southern Oregon was the only team to end the day without a loss, defeating No. 12 Cumberland 28-6 and Oklahoma City 28-12. Simon Fraser, along with Menlo, finished 1-2 with a 34-18 victory over NCWA No.2 Central Florida and a 24-16 loss to Cumberland. In other matches, Embry Riddle defeated Pacific (Ore.) 41-6 while Central Florida knocked off Pacific 31-13.

Round 1

#20 Simon Fraser 34, #2 Central Florida 18
125 Alex Chiracosta (CF) pin Rafiq Charania, 1:53
133 Steve DeAugustino (CF) pin JJ Lum, 1:56
141 Raj Virdi (SF) pin Harrison Billeg, 2:01
149 Daniel Swain (SF) maj. dec. TJ Gillin, 15-7
157 Max Arcand (SF) pin Nick Christian, 5:45
165 Arminder Virk (SF) inj. def. Devon Jackson
174 Pano Dreves (SF) dec. CJ Hauser, 5-3
184 Zumar Archer (CF) pin Patrick MacDonald, :40
197 Clete Hanson (CF) dec. Richard Rippy, 6-3
285 Ali Al-Rekabi (SF) pin Daniel Rowe, 1:53

Round 2

#2 Central Florida 32, Pacific (Ore.) 13
125 Alex Chiracosta (CF) dec. John Cushman, 8-4
133 Steve DeAugustino (CF) maj. dec. Andrew Wolfe, 14-6
141 Seth Honl (P) maj. dec. DJ Frazier, 8-0
149 TJ Gillin (CF) maj. dec. Kody Kramer, 12-4
157 Ken Hyland (P) dec. Nick Christian, 4-2
165 Nathan Shay (P) inj. def. Devon Jackson
174 CJ Houser (CF) forfeit
184 Graham Smith (CF) pin Nik Streng, :43
197 Zumar Archer (CF) dec. Ron Neu, 12-6
285 Jake Powell (CF) pin Chris McLinden, 1:34

UCF Finishes the Sunshine Open with 5 Place Winners

Following the completion of the 2009 Sunshine Open, UCF finished with 5 wrestlers in the top eight at the tournament. At 125 lbs., Alex Chiricosta finished the tournament with a record of 4-2 and 4 pins to finish in 4th place. At 133 lbs., Steve DeAugustino finished the tournament with a record of 4-1 and 3 pins to finish in 3rd place. At 174 lbs, Greg Gaught finished the tournament in 8th place. At 184 lbs. & 197 lbs., both Richard Rippy and CJ Hauser finished the tournament in 6th place.

UCF Upsets National Champion Builders

ORLANDO, Fla. � University of Central Florida walked away from this weekends first major NCWA tournament of the young season with 78 points and a solid victory. The Apprentice School, the Defending NCWA National Champions, had to settle for a close second with 70 points in the 14 team field. The UCF Open Tournament included many solid teams including: Darton, Georgia Southern, Marion Military, Middle Tennessee and others. The Central Florida win shows that this year�s national race is wide open, despite the return of 5 Apprentice All-Americans. A young Marion Military Institute from Alabama took the 3rd spot with 63 points, followed by Darton College with 62 points and Kennesaw State to round out the top five. UCF 133 pounder, Steve DeAugustino was voted outstanding wrestler of the tournament.

Alumni get the best of the UCF current team

10/24/2009 -

After losing a close match to the current team last season at the first annual UCF Alumni Match in 2008, the alumni were victorious in their 13 match battle with the young team on Saturday. Although the alumni were not training quite like the current team, many are professional MMA fighters, high school wrestling coaches, and current UCF wrestling assistant coaches; not exactly too far removed from the sport. "It is a great event that brings together the new guys and the guys who shoes they need to fill in order to continue a winning tradition," said Rouse. "It's really neat to see the older guys coming back for the match and to share their stories of UCF wrestling with the young guys who are trying to make their own mark on the program."

"This event really highlights everything that makes the sport of wrestling so great," said Head Coach Jason Balma. "What's really neat is to highlight how much each of our alumni give back to the program. All of the current coaches were once UCF wrestlers (or FTU as it was originally named), many of the alumni continue to support the program with donations, and several others send their high school athletes to wrestle at UCF. It is a great network of community and tradition."

While the matches were only (3) 90 second periods with a 30 second mid period break, the alumni held their own and the current demonstrated their intense training with the goal of winning a 2010 NCWA National Title. The goal of an NCWA National Title is something that many of the wrestling alumni experienced when the team won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. The end dual meet score after 13 matches was 26-18 in favor of the UCF alumni. Below were the matchups and results:

125:

Alumni Current Team Winner

Frito Cherenfant Alex Chiricosta Chiricosta 4-3

David Miller Steve DeAugustino Miller 2-0

Shawn Stuart Andres Munoz Munoz 6-2

Rob McCarty Nick Christian McCarty 2-1

Ryan Witzel TJ Gillin Witzel 5-2

Jayson Patino Joe Gibson Patino 3-1

Jeff Ruberg Jason Spurgeon Ruberg 13-1

Mike Lemieux CJ Hauser Hauser 7-5

Ruan Jessee Devon Jackson Jackson 2-1

Zach Sanford Richard Rippy Sanford 2-0

Danny Fernandez Enslin DeWitt Fernandez 3-1

Tom Lawlor Jake Powell Lawlor 16-4

Jim Schumacher Daniel Rowe Rowe 2:10

UCF's History (Since 2002)

NCWA All-Americans

2002:
Jeff Ruberg � 4^th @ 165 lbs.
Todd Hauser - 6^th @ 184 lbs.
Tom Lawlor - 3^rd @ 235 lbs.

2003:
Jeff Ruberg - 2^nd @ 157 lbs.
David Miller - 3^rd @ 125 lbs.
Jason Ruberg - 3^rd @ 184 lbs.
Todd Hauser - 4^th @ 184 lbs.

2004:
David Miller - 2^nd @ 125 lbs.
Paul Rothenberg - 3^rd @ 133 lbs.
Jason Balma - 5^th @ 149 lbs.
Jayson Patino - 5^th @ 157 lbs.
Brian Guider - 6^th @ 157 lbs.
Jeff Ruberg - 2^nd @ 165 lbs.
Raun Jessee - 2^nd @ 174 lbs.
Danny Fernandez - 2^nd @ 197 lbs.

2005:
David Miller - 2^nd @ 125 lbs.
Paul Rothenberg � 5^th @ 133 lbs.
Matt Bohren - 5^th @ 141 lbs.
Jason Balma - 4^th @ 149 lbs.
Jayson Patino - 4^th @ 165 lbs.
Danny Fernandez � 3^rd @ 184 lbs.
Jimmy Myers - 4^th @ 184 lbs.

2006:
David Miller � 4^th @ 133 lbs.
Paul Rothenberg � 4^th @ 141 lbs.
Rob McCarty � 6^th @ 149 lbs.
Zach Sanford � 4^th @ 174 lbs.
Jimmy Myers � 4^th @ 184 lbs.

2007:
Federico Carosio � 2^nd @ 125 lbs.
Matt Bohren � 6^th @ 133 lbs.
Paul Rothenberg � 2^nd @ 141 lbs.
Rob McCarty � 2^nd @ 149 lbs.
Zach Sanford � 2^nd @ 174 lbs.
Mat Stwan � 6^th @ 184 lbs.
Jimmy Myers � 7^th @ 197 lbs.
Brian Pierson � 7^th @ 235 lbs.
Jesse Pinson � 2^nd @ 285 lbs.

2008:
Steve DeAugustino � 7^th @ 133 lbs.
Matt Bohren � 3^rd @ 141 lbs.
Rob McCarty � 5^th @ 149 lbs.
Devon Jackson � 8^th @ 165 lbs.
Zach Sanford � 3^rd @ 184 lbs.
Richard Rippy � 4^th @ 184 lbs.
Danny Fernandez � 2^nd @ 197 lbs.
Jesse Pinson � 4^th @ 285 lbs.

2009:
Frito Cherenfant � 3^rd @ 125 lbs.
Steve DeAugustino � 3^rd @ 133 lbs.
Ryan Witzel � 6^th @ 157 lbs.
Christopher Hauser � 6^th @ 174 lbs.
Richard Rippy � 2^nd @ 184 lbs.

NCWA National Champions:

2003:
Raun Jessee @ 165 lbs.
Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.

2004:
Jason Ruberg @ 184 lbs.
Todd Hauser @ 197 lbs.
Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.

2005:
Todd Hauser @ 197 lbs.
Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.
Jarren Williams @ 285 lbs.

UCF 4x NCWA All-Americans:

Tom Lawlor � NCWA�s first 3x National Champion (3^rd Place Freshman Year)
Todd Hauser
David Miller
Paul Rothenberg

Dual Meet Record since 2001 NCWA team revival: 83-21 with�

5 SE Conference Titles
2 National Titles
57 Individual All-American Finishes
8 Individual National Champion Finishes

Team Finishes:
2002 � 8^th Place
2003 � 4^th Place
2004 � 1^st Place
2005 � 1^st Place
2006 � 4^th Place
2007 � 2^nd Place
2008 � 3^rd Place
2009 � 5^th Place

Central Florida's Lawlor Defeats NCAA All-American in UFC-100 Bout

07/15/2009 -

Tom Lawlor, one of the few four-time NCWA All-Americans and three-time NCWA National Champion, made national news last Saturday at the UFC 100. Lawlor, the most prominent wrestler in Central Florida�s NCWA history, beat former NCAA All-American C.B. Dollaway in the featured middleweight bout before a record UFC pay-per-view audience.

Lawlor defeated Dollaway via submission with a guillotine chokehold only 55 seconds into the bout. Lawlor earned the Submission of the Night Award for the quick effort.

Dollaway, an NCAA Division I All-American at Arizona State who also won an NJCAA National title after a stellar high school career in Ohio, was the favorite in the undercard bout.

The win moves Lawlor�s UFC record to 6-1, with five of the six wins coming in the first round.

A complete biography on Lawlor that includes a variety of action photos, plus a post-fight video from Saturday, are at this UFC link:

http://www.ufc.com/TomLawlor