The UCF Wrestling Club spent their spring break in
Hampton, Va., wrestling in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association
championship. They have the national title to show for it.
The UCF team participates in the NCWA tournament
every year, but this was the first time in five years that the team
walked away as tournament champion.
They topped about 50 schools, including The
Apprentice School, which hosted the tournament and won second place,
Marion Military Institute and the University of Florida.
Leading up to the tournament, the players stayed
busy practicing and keeping in shape.
They held practices five days a week and often traveled to compete.
“It’s very intense, but obviously it paid off,
and we couldn’t be more excited about it,” said Stephen DeAugustino,
captain and vice president of the wrestling club.
This year, the tournament was held March 11-13.
During the the tournament, matches are constantly taking place in order
to get through all 32 brackets, making for a rigorous three days.
“The NCWA tournament is set up where there’s a
weekend of regionals held two weeks before nationals, and then based off
that the coaches in the committee get together and figure out who’s
competing, who are the top wrestlers in each division and who are the
top wrestlers overall,” said Richard Rippy, a UCF junior and president
of the wrestling club.
Some of the UCF notables who competed include
DeAugustino, who placed fourth and competed in the 133-pound division,
Alex Chiricosta who placed fourth in the 125-pound division, Rippy who
placed third in the 197-pound division and C.J. Hauser who placed third
in the 174-pound division.
The UCF Wrestling Club earned a total of 128
points at the tournament, beating the next leading contender by 16.5
points.
The NCWA held a banquet for the wrestlers where
they received their awards.
Officially, the wrestling club is not considered
a school team, but rather a sports club.
Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 requires, among other
things, that women be given the same opportunity to participate in
sports as men.
The university did not have enough money to add
on women’s teams, so some of the less popular sports teams were cut.
Being a club rather than a varsity sport means
the wrestlers receive less funding, but it also has its advantages.
“The great thing is that the students are really
getting developed through this,” Catherine Garland, the sports club
coordinator, said. “They’re gaining budgeting skills and scheduling
skills. It’s like they’re running this mini organization.”
Being national champions won’t help the
wrestlers gain varsity team status, but it will help them gain sponsors
and recruit members for next year.
As in previous years, the wrestlers plan to
compete in the tournament next spring to defend their title.
“It was a matter of everything coming together
and working out,” said the club’s coach Jason Balma, a former UCF
student, speaking of the team’s recent win.
According to Balma, the team had been building up
for this win all season and even for the past several years.
This year, the team’s motto was “stay hungry,”
meaning always be focused, and never stop working toward the win.
For more information on the wrestling club or the
tournament, visit UCFwrestling.net.
Former Bulldogs contribute toward
national title run
By ANDREW MIKULA , Correspondent
March
24, 2010
Two former Flagler
Palm Coast wrestlers helped the University of Central Florida capture
the National Collegiate Wrestling Association title last weekend in a
dramatic comeback over the defending national champion.
Stephen DeAugustino (133 pounds) and T.J. Gillin
(149 pounds) each placed for the Knights at the NCWA tournament at
Hampton University in Hampton, Va. DeAugustino took fourth in his weight
division and Gillin was eighth, finishing as two of eight UCF grapplers
to earn All-America honors during the 16.5-point victory over The
Apprentice School.
Neither of the former Bulldogs, now juniors at
UCF, nor any of their teammates won an individual championship at the
four-day tournament, which concluded Sunday. They and their teammates
all secured points in the wrestlebacks after six semifinalists,
including DeAugustino, lost in the championship bracket earlier on the
final day.
The whitewash in the semifinals allowed The
Apprentice School to assume the points lead after that round, but the
UCF performance and strength in numbers with a 6-for-6 effort in the
consolation round semifinals allowed the Knights to regain the lead.
In the end, two Knights were able to take third
place and four were fourth-place finishers. It's the first national
title for UCF since 2005.
DeAugustino, now a three-time NCWA All-American,
beat Justin Garza of Oakland University 6-1 in his opening bout, then
scored a 10-2 decision over Zach Bontrager (Virginia Military Institute)
and an 11-3 win over Ramond Ramirez (Texas-Arlington). He lost to Shane
Gentry (United States Naval Prep) 14-1 in the semifinals, bounced back
with a 7-3 victory over Adam Bastow (Grand Valley State) before a 6-4
loss to Brendan Murphy (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville) in his final
bout.
Gillin pinned Luke Gillespie (Oakland University)
in 56 seconds, but lost to Mark Cirello (Blair Academy) by a 3:57 pin in
the next round. Gillin scored a 17-6 major decision over Jeff Wilkes
(Utah), pinned Tyler Hutchins (VMI) in 3:30 and won a 14-3 major
decision against Kyle Lowman (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville) before
losing to Paul Martin (Hudson Valley) by a 1:41 pin and Jay Mitchell
(Marion Military Institute) by an 11-5 count in the seventh-place bout.
UCF took 128 team points to 111.5 for the
Apprentice School. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville placed third with
107.5.
The NCWA is a non-scholarship association of more
than 200 colleges and universities that banded together after cutbacks
of programs due to Title IX considerations. The association, which
includes 11 Florida schools and all major colleges and universities in
the state, abides by the same eligibility requirements and rules of NCAA
sanctioned wrestling programs.
UCF National's
Highlight Flim - Facebook
Depth Leads UCF to
NCWA Title
03/14/2010 -
By Scott Farrell
NCWA Staff
HAMPTON, Va. – Central Florida used its depth to overcome a disastrous start to
the day, rallying past The Apprentice School in the placing rounds to claim the
National Collegiate Wrestling Association title.
UCF did not have a wrestler in the finals Saturday at the Hampton University
Convocation Center, but utilized two thirds and four fourth-place finishers
among its eight All-American placers to win its first national title in five
seasons. It was a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance for the Knights, who saw a
15.5-point lead over defending champion Apprentice evaporate in one session as
UCF wrestlers went 0-for-8 in which all five semifinalists lost.
The Knights rallied with a perfect 6-for-6 sweep in their mid-day consolation
rounds that guaranteed at least six top-four finishes. Christopher Hauser became
a two-time All-American with a third-place finish at 174 pounds, and Richard
Rippy also placed third for an All-American finish for a third straight season.
Alexander Chiricosta (125), Steve DeAugustino (133), Michael Dominguez (235) and
Daniel Rowe (285) took fourth.
“If the morning was Jekyll, then we definitely prefer the Hyde,” said long-time
UCF coach Johnny Rouse.
The key to UCF’s rise came in the quarterfinals where it advanced six wrestlers
into the semifinals.
Apprentice stormed back to take a 104-100 lead into the mid-day session, but
failed to earn enough wins in the semifinals to keep up with UCF’s depth. Ty
Holley won the national title at 141 pounds and repeated as an All-American.
Marcus Chevres lost in the title match at 133 to Shane Gentry of the U.S. Naval
Academy Prep School, 7-1. Matt Perry beat teammate Patrick McIntosh for third
place at 157.
The Builders finished with seven All-Americans.
The tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler went to John Aikens of Grand Valley
State, a senior who finished a 29-1 season by pinning his way to the 197-pound
title. Aikens was a two-time NCWA All-American from 2006-07, but took two years
away from school and wrestling. He pinned MIT’s Joe Silverman in 1:21 for the
championship, and had falls of 39 and 43 seconds in the first two rounds, then
2:05 and 4:31 in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
03/13/2010 -
UCF Challenged, But Extends Lead
By Scott Farrell
NCWA Staff
HAMPTON, Va. – Central Florida rallied from a near-disastrous morning session to
set itself up for its first national title in five seasons at the NCWA
Championships. The Knights have a 20-point lead over The Apprentice School
heading into tonight’s championship matches, and need only one win from its
eight remaining wrestlers to clinch the championship.
UCF’s title shot dropped back into a close race Saturday morning when the
Knights suffered through an 0-8 session in which it saw all five of its
semifinalists lose. That blew the Knight’s 15.5-point lead over The Apprentice
School, and put them behind 104-100 entering the later consolation round after
defending champion Apprentice rolled through a 5-2 session.
The UCF wrestlers regrouped with a perfect session in the mid-day, and three
pins among their six wins pushed their lead near the clinching point.
UCF Opens Big Lead After Day Two
03/13/2010 -
By Scott Farrell
NCWA Staff
HAMPTON, Va. – Central Florida shot to the top of the team standings by
advancing six wrestlers into the semifinals Friday night, and heads into the
final day of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Championships with a
15.5-point lead over The Apprentice School. UCF will have eight All-Americans
going into Saturday’s placing rounds that begin at 9 a.m., Apprentice has four.
Apprentice held a slim half-point lead over UCF going into the quarterfinals,
and had four quarterfinal winners. But the Builders also lost two quarterfinal
matches, and had two others eliminated in the following consolation round.
Apprentice, the defending champion, has 84.5 points and an 11-point lead over
third-place Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Each of the UCF wrestlers still competing in the day’s second session won their
match, boosting the Knight’s team score by 50 points. Top-seeded Alexander
Chiricosta at 125 pounds and Michael Dominguez at 235 will try to back up their
seeding Saturday, and UCF also has All-Americans Steve DeAugustino (133 pounds),
Christopher Hauser (174) and Richard Rippy (197) in the semifinals along with
Daniel Rowe (285). T.J. Gillin (149) and Zumarr Archer (184) are still alive in
the consolation bracket.
Apprentice’s All-Americans, Marcus Chevres (133), Ty Holley (141) and Matt Perry
(157) are in the semifinals along with Patrick McIntosh (157). But the points
earned by wins by Quinten Bowling (184), Stuart Roes (197) and Kevin Gray (285)
in the consolation rounds were not enough to keep up with UCF’s surge.
Apprentice
The U.S. Naval Academy Prep School made a late charge into fifth place, and will
have four wrestlers in the semifinals. The top 12 is full of military-themed
schools, with Marion Military Institute (Ala.) in sixth, the U.S. Air Force
Academy Prep School eighth and the U.S. Military Academy Prep School in 12th.
The feature weight class continues to be 157 pounds, where four returning
All-Americans will repeat this season. Peter Rose of Southern Virginia
highlights that bracket field, already clinching four-time All-American status.
He is only the 16th wrestler in the NCWA’s 13 years to achieve that feat.
Andre Ritchie of Northampton Community College, fourth-seeded Eric Powell of
Williamson School of Trade, and two unseeded Apprentice wrestlers, Matt Perry
and Patrick McIntosh, are in the semifinals.
NCWA Championships - Session III recap
03/12/2010 -
By Scott Farrell
NCWA Staff
HAMPTON, Va. – The Apprentice School advanced five wrestlers through the
consolation bracket and earned bonus points off three pins to vault into the
lead after three sessions of the NCWA Championships. The Builders, the defending
NCWA champion, have 42 points and a half-point lead over Central Florida, which
won three consolation matches but lost four to elimination.
Apprentice's Ricky Anderson (149 pounds), Stuart Roes (197) and Kevin Gray (285)
each won by fall. The Builders avoided a pitfall when their heavyweight, Kevin
Gray, pinned Central Florida’s Jacob Powell in the second consolation round. The
fall gave Apprentice the two bonus points that moved them into the lead.
Grand Valley State moved past Southern Illinois-Edwardsville into third with
38.5 points with seven wins in the second round of consolations. SIUE is still
in striking range of the top with 36.5 points.
Among the top four teams, Apprentice has six wrestlers in Friday night’s
quarterfinals, compared to seven for Central Florida, five for SIUE and four for
Grand Valley.
UCF Leads After Day One at Nationals
03/12/2010 -
By Scott Farrell
NCWA Staff
HAMPTON, Va. – Central Florida advanced seven of their 11 qualifiers into the
quarterfinals, and earned enough extra bonus points to grab a three-point lead
over defending champion The Apprentice School after the first day of the
National Collegiate Wrestling Association Championships. "
The Knights entered the tournament with seven seeded wrestlers and three
returning All-Americans, and each will wrestle in Friday’s quarterfinals at the
Hampton University Convocation Center. UCF scored 36.5 points thus far by
advancing 10 of their 11 qualifiers through the first round. The first-round
matches were the difference, as Apprentice was 8-3 among its 11 wrestlers in the
first round and finished with 33.5 points.
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 27th, 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
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:
 "Photo: Austyn Bynon")
