Michigan
NCAA Championships
Biondo Moves into Quarterfinals at NCAA Championships
3/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 19, 2010
Site: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 1 of 3)
Team Standing: Tie-34th Place (7 Points) After Day One
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 19 -- at NCAA Championships - Day Two (Omaha, Neb.), 9:30 a.m. CDT
OMAHA, Neb. -- University of Michigan senior/junior wrestler Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) advanced to the 197-pound quarterfinal round at the 2010 NCAA Championships on Thursday (March 18) at Qwest Center. With another U-M wrestler also alive in the wrestlebacks, the Wolverines sit tied for 34th place (seven points) after the first day of competition.
Biondo won a wild one in the second round, using a ride out in the first round of tiebreakers to knock off Old Dominion's 12th-seeded Jesse Strawn, 6-5. The score remained knotted up for the bulk of the match after the wrestlers traded first-period takedowns. Biondo claimed the initial advantage on an early single leg, but Strawn responded midway through the frame with an escape and quick ankle pick for his first lead. Biondo switched to reverse the position before letting the Lion wrestler escape late to even the score at four apiece. The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods to send the bout into overtime. After a scoreless sudden-victory period, the tiebreaker provided the match's most exciting minute. Strawn rode Biondo for 29 seconds in the first go before the Wolverine wrestler appeared to maneuver the reversal at the buzzer; but after a referees conference was only awarded the escape point. A wild scramble occupied most of the second 30-second go, and although control nearly changed several times, Biondo held on to lock up the win.
Biondo earned bonus points in his opening bout, using a far-side cradle to stick Campbell's Parker Burns at 1:07. Biondo converted on an immediate takedown and split Burns for three back points. The Camel wrestler bellied out, and Biondo locked up the cradle, turning Burns over for his fourth pin of the season.
Junior/sophomore Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) split a pair of opening-day matches at 174 pounds, winning his opening bout before dropping into the wrestlebacks with a 8-6 loss to Northern Iowa's Jarion Beets in the second round. Beets garnered the early advantage with a series of three single-leg takedowns in the first and second periods. Zeerip cut the deficit to just one point with a single leg of his own midway through the third period, but after cutting the Panther wrestler loose on the ensuing restart, he could not penetrate Beets' legs again in the final 45 seconds.
Zeerip avenged a loss from earlier in the season with his 5-1 decision over George Mason's 12th-seeded Bagna Tovuujav in the first round. Zeerip dictated the tempo through a scoreless opening period and took the lead for good with a single leg midway through the second, snatching up Tovuujav's right leg, bringing it wide and driving across the body to finish in the center of the mat. The Wolverine wrestler rode out the entirety of the third period, drawing a pair of stalling call in the process, to end the bout on top.
Sophomore captain Zac Stevens (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) was eliminated from the competition after suffering a pair of first-day losses at 133 pounds. Stevens went toe to toe with Oklahoma State's fourth-seeded Jordan Oliver in the morning session, pushing the pace early before falling, 3-2, on a third-period takedown. Stevens controlled the scoring opportunities in the first period, using an ankle pick to initiate an early scramble -- to which he could not quite turn the corner to score before rolling out of bounds -- and taking a few late first-period single shots. The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third frames before Oliver took the lead for good, striking on a single leg midway through the final period. Stevens scrambled out on the edge on a late restart to keep Oliver's riding time below a minute, but the Cowboy wrestler stayed away from Steven's late advances to hold on for the win.
His second loss came against Lock Haven's John Trumbetti in the evening wrestleback session. After giving up a takedown midway through the opening period and nearly being put on his back late, Stevens muscled through the position for a reversal to even the score in closing seconds of the frame. Starting the second period on top, Stevens got too high as Trumbetti came to his feet; the Eagle wrestler returned Stevens straight to his back, earning the fall at 3:42.
The Wolverines will return for the NCAA Championships' third session Friday (March 19) at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The morning session begins at 9:30 a.m. CDT and will feature quarterfinal matches and continued wrestleback competition.
Team Standings (After Day One)
1. Iowa 34.5 2. Oklahoma State 26 3. Iowa State 24 4. Ohio State 23 Oklahoma 23 Wisconsin 23 7. Cornell 22 8. Minnesota 20 9. Missouri 18.5 10. Central Michigan 17 Lehigh 17 Penn State 17 Virginia 17-----------------------------T34. MICHIGAN 7 Army 7 Cal State Bakersfield 7
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
133 pounds -- Zac Stevens
First Round - dec. by #4 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State), 3-2
Consolations - pinned by John Trumbetti (Lock Haven), 3:42
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
174 pounds -- Justin Zeerip
First Round - dec. #12 Bagna Tovuujav (George Mason), 5-1
Second Round - dec. by Jarion Beets (Northern Iowa), 8-6
Consolations - vs. Scott Giffin (Penn)
197 pounds -- #7 Anthony Biondo
First Round - pinned Parker Burns (Campbell), 1:07
Second Round - dec. #10 Jesse Strawn (Old Dominion), 6-5 TB
Quarterfinals - vs. #2 Craig Brester (Nebraska)
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
