Five Wolverines Earn Seeds for NCAA Championships
3/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 9, 2016
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Five University of Michigan wrestlers earned seeds for the NCAA Championships, including three in the top five at their respective weight classes, the NCAA announced, along with full brackets, on Wednesday evening (March 9). The Wolverines qualified seven total wrestlers to the NCAA tournament.
Leading the U-M contingent is junior captain Domenic Abounader, who was seeded No. 4 at 184 pounds. Abounader owns a 23-2 record and took third at last weekend's Big Ten Championships (March 5-6). He will face Illinois' Jeff Koepke in the first round. Abounader has two wins against Koepke this season, including a 9-2 decision in the Big Ten consolation semifinals.
Sophomore Alec Pantaleo and junior Adam Coon were seeded No. 5 at 149 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Pantaleo is 24-5 on the season and claimed third place at the Big Ten Championships, twice defeating former NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern. He will face Minnesota's Jake Short in the first round. Coon is 18-2 this season and took second at Big Tens. He will face Virginia's Patrick Gillen in the first round.
Graduate student Max Huntley, who is 21-5 this season, earned the 10th seeded at 197 pounds after claiming fifth place at Big Tens. He will face Army's Bryce Barnes in the first round. Junior Brian Murphy rounds out the Wolverines' seeded wrestlers with the No. 12 slot at 157 pounds. Murphy is 9-7 on the season after missing time for various injuries but knocked off three ranked opponents to claim third at Big Tens. H will face Brown's Justin Staudenmayer in the first round.
Senior/junior Conor Youtsey and senior Rossi Bruno, both returning All-Americans, are unseeded at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Youtsey, who claimed sixth place at Big Tens and is 12-13 this season, will wrestle Oklahoma State's sixth-seeded Eddie Klimara in the first round. He defeated Klimara at last season's NCAA tournament. Bruno, who earned an at-large selection yesterday and carries a 14-11 record, will wrestle Penn's Caleb Richardson in the 133-pound pigtail match.
The NCAA Championships are scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, March 17-19, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
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