March 17, 2005
ST. LOUIS, MO. -- And then there were two.
Two of Columbia's original five-man delegation to the NCAA Wrestling Championships remained "alive" after the opening rounds on the first day of the three-day tournament in the Savvis Center.
Anthony Constantino, a sophomore at 141 pounds, and Matt Palmer, a sophomore at 165 pounds, moved into Friday's action after each posting one win on Thursday.
Constantino (Kirtland, Ohio), who earned a wild-card bid to the NCAA's after finishing fourth in the EIWA Championships two weeks ago, lost his first-round match to 7th-seeded Daniel Frishkorn of Oklahoma State, 11-1, but rebounded in the Consolation Bracket to defeat Matt Fittery of Lock Haven University, 3-1.
Constantino took a 2-0 lead on Fittery with a takedown in the first period, and extended it to 3-0 with a second-period escape. Fittery, who had lost to Constantino, 6-2, in a tournament last November, narrowed the margin to 3-1 with an escape in the third period, but despite repeated attacks, could not score on the Lion wrestler.
Constantino will meet Juan Mora of Cal State Fullerton in Friday's opening round. Mora, who had a bye in the first round and then lost to Cory Cooperman of Lehigh, 7-1, qualified for the NCAA's when he won the Pac-10 Championships at 141 pounds.
The 19th-ranked 165-pounder in the nation, Matt Palmer (Germantown, Md.) carried many of Columbia's hopes. He had rebounded from injuries which forced him to miss all but one weekend of the 2003-04 season, to go 17-6 this year, and finish second in the EIWA Championships.
Palmer opened the NCAA's with a 7-3 victory over Justin Nestor of Pitt. While allowing him to advance, the luck of the draw earned him a rematch with top-seeded Troy Letters of Lehigh.
Letters, who is ranked first in the nation at 165, and Palmer had met two weeks ago in the Eastern finals. Letters prevailed there, 7-2, and was equally formidable today, winning by a 10-1 score.
Sent into the Consolation Bracket, Palmer will meet 11th-seeded Nate Yetzer of Edinboro (Pa.) University in Friday's opening round. Yetzer, ranked 11th nationally, was the Eastern Wrestling League runner-up at 165. He was upset in the first round of the NCAA's on a pin by Joey Bracamonte of Oregon, but came back to top Shane Seibert of Fresno State, 7-3.
Columbia's three other NCAA qualifiers were eliminated from competition after losing two bouts each.
Junior Jeff Sato (Pismo Beach, Calif.), wrestling at 125 pounds, saw his season end when he lost to 6th-seeded Efren Ceballos of Cal State Bakersfield, 8-4, and Matt Pitts of Tennessee-Chattanooga, 10-3. Sato had met Ceballos, ranked sixth nationally, in the opening round of the NCAA's last season, too, losing a 5-2 decision. The formidable Pitts is ranked 15th in the nation.
Sophomore Matt DeLorenzo (Wantagh, N.Y.) suffered defeats to 4th-seeded Mark Jayne of Illinois, 16-4, and Tim Harner of Rider, 11-0. Columbia and Rider had met in a dual in December, but DeLorenzo wasn't in the lineup to face Harner, who beat Derek Francavilla (Scotch Plains, N.J.), 12-10 in overtime.
Junior Devin Mesanko (Toms River, N.J.) was also given a good chance to advance in the NCAA's after taking third in the Easterns. He was familiar with his first opponent, Purdue's Colton Salazar, having lost a close 5-3 decision to Salazar in a dual match in January, but the Big 10 placewinner earned a 6-1 win this time. Mesanko then went out promisingly against Tony Hook of Oregon, who was third in the Pac-10, moving to an early 3-2 lead before Hook won in a fall.
Columbia's NCAA results, Day 1 (# - NWCA/InterMat ranking, () - tournament seed)
Jeff Sato, 125: lost to #6 Efren Ceballos (6), Cal State Bakersfield, 8-4; lost to #15 Matt Pitts, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 10-3
Matt DeLorenzo, 133: lost to #5 Mark Jayne (4), Illinois, 16-4; lost to Tim Harner, Rider, 11-0
Anthony Constantino, 141: lost to #8 Daniel Frishkorn (7), Oklahoma State, 11-1; defeated Matt Fittery, Lock Haven, 2-1. Will meet Juan Mora, Cal State Fullerton.
Devin Mesanko, 157: lost to Colton Salazar, Purdue, 6-1; pinned by Tony Hook, Oregon State, no time
#19 Matt Palmer, 165: defeated Justin Nestor, Pitt, 6-3; lost to #1 Troy Letters (1), Lehigh, 10-1. Will meet #11 Nate Yetzer (11), Edinboro).
