Fresno State Athletics
Abas On His Way to Another National Championship
3/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 16, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Stephen Abas (125, Hayward, Calif.) is well on his way to claim his second National Championship. After defeating Lehigh's Mario Stuart by technical fall in the semifinals, Abas, now a three-time All-American, finds himself in the finals of the NCAA tournament.
Abas and Billy Blunt (285, Modesto, Calif.) are all that is left of the Bulldogs, who lost one wrestler Thursday and two more today. Derrick Hayes (133, Seaside, Calif.), Ralph Lopez (141, Fresno, Calif.) and Nathan Vasquez (157, Bakersfield, Calif.) are out of the tournament.
Abas faces Iowa's Jody Strittmatter tomorrow in the finals, a wrestler he has already beat this season. In a January 4, 2001 dual meet against Iowa, Abas made a killing, beating second ranked Strittmatter 14-1.
Blunt won his fourth match Friday evening, making him an All-American. He won his first two matches before losing to the No. 2 seed, Tommy Rawlings of Ohio State. Blunt then beat Harvard's David Rechul 16-7 and Purdue's Jake Vercelli 5-2 in the wrestle-backs. Blunt faces top seeded Garrett Lowney of Minnesota in the consolation semifinals Saturday morning.
Lopez found himself in the wrestle-backs after a second round loss to third seeded Eric Larkin of Arizona State. He went on to defeat Northern Illinois' Ryan Egan, but his next loss would be his last. Lopez was edged by Navy's Mark Conley by a 3-2 decision, ending Lopez' NCAA action until next season.
While Vasquez' and Lopez' stories are different, both have the same ending. After a first round upset, Vasquez defeated three wrestlers in the wrestle-backs, and then faced fourth seeded Eric Jorgensen of Oregon State in the consolation quarterfinals. Jorgensen made a decisive 11-0 major decision victory and knocked Vasquez out of the tournament.
Fresno State is in 15th place after four sessions with 27 points. The Bulldogs, trail Michigan by one point.
Saturday's sessions include medal rounds at 6:00 a.m. and finals at 10:30 a.m.
