Fresno State Athletics
Abas Seeded No. 1 at NCAA Wrestling Championships
3/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 20, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - Two-time National Champion Stephen Abas received the No. 1 seed in the 125 division at the NCAA Championships. The tournament, held at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., begins Thursday and extends through Sunday.
Abas is scheduled to face Jose Leon of Boston in the first session of wrestling at 8 a.m. Should history repeat itself, Abas would wrestle for his third NCAA title Sunday at 11 a.m.
Three other Bulldogs in the NCAA Championships are not seeded and will likely face difficult first round matches. Two Fresno State
Junior Ralph Lopez will wrestle ninth seeded Shane Cunanan of West Virginia in the 141 division. The last time Lopez and No. 6 Cunanan wrestled was Feb. 9, 2001, when Lopez won 10-3.
Junior Eddie Gifford will wrestle unseeded Jake Stork of Maryland in the first round of the 184 division. Freshman Marcio Botelho has the unfortunate fate of facing the second seed in the first round. Botelho will wrestle Jon Trenge of Lehigh in the 197 division.
