Fresno State Athletics
Grapplers Headed to NCAA Championships
3/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 17, 2003
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FIGHT TO THE FINISH
Five Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Championships, which take place March 20-22 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Last year, Minnesota won the title while the Bulldogs placed 19th. There will be 330 student-athletes participating in the finals. ESPN2 will air same day coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from Kansas City, Mo. The finals will be shown on Saturday, March 22 from 7-9 p.m. on ESPN2. The finals will then be re-aired on ESPN2 on Monday, March 24 from 3:30-5:30 a.m. The highlight of the 2002 NCAA Championships for Fresno State was Stephen Abas winning his third national title at 125 pounds.
WRESTLING PLACES THIRD AT WEST REGIONALS Fresno State placed third with 53 points, just six points behind second place Air Force at the NCAA West Regionals on Sat. March 8. For the second year in a row, Northern Iowa won the NCAA West Regionals, this year with a score of 126. The Panthers also stole nine of the 21 bids given. UNI had seven wrestlers win their respected divisions and two more advance with wildcard bids. Three Bulldogs took third place in their respective divisions while four placed second. Five of the 10 Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Championships on wildcard bids. Twenty-one bids were awarded at the NCAA West Regionals, the winners advancing to the NCAA Championships. The 11 wildcards were voted on by the five participating coaches.
TOP 'DOGS
Senior Eddie Gifford and sophomore Marcio Botelho are ranked 12th and 20th, respectively, by InterMat Wrestling. In the Bulldogs' last two regular season matches, Botelho beat Iowa State's Woodey Milord but lost a match against Northern Iowa's Sean Stender. Botelho has an overall dual record of 31-6 and a dual record of 15-2. Gifford has an overall record of 26-6 and a dual record of 10-2. Gifford missed the last five duals in order to heal a knee injury in time for the NCAA West Regionals.
BULLDOGS WINNING STREAK SNAPPED
The Bulldogs were swept up in their first match Feb. 23 against the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones 34-8. The second match of the day also proved to be fatal for the 'Dogs, who lost 35-3 against No. 13 Northern Iowa. With five ranked wrestlers, the Cyclones swept up two pins and two technical fall victories. Fresno State managed a win in the 157 division. Junior Jim Medeiros won by decision, 7-3, with three takedowns over Nathan Meyer. No. 20 Marcio Botelho worked hard for a technical fall over Woodley Milord. Botelho scored nine takedowns in the match. The loss snapped the Bulldogs' 10-match winning streak. Jim Medeiros would be the only Bulldog to win a match against Northern Iowa. Medeiros scored a 7-2 decision win over Chris Bitetto. The Panthers managed one pin, one technical fall and two major decision wins.
