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March 9, 2013
BOSTON, Mass. – The Old Dominion University wrestling team competed in their final CAA Wrestling Championship throughout Saturday, March 9. Although Old Dominion was not eligible for the team title this year, the Monarchs' 10 wrestlers were eligible to compete for the 19 automatic NCAA berths.
Old Dominion sent a whopping nine out of 10 wrestlers to the semifinals in Boston, Mass. on Saturday night. Five Monarch wrestlers advanced to the finals, where Chris Mecate and Billy Curling became champions.
Mecate, Curling and Alexander Richardson all did enough to assure themselves automatic bids to the NCAA Wrestling Championship in Des Moines, Iowa. Richardson placed second in the 149 pound tournament and grabbed one of the two allotted automatic bids for the national tournament later this month.
No. 12 Chris Mecate had a very tight quarterfinal match against Boston’s No. 28 Tyler Scotton. Mecate would prevail in the first tiebreaker, 2-1 and advance to the semifinals against Rider’s No. 30 Vinny Fava. Fava was not able to get on the board against Mecate, as Mecate cruised to a 6-0 victory. In the championship match, Mecate had a showdown with Drexel’s No. 17 Frank Cimato. Cimato was just coming off an 11-10 win over Hoftsra’s No. 13 Luke Vaith. Vaith was a NCAA qualifier and the CAA champ at 141 pounds last year. Cimato also had difficulties scoring against Mecate. In the end, Mecate was too much (7-1) for the nationally ranked Cimato. With the win, Mecate scooped-up the first of the three allotted automatic bids to the NCAA’s. Mecate is now on an 11-match winning streak; his last loss came on Jan. 11 at the Virginia Duals.
No. 30 Billy Curling also had a very close quarterfinal bout against Binghamton’s John Paris. Despite a valiant effort by Paris, it was Curling who would advance to the semifinals with a 6-5 decision. In the semifinals, Curling bettered Boston’s Kyle Czarnecki, 5-2. Knowing only one automatic NCAA bid was on the line at 174 pounds, Curling still had unfinished business. In the championship match, Curling faced Hofstra’s Jermaine John. John had just come off a 5-3 decision over Rider’s No. 25 James Brundage, who was a NCAA qualifier last year. It was Curling who came out on top, 6-3, and punched his ticket to the NCAA’s for the first time.
No. 31 Alexander Richardson defeated George Mason’s Greg Flournoy 5-1 in the quarterfinal bout of the 149 pound tournament. In the semifinal match, Richardson was able to squeak-out a 3-2 win over Hofstra’s Cody Ruggirello. With the win, Richardson guaranteed himself an automatic bid to the NCAA’s because the CAA was allocated two automatic bids within the 149 pound weight class. In the championship match, Richardson ran into Binghamton’s No. 3 Donnie Vinson. Vinson is a three-time NCAA qualifier and became an All-American last year after placing third at the NCAA's. Vinson won the 149-pound conference tournament and was named the `CAA Wrestler of the Year' last year. Vinson got the better of Richardson (15-0 TF); however, Richardson will still be competing in the national tournament in Des Moines, Iowa beginning on March 21st.
No. 17 Rob Deutsch had no problem in his first two matches in order to advance to the finals of the 125 pound tournament. In the quarterfinals, Deutsch toppled Chris McGinley of Boston, 10-0. In the semifinal match against Rider’s Patrick Skinner, Deutsch won via tech fall, 17-1. In the championship match, Deutsch drew Hofstra's No. 16 Steve Bonnano. Bonnano is a three-time NCAA qualifier and became an All-American last year after winning the CAA championship at 125. In a highly competitive and intense match, Deutsch lost a nail-biting 3-2 decision. With the win, Bonnano claimed the CAA’s sole automatic bid to the NCAA’s at 125 pounds.
Brett Miller started-out Saturday morning with a 3-1 victory in the first tie-breaker over Binghamton’s Vincent Grella. In the semifinals with Miller trailing Hofstra’s Nick Terdick, Miller managed to pin Terdick and advance to the championship match. In the championship match, Miller squared-off with Rider’s No. 16 Ramon Santiago. Santiago went a perfect 6-0 in the CAA this season and got the better of Miller (8-2) on Saturday night. Santiago was granted the CAA’s lone automatic bid within the 165 pound weight class.
Matt Tourdot started off the 2013 CAA Championships with a 4-0 decision against Rider’s Greg Velasco. In the semifinal bout, Boston’s No. 30 Kevin Innis pulled away with a 3-1 decision over Tourdot. Innis was a NCAA qualifier last year. In the second round consolations, Tourdot defeated Drexel’s Jon Wright, 4-1. In the battle for third place, Tourdot got the better of Binghamton’s Tyler Deuel, 6-1. The win gave Tourdot a third place finish; however, Tourdot just missed out on his opportunity for an automatic bid as the CAA was only allotted two NCAA berths amongst their heavyweights.
Defending 133 pound CAA champion, No. 26 Scott Festejo advanced to the semifinals via a bye in the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal bout, Festejo went up against Hofstra’s No. 27 Jamie Franco. Franco lost to Festejo in the 2012 CAA Championship match, but still qualified for the NCAA tournament last year. This time Franco came out on top with a mere 3-2 victory over Festejo. In the second round consolation match, Festejo toppled GMU’s Zach Isenhour, 8-2. However, in the third place match, Festejo fell to Boston’s Josh Harlowe. Festejo placed fourth and just missed out on one of the CAA’s three automatic bids at 133 pounds.
No. 30 Jacob Henderson advanced to the semifinals after defeating Hofstra’s Tim Murphy, 5-3. In the semifinal bout, Henderson lost to Drexel’s No. 17 Brandon Palik, 11-0. Last year, Palik was the CAA runner-up at 197 pounds. Henderson took care of Mason’s Matt Meadows (3-1) in the second round consolation match. In the third place match, Henderson came up short (6-0) against Rider’s Donald McNeil. Henderson placed fourth and just missed out on one of the CAA’s three automatic bids to the NCAA’s within the 197 pound weight class.
Austin Coburn took care of business in the quarterfinals against Hofstra’s Taras Luzhnyy, 10-5. In the semifinal bout, Binghamton’s No. 30 Cody Reed pulled-out a 5-2 decision over Coburn. Coburn was able to win his second round consolation match against GMU’s Ryan Hembury, 4-2. However, in the third place match, Hofstra’s Taras Luzhnyy avenged his previous loss to Coburn and defeated ODU’s 184 pounder, 9-6. Coburn placed fourth at the 2013 CAA Championship, The CAA was allocated only one automatic berth within the 184 pound weight class this year.
Brennan Brumley lost a very tight quarterfinal match against George Mason’s Jaaziah Bethea, 2-1. Brumley defeated Drexel’s Austin Sommer, 6-4 in the first round consolation match. However, in Brumley’s second wrestle-back bout, he lost to Hofstra’s Tyler Banks, 7-0.
Quaterfinals
125: Rob Deutsch MD Chris McGinley (Boston) 10-0
133: Scott Festejo (BYE)
141: Chris Mecate dec. in TB-1 over Tyler Scotton (Boston) 2-1
149: Alexander Richardson dec. Greg Flournoy (GMU) 5-1
157: Jaaziah Bethea (GMU) dec. Brennan Brumley 2-1
165: Brett Miller dec. in TB-1 over Vincent Grella (Binghamton) 3-2
174: Billy Curling dec. John Paris (Binghamton) 6-5
184: Austin Coburn dec. Taras Luzhnyy (Hofstra) 10-5
197: Jacob Henderson dec. Tim Murphy (Hofstra) 5-3
HWT: Matt Tourdot dec. Greg Velasco (Rider) 4-0
First Round Consolations
157: Brennan Brumley dec. Austin Sommer (Drexel) 6-4
Semifinals
125: Rob Deutsch TF Patrick Sinner (Rider) 17-1
133: Jamie Franco (Hofstra) dec. Scott Festejo 3-2
141: Chris Mecate dec. Vinny Fava (Rider) 6-0
149: Alexander Richardson dec. Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) 3-2
165: Brett Miller pins Nick Terdick (Hofstra) (3:36)
174: Billy Curling dec. Kyle Czarnecki (Boston) 5-2
184: Cody Reed (Binghamton) dec. Austin Coburn 5-2
197: Brandon Palik (Drexel) MD Jacob Henderson 11-0
HWT: Kevin Innis (Boston) dec. Matt Tourdot 3-1
Second Round Consolations
133: Scott Festejo dec. Zach Isenhour (GMU) 8-2
157: Tyler Banks (Hofstra) dec. Brennan Brumley 7-0
184: Austin Coburn dec. Ryan Hembury (GMU) 4-2
197: Jacob Henderson dec. Matt Meadows (GMU) 3-1
HWT: Matt Tourdot dec. Jon Wright (Drexel) 4-1
Third Place Matches
133: Josh Harlowe (Boston) pins Scott Festejo (6:39) – Festejo Places 4th
184: Taras Luzhnyy (Hofstra) dec. Austin Coburn 9-6 – Coburn Places 4th
197: Donald McNeil (Rider) dec. Jacob Henderson 6-0 – Henderson Places 4th
HWT: Matt Tourdot dec. Tyler Deuel (Binghamton) 6-1 – Tourdot Places 3rd
Finals
125: Steve Bonnano (Hofstra) dec. Rob Deutsch 3-2 – Deutsch Places 2nd
141: Chris Mecate dec. Frank Cimato (Drexel) 7-1 – Mecate Places 1st
149: Donnie Vinson TF Alexander Richardson 15-0 – Richardson Places 2nd
165: Ramon Santiago (Rider) dec. Brett Miller 8-2 – Miller Places 2nd
174: Billy Curling dec. Jermaine John (Hofstra) 6-3 – Curling Places 1st
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