March 18, 2011

Team Standings | Updated Brackets

PHILADELPHIA - Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui has advanced to the finals of the 2011 NCAA Championships at 174 pounds with two wins, Friday, in front of more than 17,000 fans at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

Amuchastegui is just the second ever Cardinal wrestler to be an NCAA finalist. Matt Gentry is Stanford's only NCAA champion, winning the 157 pound title in 2004.

Senior Zack Giesen and sophomore Ryan Mango are also still alive in the tournament as they, along with Amuchastegui, have already secured top-6 finishes and All-America honors. It marks the first time in Stanford's 95-year history of wrestling that the Cardinal will boast three All-Americans in the same season.

"I am extremely proud of our guys' performances so far," said third-year head coach Jason Borrelli. "They have handled everything like champions and stuck together as a team. I am proud of their focus and am glad to see them finally be rewarded for all of their hard work this season."

Amuchastegui, the seventh seed, moved on to the semifinals early Friday when the No. 2 seed Edward Ruth of Penn State defaulted due to injury in the quarterfinals. Amuchastegui was leading 9-2 in the second period before the match was called. Amuchastegui then upset third-seeded Mack Lewnes of Cornell, 5-2, in the semifinals to advance to the title bout in the 174 pound bracket. The Talent, Ore., native will face top-seeded Jonathan Reader of Iowa State in Saturday's final.

"Nick has been in a very good place mentally this entire tournament," said Borrelli. "He has an unorthodox wrestling style and I think that is going to help him in his final match tomorrow. His intelligence plays into his match strategy and I think he is ready to go."

Amuchastegui, an All-American in 2010, will become just the fourth wrestler in Stanford history to earn multiple All-America honors joining Chris Horpel ('73, `75), Tanner Gardner ('06, '07, '08) and Josh Zupancic ('07, '08).

Mango began his day with a loss to the No. 2 seed Matt McDonough of Iowa, 11-0, at 125 pounds. However, the St. Louis, Mo., native bounced back with wins over North Dakota State's Trent Sprenkle, 12-7, and fourth-seeded James Nicholson of Old Dominion, 7-5.

Mango, who holds a 26-5 season record, will face Utah Valley's Ben Kjar on Saturday for a chance to advance to the third-place bout. He has already secured his first career All-America honors and becomes Stanford's 15th All-American overall.

Not to be outdone, Giesen also made a run Friday in the 197 pound consolation bracket. The Grants Pass, Ore., native started the day with a 12-4 major decision win over American's Daniel Mitchell. The tournament's No. 12 seed then scraped out a 3-1 overtime win over sixth-seeded Micah Burak of Penn to secure his fist career All-America honors.

Giesen, the program's 16th All-American, finished the day with a 3-2 upset over ninth-seeded Sonny Yohn of Minnesota. The win gave Giesen his 110th of his career, passing Steve Buddie (1988-91) for the fourth-most wins in Stanford history. He will take on the No. 1 seed Cam Simaz of Cornell for a chance to advance to the third-place bout.

Saturday marks the final day of competition of the 2010-11 NCAA wrestling season. Stanford is currently 11th in the team standings with 44.0 points.

NCAA Championship Results:

125 pounds
#7 Ryan Mango (1-0) dec. Camden Eppert (Purdue), 11-9
#7 Ryan Mango (2-0) dec. Aaron Kalil (Navy), 13-7
#7 Ryan Mango (3-0) fall Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh), 3:23
#2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) maj. dec. #7 Ryan Mango (3-1), 11-0
#7 Ryan Mango (4-1) dec. Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota St.), 12-7
#7 Ryan Mango (5-1) dec. #4 James Nicholson (Old Dominion), 7-5

133 pounds
Fred Santaite (Boston Univ.) dec. Justin Paulsen (0-1), 4-3
Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) dec. Justin Paulsen (0-2), 4-0

174 pounds
#7 Nick Amuchastegui (1-0) maj. dec. Benjamin Jordan (Wisconsin), 13-1
#7 Nick Amuchastegui (2-0) dec. Nick Heflin (Ohio State), 6-1
#7 Nick Amuchastegui (3-0) won by injury default over #2 Edward Ruth (Penn St.)
#7 Nick Amuchastegui (4-0) dec. #3 Mack Lewnes (Cornell), 5-2

197 pounds
#12 Zack Giesen (1-0) dec. Travis Porter (Gardner-Webb), 7-1
#5 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. #12 Zack Giesen (1-1), 8-3
#12 Zack Giesen (2-1) maj. dec. Tyler Dickenson (Michigan State), 9-1
#12 Zack Giesen (3-1) maj. dec. Daniel Mitchell (American), 12-4
#12 Zack Giesen (4-1) dec. #6 Micah Burak (Penn), 3-1 OT
#12 Zack Giesen (5-1) dec. #9 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota), 3-2