University of Illinois
NCAA Championships
Poeta Sole All-American for Illinois Wrestling
March 16, 2007 | Wrestling
March 16, 2007
Auburn Hills, Mich. -
Illinois sophomore Mike Poeta (157), who became an All-American for the first time in earlier today, is only grappler remaining for the Illinois in the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Poeta fell to top-seeded Travis Paulson (Iowa St.), 4-0, in their 157-pound semifinal match. After four sessions of the national tournament at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich., the Illini are in 22nd place with 26.5 points.
Poeta, who was hoping to go 2-0 this season against the top-ranked Paulson, fell behind early after Paulson scored a takedown in the first period. A second period Paulson escape and riding time added made the final score 4-0. Poeta will wrestle No. 11-seed Matt Kocher (Pitt) in the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning. A win there will give Poeta a chance to finish as high as third place.
True-freshman Jimmy Kennedy (133) and sophomore Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165) narrowly missed All-America honors as they dropped both of their consolation matches to a pair of Big Ten foes. Kennedy fell to Indiana's Andrae Hernandez, 4-3, in overtime while Smith-Bergsrud was edged by Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum, 2-1. The two needed to win their matches to finish in the top-8 for the tournament and come away with the All-America award.
Tomorrow's session starts at 10 a.m. (EST) with wrestlebacks as well as third-, fifth- and eighth-place matches.
Media Coverage
ESPNU will telecast the Championship Medal Round for the first time in television history starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday. ESPN will air the finals at 8 p.m. ESPN360, ESPN's customized broadband service, will complement the ESPNU and ESPN telecasts by providing live coverage of all four mats during the quarterfinals, giving users the option to select the match they want to see. In addition, ESPN360 will also provide live coverage of all post-match press conferences during the semifinals and final rounds.
Team Standings
1. Iowa St. 83.5 2. Minnesota 80.0 3. Missouri 69.5 4. Oklahoma St. 62.5 5. Northwestern 62.0 22. ILLINOIS 26.5
Weight-by-Weight Results
133: No. 9-seed, #9 Jimmy Kennedy (Fr., Ingleside, Ill.) 1st Round: Won by dec. Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh), 7-4 2nd Round: Won by dec. No. 8-seed Tyler McCormick (Missouri), 3-2 Quarterfinals: Lost by dec. to No. 1-seed Nick Simmons (Michigan St.), 3-0 Consolation 4th Round: Lost by dec. to Andrae Hernandez (Indiana), 4-3 (TB1) Kennedy eliminated157: No.5-seed, #5 Mike Poeta (So., Highwood, Ill.) 1st Round: Won by dec. Chase Pami (Cal Poly), 5-3 2nd Round: Won by dec. William Rowe (Oklahoma), 8-3 Quarterfinals: Won by dec. No. 4-seed C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota), 5-4 Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 1-seed Travis Paulson (Iowa St.), 4-0 Up Next - Consolation Semifinals: No. 11-seed Matt Kocher (Pitt)
165: #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (So., Lake Bluff, Ill.) 1st Round: Won by dec. Bryan Tice (Cal. St. Full.), 3-2 2nd Round: Lost by maj. dec. to No. 4-seed Travis Paulson (Iowa St.), 10-2 Cosolation 2nd Round: Won by dec. Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska), 5-3 (SV2) Consolation 3rd Round: Won by dec. Dustin Noack (UC Davis), 3-2 Consolation 4th Round: Lost by dec. to No. 3-seed Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan), 2-1 Smith-Bergsrud eliminated
