2008 Woodie Awards
CMU wrestlers go undefeated in first session at Nationals
Beebe upsets No. 9 seed Tanelli
By: Aaron Vigneault
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News
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CMU won all 11 of its matches during session one and is tied for third place with 11 points. The Chippewas are second in the team standings with 18 points. Iowa leads after one session with 19 points.
Proving he's bounced back from an early round upset at the Mid-American Conference tournament, senior 125-pounder Luke Smith won both of his matches during session one.
Smith earned a 2-1 decision against Virginia's Ross Gitomer in his opening match of the day. In one of the more exciting matches of the morning, Smith heard a roar of approval from the crowd as he escaped from Iowa State's Tyler Clark in the second tie-breaker in his second match for a 4-3 win.
Sophomore Conor Beebe won a 7-6 decision against No. 9 seed Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin. With Beebe and Tanelli tied in the last 10 seconds of the match, Tanelli's riding time advantage looked to be enough for the win, but a Beebe takedown as time expired kept CMU undefeated in the morning session.
"Both Luke and Beebe fought hard. Conor kept wrestling and things worked out for him," Borrelli said. "Luke fought hard and gutted out that win. Winning those close matches is the key to doing well here."
Senior Brandon Carter upset Appalachian State's No. 10 seed Scott Ervin with a 5-3 decision in the 149-pound weight class. Carter had beaten Ervin earlier in the season, but expected a tougher match this time around.
"He wasn't in good shape the last time I faced him," Carter said. "I wasn't as confident this time because I knew he would be better, but I got the win."
Sophomore 157-pounder Steve Brown showed no signs of nerves in his first NCAA Tournament appearance. Brown won a 5-3 decision against Army senior Christian Snook.
Junior Trevor Stewart earned a 4-2 decision against Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois in the 165-pound weight class despite battling a heavily bandaged hand.
"I was pretty nervous at first. Probably because it was my first match," Stewart said. "But then I settled down and just wrestled."
Seniors Brandon and Christian Sinnott each earned decisions in their respective weight classes.
The evening session wont get any easier for the Chippewas as Smith, Beebe, Carter, and Brown all will face seeded opponents.
Senior heavyweight Bubba Gritter closed out CMU's opening session with a pin of Army's Nathan Thobaben. Gritter was in control the entire match before finishing Thobaben in the second period.
See Friday's edition of Central Michigan Life for more coverage.
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