2008 Woodie Awards
Web update: Michalak, Christian Sinnott advance to semifinals
Seniors will wrestle for chance at finals tonight
By: Aaron Vigneault
Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: Sports
ST. LOUIS - Seniors Christian Sinnott and Wynn Michalak will wrestle tonight for a chance to advance to the finals of the NCAA Championships.
With the wins, both will earn All-American honors and will wrestle in the semifinals, which being at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. In the team standings, CMU is in fifth place with 43 points.
Christian Sinnott is an All-American for the first time with a 3-2 decision against unseeded Doug Umbehauer from Rider. Sinnott had wrestled several tight matches the last two days and said he was feeling the pressure to get into the parade of All-Americans in his final season.
Sinnott will face Iowa State's No. 1 seed Jake Varner in the semifinals.
"I finally got the monkey off my back," Sinnott said. "It feels great and now all the pressure is on Varner."
Minutes after Sinnott left the mat as an All-American, senior 197-pounder Wynn Michalak faced No. 5 seed Max Askren from Missouri.
Askren held a 2-1 lead and a riding time advantage in the second period when Michalak was able to put Askren in a cradle and earn a two-point nearfall. The points would give Michalak a lead that he would not relinquish, despite a near takedown by Askren in the closing seconds.
"He's real flexible and likes to keep his head down by his knee," Michalak said. "That was the whole match. It's nice to get that one out of the way and not have to worry about coming back and battling."
Michalak will meet American's No. 1 seed Josh Glenn tonight in the semifinals.
The opportunity to be an All-American still exists for four other CMU wrestlers.
Seniors Brandon Sinnott and Bubba Gritter each lost their quarterfinal match Friday afternoon. The 174-pound Sinnott was beaten 8-2 by No. 4 seed Jay Borschel of Iowa. Sinnott was disappointed by his performance but is confident he can win his wrestleback matches.
"I just need to stay relaxed and get refocused and I will be alright," he said.
Gritter came out on the losing end of a tightly contested match with top seed heavyweight Dustin Fox of Northwestern, 2-1. Riding time and an escape gave Fox the win, but coach Tom Borrelli felt that Gritter wrestled the better match.
With the wins, both will earn All-American honors and will wrestle in the semifinals, which being at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. In the team standings, CMU is in fifth place with 43 points.
Christian Sinnott is an All-American for the first time with a 3-2 decision against unseeded Doug Umbehauer from Rider. Sinnott had wrestled several tight matches the last two days and said he was feeling the pressure to get into the parade of All-Americans in his final season.
Sinnott will face Iowa State's No. 1 seed Jake Varner in the semifinals.
"I finally got the monkey off my back," Sinnott said. "It feels great and now all the pressure is on Varner."
Minutes after Sinnott left the mat as an All-American, senior 197-pounder Wynn Michalak faced No. 5 seed Max Askren from Missouri.
Askren held a 2-1 lead and a riding time advantage in the second period when Michalak was able to put Askren in a cradle and earn a two-point nearfall. The points would give Michalak a lead that he would not relinquish, despite a near takedown by Askren in the closing seconds.
"He's real flexible and likes to keep his head down by his knee," Michalak said. "That was the whole match. It's nice to get that one out of the way and not have to worry about coming back and battling."
Michalak will meet American's No. 1 seed Josh Glenn tonight in the semifinals.
The opportunity to be an All-American still exists for four other CMU wrestlers.
Seniors Brandon Sinnott and Bubba Gritter each lost their quarterfinal match Friday afternoon. The 174-pound Sinnott was beaten 8-2 by No. 4 seed Jay Borschel of Iowa. Sinnott was disappointed by his performance but is confident he can win his wrestleback matches.
"I just need to stay relaxed and get refocused and I will be alright," he said.
Gritter came out on the losing end of a tightly contested match with top seed heavyweight Dustin Fox of Northwestern, 2-1. Riding time and an escape gave Fox the win, but coach Tom Borrelli felt that Gritter wrestled the better match.
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