Sophomore Ben Bennett and junior Jarod Trice have both advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes after each finishing 3-0 Friday, the first day of the two-day meet.

“We didn’t do what we wanted to as a team,” said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli after losing six of his ten wrestlers to the first day.

Junior Scotti Sentes and sophomore Scott Mattingly will continue into day two Saturday in the consolation rounds after each suffering a loss in the second round.

Bennett came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the 174-pound class and advanced from the first round after a 9-4 decision. He used a 16-0 technical fall in the second round to advance into the tournament’s second session. In the quarterfinals, Bennett got the 3-0 decision against Ohio State’s Nick Heflin.

Trice, ranked No. 1 in the heavyweight class, took his first round match by a 3:00 fall and won a 6-2 decision in the second round. He took a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals to advance into Saturday.

Sentes won by a 7-3 decision and Mattingly by a 3-1 decision in the wrestleback round of 16 to move on into the consolation bracket.

Sophomore Donnie Corby (149 pounds) was knocked off in the consolation round of 16 by a 3-2 decision to Hofstra’s Justin Accordino.

Session 1

CMU seemed strong early, winning all three pigtail matches and winning seven of the team’s 10 matches in the first round. But the second round took its toll on the Chippewas.

“Obviously, if you’re not seeded real high, you’re going to hit someone who is a quality competitor in the first or second round,” Borrelli said. “We tended to hit those guys in the second round, and that’s part of learning how to compete on that level.”

Sentes improved to 9-0 on the season after scoring a 16-0 tech fall in 3:12 of the first round, but his unbeaten streak came to an end in his next match against Michigan’s Zac Stevens, losing 4-3 on two takedowns.

Mattingly won on a 3-2 pigtail match and a 8-2 decision in the opening round, but was knocked off the bracket by a 7-2 decision in the second round.

Corby won a close match to start his day by a 5-3 sudden victory. He came out on top of a second close contest, via a 3-2 first round decision, before being pinned 27 seconds into the second round.

Senior Mike Miller was seeded second on the 165-pound bracket, but was beaten off in the second round, losing by a 7-1 decision. He scored a 10-2 major decision to get past the first round.

Miller sprained his knee in the second match, and Borrelli made the decision to pull him from the conclusion of the tournament.

“We didn’t feel like it was in his best interest to continue wrestling,” he said. “It’s not serious, but we’ve got a dual meet in a week and if he can get back by then, that’d be great. We didn’t want to push it this early in the season.”

The last thing the team needs is to lose Miller, who had offseason shoulder surgery that kept him from competing at the opening of the season.

After the first session, No. 1 Cornell (48) leads the way in the team standings, followed by Oklahoma (39) in second and Boise State (34.5) in third. CMU posted 26 points after the first session, putting them in 14th place.

The team will continue into day two of the tournament on Saturday.