Wrestling Wraps Up Competiton at NCAA Championships

Friday, March 20

St. Louis, Mo.

Drexel University

NCAA Championships

Wrestling Wraps Up Competiton at NCAA Championships

3/20/2015 9:08:00 PM | Wrestling

BRACKETS

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Drexel Wrestling wrapped up competition at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday as the remaining three Dragons were eliminated from competition. Kevin Devoy Jr. continued competition into Friday evening's session, but his season was cut short as he fell in overtime to Michigan's Rossi Bruno.

After securing two wins in the first day of his second-career NCAA tournament appearance, Devoy moved on to the quarterfinals of the championship round on Friday morning. Faced with the No. 1 seed Chris Dardanes of Minnesota, Devoy was unable to pull off the upset as he was defeated, 7-2. Moving into the blood rounds on Friday evening, Devoy was matched up against Michigan's Bruno who was seeded 14th at the start of the tournament. Bruno led 5-3 at the start of the third after two takedowns and an escape, but 10 seconds into the final period Michigan's 133-pounder was penalized for locking hands. Devoy was therefore awarded an extra point and was also credited with an escape, which tied the score up at five points apiece. The match continued to sudden victory as the score was still locked at five and time expired in regulation. Despite a strong effort from Devoy, Bruno was able to secure the first takedown of the overtime period and walk away with a 7-5 victory. With his two wins at the national tournament, Devoy finishes the 2014-15 season with a career-best 38-7 record.

After a win over Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers and a loss to James Green of Nebraska on day one, Blanco entered day two of competition at the national tournament in the wrestleback rounds. In his first match of the day, Blanco took on George Mason's Gregory Floumoy in a tight match that ended up being tied at 1-1 with less than 10 seconds to go in regulation. In the final five seconds, Blanco secured a crucial takedown to gain the lead and ultimately earn the decision. Advancing to the next round, Blanco took on Alex Elder of Oregon State and remained in control for the majority of the match. Leading 5-2 with 17 seconds to go in regulation, however, Elder pulled a quick move to pin Blanco and steal the victory. Blanco concludes his senior season with a career-high 20 wins.

Cimato had a tough start on day one, as he fell in overtime in his first match which sent him to the consolation round. There he defeated Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State by major decision to stay alive and advance to day two. As the second day of competition began, Cimato was matched up against Colin Heffernan of Central Michigan. Despite a strong effort from Drexel's 149-pounder, Heffernan earned a 5-2 victory and Cimato was eliminated from competition. The redshirt sophomore for Drexel wrapped up the season with a career-best 23 victories.

For a full recap of the events of day one of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, click here.

RESULTS:

133: #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU) DEC Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland), 9-4
          #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU) DEC Caleb Richardson (Penn), 3-1 (SV)
         .#1 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) DEC #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU), 7-2
          #14 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) DEC #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU), 7-5 (SV)

141: #8 Geo Martinez (Boise State) DEC David Pearce (DU), 6-4
          Nick Lawrence (Purdue) DEC David Pearce (DU), 7-5

149: #7 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) DEC Matthew Cimato (DU), 13-11 (SV)
          Matthew Cimato (DU) MAJ #10 Christian Pagdilao (ASU), 13-2
          Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan) DEC Matthew Cimato (DU), 5-2

157: Noel Blanco (DU) DEC #13 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), 5-3 (SV)
          #4 James Green (Nebraska) TF Noel Blanco (DU), 20-5
          Noel Blanco (DU) DEC Gregory Floumoy (George Mason), 3-1
          Alex Elder (Oregon State) WBF Noel Blanco (DU) @ 6:43