Brown University
EIWA Championships
3/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior Ophir Bernstein finished in fourth place, qualifying for the NCAA Championships, as Brown University wrestling earned four placers at the 111th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena on Saturday.
Bernstein (Allen, Texas) advances to the NCAA Championships and finishes in the top four of the 184-pound weight class at EIWAs for the fourth time. Last year, he gained All-America status for placing eighth at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Beginning his day in the third round of the wrestle-backs, Bernstein, the five seed, pinned eighth-seeded Mike Woulfe of Navy in 4:48. He followed that with a 13-0 major decision victory over sixth-seeded Thomas Sleigh of Bucknell. He then dropped a 13-3 decision to fourth-seeded Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the third-place bout.
Seeded fifth at 125 lbs., senior Billy Watterson (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) came in fifth to place at the conference championships for the third time in his career. He started the second day with a 2-1 win over Drexel's Zach Fuetes, the eight seed. Watterson then lost to third-seeded Paul Petrov of Bucknell, 10-2, before topping seventh-seeded Johnson Mai of Columbia, 6-0, in the fifth-place bout.
Senior Ricky McDonald (Carson City, Nev.), the eight seed at 174 lbs., finished in eighth, placing at the EIWA Championships for the second straight year. He fell to Sacred Heart's Conan Schuster via fall in 5:24 and then lost to Binghamton's Steven Schneider, 5-1, in the seventh-place bout.
At 149 lbs., sophomore Steven Galiardo (Chicago, Ill.) closed his day in eighth, placing at EIWAs for the first time. He fell to fifth-seeded Victor Lopez of Bucknell, 4-3, prior to withdrawing from action for medical reasons.
As a team, Brown finished in 12th place with 42.5 points.
The NCAA Championships will take place from March 19-21 in St. Louis, Mo., and the NCAA will announce additional at-large selections on March 11.
Friday Recap
Watterson, McDonald, and Bernstein as well as Galiardo each won two bouts on Friday to advance to the second day of the EIWA Championships.
All four Bears notched 2-1 records to remain alive in wrestle-back competition. Each wrestler will place no lower than eighth and has the opportunity to finish as high as third.
As a team, the Bears stand in 11th place with 28 points. Cornell leads the team standings with 93 points.
Watterson, the five seed at 125 lbs., beat Bryan Damon of Hofstra, 8-4, in the first round. In the quarterfinals, he fell to fourth-seeded Scott Parker of Lehigh, 7-4. Watterson responded with a 14-3 major decision victory over Army's Sean Badua in the second round of wrestle-backs, and he will face eighth-seeded Zach Fuetes of Drexel tomorrow.
At 149 lbs., Galiardo earned two wins in wrestle-back action to proceed to tomorrow's competition. After a 10-3 loss to second-seeded Charles Cobb of Penn, Galiardo topped Sacred Heart's Brendan Goldup, 10-3, and Nick Tighe of Binghamton, 5-3, in sudden victory. He will wrestle fifth-seeded Victor Lopez of Bucknell tomorrow in the third round of wrestle-backs.
McDonald – seeded eighth at 174 lbs. – opened the day with a 6-2 win over Binghamton's Steven Schneider. After dropping a 5-4 decision to top-seeded George Pickett of Cornell, McDonald defeated Princeton's Judd Ziegler, 10-3. Tomorrow, he will square off with Sacred Heart's Conan Schuster, whom he beat 8-2 on Jan. 24.
Seeded fifth at 184 lbs., Bernstein began competition with an 8-0 major decision victory over Elliot Antler of Sacred Heart. After a 10-1 setback to fourth-seeded Lorenzo Thomas of Penn, Bernstein pinned Anthony Mancini of Franklin & Marshall in 1:50. He will wrestle eighth-seeded Mike Woulfe of Navy – whom he pinned in 1:41 on Nov. 16 – in tomorrow's wrestle-backs third round.
At the EIWAs, Bernstein has finished in third in each of the last two years and came in fourth in 2012. Watterson placed fourth in 2012 and fifth in 2013 while McDonald finished in seventh last year. The NCAA has allocated automatic qualifiers to the EIWA, including three spots at 125 lbs., three bids at 149 lbs., two at 174, and five at 184.
Other Bears who picked up one win apiece at the championships included freshman Zeke Salvo (Baltimore, Md.) at 133 lbs., sophomore Justin Staudenmayer (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) at 157 lbs., junior Augustus Marker (Castle Rock, Colo.) at 197, and senior Sebastien Levin (Amenia, N.Y.). Staudenmayer, the three seed, withdrew from competition due to injury.
Brown Results:
125 Pounds (Top 3 to NCAAs)
(5) Billy Watterson (4-2)
Friday
First Round: Watterson over Bryan Damon (Hofstra), Dec. 8-1
Quarterfinals: (4) Scott Parker (Lehigh) over Watterson, Dec. 7-4
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: Watterson over Sean Badua (Army), MD 14-3
Saturday
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 3: Watterson over (8) Zach Fuetes (Drexel), Dec. 2-1
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 4: (3) Paul Petrov (Bucknell) over Watterson, MD 10-2
Fifth-Place Bout: Watterson over (7) Johnson Mai (Columbia), Dec. 6-0
133 Pounds (Top 3 to NCAAs)
Zeke Salvo (1-2)
Friday
First Round: (5) Josh Terao (American) over Salvo, TF 17-1 6:45
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 1: Salvo over Timothy Johnson (Sacred Heart), Fall 0:40
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: (3) Caleb Richardson (Penn) over Salvo, Dec. 7-3
141 Pounds (Top 5 to NCAAs)
Anthony Finocchiaro (0-2)
Friday
First Round: (3) Randy Cruz (Lehigh) over Finocchiaro, MD 13-0
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 1: Dylan Caruana (Binghamton) over Finocchiaro, Dec. 6-3
149 Pounds (Top 3 to NCAAs)
Steven Galiardo (2-3)
Friday
First Round: (2) Charles Cobb (Penn) over Galiardo, Dec. 10-3
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 1: Galiardo over Brendan Goldup (Sacred Heart), Dec. 10-6
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: Galiardo over Nick Tighe (Binghamton), Dec. 5-3 SV
Saturday
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 3: (5) Victor Lopez (Bucknell) over Galiardo, Dec. 4-3
Seventh-Place Bout: (3) Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) over Galiardo, Medical Forfeit
157 Pounds (Top 7 to NCAAs)
(3) Justin Staudenmayer (1-2)
Friday
First Round: Staudenmayer over Drew Daniels (Navy), Dec. 2-1
Quarterfinals: (6) John Boyle (American) over Staudenmayer, Injury 4:31
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: Rich Eva (Princeton) over Staudenmayer, Medical Forfeit
165 Pounds (Top 4 to NCAAs)
Richard Muniz (0-2)
Friday
First Round: (4) Raamiah Bethea (Penn) over Muniz, Dec. 5-3
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 1: Matt Fischer (Sacred Heart) over Muniz, Dec. 6-5
174 Pounds (Top 2 to NCAAs)
(8) Ricky McDonald (2-3)
Friday
First Round: McDonald over Steven Schneider (Binghamton), Dec. 6-2
Quarterfinals: (1) George Pickett (Cornell) over McDonald, Dec. 5-4
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: McDonald over Judd Ziegler (Princeton), Dec. 10-3
Saturday
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 3: Conan Schuster (Sacred Heart) over McDonald, Fall 5:24
Seventh-Place Bout: Steven Schneider (Binghamton) over McDonald, 5-1
184 Pounds (Top 5 to NCAAs)
(5) Ophir Bernstein (4-2)
Friday
First Round: Bernstein over Elliot Antler (Sacred Heart), MD 8-0
Quarterfinals: (4) Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) over Bernstein, MD 10-1
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: Bernstein over Anthony Mancini (Franklin & Marshall), Fall 1:50
Saturday
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 3: Bernstein over (8) Mike Woulfe (Navy), Fall 4:48
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 4: Bernstein over (6) Thomas Sleigh (Bucknell), MD 13-0
Third-Place Bout: (4) Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) over Bernstein, MD 13-3
197 Pounds (Top 6 to NCAAs)
Augustus Marker (1-2)
Friday
First Round: (3) Elliott Riddick (Lehigh) over Marker, Dec. 8-3
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 1: Marker over Brandon Litten (Drexel), Fall 3:47
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: (5) Bryce Barnes (Army) over Marker, Dec. 6-2
285 Pounds (Top 5 to NCAAs)
Sebastien Levin (1-2)
Friday
First Round: (6) Mike Hughes (Hofstra) over Levin, Fall 2:39
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 1: Levin over Chris McDermand (American), Dec. 3-2
Wrestle-Backs Rd. 2: (5) David Ng (Harvard) over Levin, MD 10-2
