March 9, 2002
The Cleveland State wrestlers came out strong in the first round of the Eastern Wrestling League tournament, advancing five of ten grapplers. With 39 bids available to the NCAA Tournament later this month, the Vikings have everything to gain in the two-day event. The first three place-winners will get automatic invites to the NCAA Tourney, while nine others will receive wild cards. Thus far the Vikes have five wrestlers in Rocco Mansueto (125), Phil Mansueto (133), Nick Boucher (141), Gerald Harris (174) and Joe Phillips (184) still in the hunt for the final round.
CSU scored 29 points in the session but trailed second-place West Virginia (37) but just eight points heading into the semifinal round. Edinboro outdistanced the rest of the teams by piling up 52 points.
Rocco Mansueto (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) came into the tournament with a third-seed and did not disappoint. The junior defeated Geoff Head of Virginia Tech, 6-1. It was the second time in three weeks that he downed Head. Mansueto won their dual bout, 10-4, on February 17. Mansueto looks to improve on a second-place finish in last year's tourney. However, his semifinal match will setup an interesting rematch with Edinboro's Shawn Bunch. Bunch defeated Mansueto, 10-3, in their EWL bout in December. Yet CSU's co-captain was badly hobbled by an ankle injury at the time.
14th-ranked Phil Mansueto (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown), who lost just one EWL contest this year, grabbed the second-seed at 133 pounds. Mansueto soundly beat the host school's Chris Spealler, 10-3. CSU's junior will look to lock in a second trip to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Pittsburgh's Shawn Amistade in the semifinals. But Amistade could play a spoiler, as Mansueto narrowly escaped with a 2-1 win over Amistade earlier in the year.
Nick Boucher (Sunfield, Mich./Lakewood) pulled an upset over fourth-seeded Blaise Mucci at 141 pounds. The Vikes' lone senior pinned Mucci in 4:05. With the win Boucher avenged his loss to Mucci in their dual match. The co-captain is working towards his second-consecutive trip to the NCAA's. Boucher finished in third place last year. However, it won't get any easier, as Boucher will meet #2 Sean Gray of Virginia Tech in the semifinals.
In one of the toughest weight classes in the league, 19th-ranked Gerald Harris II (Tulsa, Okla./East Central) pinned Bloomsburg's Tom Anderson in 1:47. As the third seed at 174 pounds, Harris will square off against the nation's third-ranked 174-pounder, West Virginia's Greg Jones. The two faced each other February 23, with Jones coming out on top, 3-2. Jones hit Harris with a takedown in the third period for the win. The winner of that match could face number one-ranked Josh Koscheck, the returning NCAA champion.
At 184 pounds Joe Phillips (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) also pulled off an upset for the Vikings. Phillips grabbed a takedown in the 30-second overtime to beat West Virginia's Ryan Wilman, 3-1. Phillips also beat Wilman in their dual match, riding him out for the 1-1 win in the tie-breaker.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, heavyweight Russ Davie (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) defaulted in his match with Edinboro's Josh Pearce. Davie went down with an injury, but could come back in the consolation bracket.
The semifinal round and consolation round will begin tonight at 6-10 p.m. The consolation finals and championship finals will be held tomorrow at 12-2 p.m.
