March 21, 2003
Heading into tonight's semifinals at the 2003 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the Illini knew they had two All-Americans in senior Matt Lackey at 165 pounds and freshman Alex Tirapelle at 157, but now they have two finalists, each going for their first national title. The last time an Illini team had two in the finals was in 2001 when Adam Tirapelle and John Lockhart won national titles and Pat Quirk was a runner up. After the fourth session, Illinois stands in seventh in the team standings with 49.0 points.
Tirapelle (Fr., Clovis, Calif.) was the first up for the Illini as he battled the fourth-seed Scott Owen of Northern Illinois, looking for his second upset win of the tournament (after beating defending national champion Luke Becker of Minnesota to advance to the semis). After a scoreless first period, Tirapelle took the lead with an escape in the second for a 1-0 lead. Neither wrestler got an offensive point in the second, leading Owen to chose down for the start of the third period. Tirapelle then rode Owen for a minute before turning him for near fall points and picking up riding time. Leading 4-0, Owen finally escaped with only nine seconds left in the match giving Tirapelle the 5-1 win and a trip to the NCAA finals.
Tirapelle, the ninth-seed, will face the sixth-seed in the tournament, Ryan Bertin of Michigan in what will be the rubber match between the two wrestlers. Tirapelle won the first meeting in a 3-2 decision at the regular season dual meet. Bertin got the best in the second at the Big Ten Tournament, also a 3-2 decision.
"This feeling is indescribable, very unexpected," Tirapelle said. "My goal this season was to become an All-American and this is just unbelievable. I am just wrestling well at the right time and got some breaks."
Lackey (Sr., Moline, Ill.), the No. 1-seed in the tournament, kept his unbeaten streak alive as he won a 6-3 decision over the fourth-seed Jacob Volkmann of Minnesota to make his second straight trip to the finals. Lackey scored first jumping out to a 2-0 lead, taking Volkmann down at the 2:34 mark of the first period. After establishing riding time, Volkmann got an escape for a 2-1 score. Lackey increased his lead with an escape and was in control until an escape and a stalling point in the third to make the score 3-3. Volkmann took a shot with nine seconds left to go in the match and Lackey countered for a takedown to take a 5-3 lead and riding time made the final score 6-3.
The win sets up a finals match against freshman No. 2-seed Troy Letters of Lehigh. Letters has only one loss on the season, but it came against Lackey in a 6-3 decision at the Midlands Tournament in December.
In the consolation bracket, with 10 seconds remaining in tie-break overtime, Iowa State's Zach Roberson escaped from the hold of Mark Jayne (So., Elyria, Ohio) to end Jayne's hopes of becoming an All-American. Roberson quickly scored two takedowns on Jayne to lead 5-1 entering the third period. Jayne took him down twice in the final minute to the match and send it to overtime.
Tomorrow's finals will take place at 2 p.m. CT at Kemper Arena, and will be televised on ESPN2 at 6 p.m.
Team Scores through 3rd Session (Top-10 only)
1. Oklahoma State - 102.0
2. Minnesota - 87.0
3. Lehigh - 68.0
4. Oklahoma - 65.5
5. Arizona State - 51.0
6. Iowa - 50.0
7. Illinois - 49.0
8. Michigan - 47.5
9. Cornell - 43.5
10. Northern Iowa - 39.5
133: #8-seed Mark Jayne (So., Elyria, Ohio), 28-12
Rat Tail: Major Dec. Bernard Gardner (Army), 16-5
1st Round: Pinned Joe Alexander (Virginia), 6:32
2nd Round: Dec. #9-seed Shawn Bunch (Edinoboro), 8-6
Quarterfinals: Lost to #1-seed Johnny Thompson (Oklahoma State), 3-2
Consolation 4th Round: Lost to #5-seed Zach Roberson (Iowa State), 7-6 TB - Jayne Eliminated
**NCAA Finalist and All-American**
157: #9-seed Alex Tirapelle (Fr., Clovis, Calif.), 33-7
1st Round: Dec. Tim Foley (Virginia), 3-1
2nd Round: Dec. Jim Medeiros (Fresno State), 4-3
Quarterfinals: Dec. #1-seed Luke Becker (Minnesota), 2-1 TB
Semifinals: Dec. #4-seed Scott Owen (Northern Illinois), 5-1
Up Next - NCAA Finals: #6-seed Ryan Bertin (Michigan)
**NCAA Finalist and All-American**
165: #1-seed Matt Lackey (Sr., Moline, Ill.) 37-0
1st Round: Dec. Leighton Brady (Boston U), 13-6
2nd Round: Dec. Oscar Santiago (Purdue), 4-2
Quarterfinals: Dec. Matt R. King (Edinboro), 6-1
Semifinals: Dec. #4-seed Jacob Volkmann (Minnesota), 6-3
Up Next - NCAA Finals: #2-seed Troy Letters (Lehigh)
