March 9, 2011

2011 NCAA Championships Brackets

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Five Fighting Illini wrestlers will compete at the 2011 NCAA Championships March 17-19 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. B.J. Futrell (133), Jimmy Kennedy (141), Eric Terrazas (149) and Tony Dallago (184) all qualified automatically at last weekend's Big Ten Championships, while true-freshman Jackson Morse earned one of four at-large berths at 157 pounds.

Futrell grabbed the No. 7 seed at 133 pounds and will face Edinboro's Eric Morrill in the first round. The winner of that match will face the winner of the bout between No. 10 seed Rollie Peterkin (Penn) and Flint Ray (Utah Valley State). It will be Futrell's second appearance at the NCAA Championships after going 1-2 at the event in 2009.

Kennedy earned the No. 4 seed at 141 pounds and will take on Utah Valley's Justin Morrill, with the winner of that match facing the winner of Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech) and Mike Greck (Millersville). Kennedy is a two-time All-American and a four-time NCAA qualifier, holding a 10-4 career record at the event.

Terrazas will face No. 12 seed Desi Green (Buffalo) at 149, with that victor taking on the winner between No. 5 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) and Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota). It is Terrazas' first trip to the NCAA Championships.

Morse earned one of four at-large spots at 157 and will take on No. 7 seed Bryce Saddoris (Navy). That match's winner will face the winner of the bout between No. 10 Daryl Cocozzo (Rutgers) and a pigtail bout between Bryan Deutsch (Northern Illinois) and Corey Mock (North Carolina).

Dallago will face No. 7 seed Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) in his first trip to the NCAA Championships, approximately 100 miles from his hometown of Harrisburg, Pa. The winner of that match will take on the winner between No. 10 seed Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) and Matt Ryan (West Virginia).

The NCAA Championships begin March 17 at 10 a.m. CT at the Wells Fargo Center. Both sessions on March 17 will be streamed live on ESPN3.com.