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Home > Wrestling > Archive > 2005-2006 > March 3, 2006 - 3rd at CAA's after Day One

March 3, 2006 - 3rd at CAA's after Day One

March 3, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Wrestling

Rider 3rd of 11 at CAA Championships-Day One

PHILADELPHIA, PA-The Rider University wrestling team won 11 of 15 bouts Friday and is currently in third place in the 11-team Colonial Athletic Association Championships, hosted by Drexel University. Rider has seven wrestlers in the semi-finals Saturday and two others alive in the consolations. “That’s a good start,” said associate head coach John Hangey. “We are very pleased with having seven in the semi-finals.”

Sophomore Ryan Smith (Olmstead Falls, OH/Olmstead Falls), freshman Mike Kessler (Randallstown, Md./Owings Mills), junior Ryan Cunningham (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), sophomore Zack Cunliffe (Farmingdale/Howell), senior Joe Maroney (Bensalem, PA), sophomore Doug Umbehauer (Shamong/Lenape), and sophomore TJ Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) all reached the semi-finals for Rider.

The CAA Championship Tournament will advance 23 wrestlers on to the NCAA Division I Nationals in Oklahoma City, OK March 16-18. The CAA finals are scheduled for 6:00 pm Saturday in Drexel’s John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center.

“It is shaping up to be close to a Rider-Hofstra dual meet in the finals,” said Hangey. Hofstra, ranked 20th in the nation, has won the last four CAA Championships. Rider finished runner-up to Hofstra the last two years.

Smith, the third seed at 125, pinned Trevour Smith of Campbell (2:42) in the first round, before defeating the sixth seed, Josh Statum of Boston U. 4-2 in the quarter-finals. Smith will now face the second seed, Dave Tomasette of Hofstra in the semi-finals.

Cunningham, the fifth seed at 157, received a first round bye and in the quarter-finals upset the fourth seed, Justin Blumenthal of Boston U., 5-1. Cunningham will now face the top seed, James Strouse of Hofstra in the semi-finals. Strouse is the defending CAA Champion and is currently ranked 15th in the nation. “That’s the only top seed we face in the semi-finals,” said Hangey, “so we’re in good position to do what we need to get it done.”

Cunliffe, the second seed at 133, received a first-round bye, and won by tech fall in 4:00 over Erick Cholewa of Binghamton in the quarter-finals. Cunliffe will now face the third seed, Kyle McCarthy of Sacred Heart, in the semi-finals.

Kessler and Maroney, a pair of second seeds, will face sixth seeds in the semi-finals on Saturday. “We caught a huge break with those two sixth seeds upsetting the third seeds,” said Hangey.

Kessler, the second seed at 149, defeated Jeff Jacobs of James Madison 10-4 in the first round, and then pinned Sean Egan of Sacred Heart (2:29) in the quarter-finals. Kessler will now face the sixth seed, Chris Renninger of Drexel, in the semi-finals.

Maroney the second seed at 184, received a first round bye, and won by a major decision (16-7) in the quarter-finals against Andrew Silver of Sacred Heart. Maroney will face the sixth seed, Matt Moyer of George Mason in the semi-finals.

Umbehauer, the third seed at 174, received a first round bye and in the quarter-finals defeated the sixth seed, Stuart Oates of George Mason, 7-4. Umbehauer will now face the number two seed, Nick Kozar of Drexel, in the semi-finals.

Morrison, the second seed at 197, defeated Kevin Fox of Sacred Heart with a 14-0 major decision in the quarter-finals, and will now face the third seed, Chris Wedman of Hofstra in the semi-finals.

Junior heavyweight Nick Ciufo (Pt. Pleasant) lost 5-1 to James Connors of Boston U. in the first round. In the consolations, Cuifo pinned John Cichon of Wagner in 4:10 and will now advance to the second round of consolations Saturday morning at 10am against Jon Dolida of Old Dominion.

Sophomore Mike Palma (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson), the fourth seed at 141, received a first-round bye before losing 7-4 to the fifth seed, Mike Tutunjian of Wagner, in the quarter-finals. In the second round of consolations Saturday Palma will face Brian Kibler of James Madison

Senior Chris Marold (Mendham), the fifth seed at 165, pinned Sam Sirota of Binghamton (4:23) in the first round, before losing to the fourth seed, Zach Johns of Boston U., 4-1 in the quarter-finals. In the consolations, Marold was pinned (4:44) by the sixth seed, Joe Divello of James Madison.

Team Standings: Hofstra 30.5, Old Dominion 26.5, Rider 26, Drexel 25, Sacred Heart 14.5, James Madison 12, Boston U. 7.5, Binghamton 7, George Mason 6.5, Wagner 5, Campbell 0.5