Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
NCAA Championships
Bucknell's Andy Rendos Finishes Fifth at NCAA Wrestling Championships
3/21/2009 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 21, 2009
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Bucknell's Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area) continued his run through the NCAA Wrestling Championships brackets Saturday at the Scottrade Center and ended up finishing fifth in the 165-pound weight class. By virtue of the fifth-place finish, Rendos is the first Bison to earn All-America honors since 1995. Additionally, the junior's showing is the second-best at NCAAs by a Bucknell wrestler.
Rendos, who went 1-1 Saturday, entered the day with a chance to finish as high as third. However, he dropped a 7-4 decision to eighth-seeded Jonathan Reader of Iowa State in his first bout.
In the fifth-place match, Rendos bounced back to defeat fourth-seeded Moza Fay of Northern Iowa, 9-6.
Overall at the NCAA Championships, Rendos, who was unseeded in the tournament, went 5-2 with three wins over top-10 seeds. Rendos faced a total of five seeded foes in a span of just over 48 hours.
Rendos' fifth-place showing is the second-best in Bucknell history, behind Tom Marchetti's fourth-place medal in the 167-pound weight class in 1989. Rendos is also the fourth different All-American in Bison history, joining Marchetti (1989), Bryan Burns (1991) and Bobby Ferraro (1994, 1995).
With a 33-8 record this year, Rendos tied classmate Shane Riccio and Brian Pitzer for the most wins in a season in Bucknell history. Rendos is also tied for fifth on the career list with Ken Herceg with 88 victories.
Rendos was one of a school-record six Bison to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Derek Reber, David Marble, Kevin LeValley, Riccio and David Thompson wrestled Thursday and Friday and helped Bucknell reach 28th in the team standings entering Saturday night's championship matches.
165: Andy Rendos (unseeded), Jr., Brockway, Pa.
Thursday:
1st Round: W, dec. #10 Chris Brown (Old Dominion), 2-0
2nd Round: W, dec. #7 Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska), 5-2
Friday:
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #2 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin), 7-3
Consolation 5th Round: W, dec. Dan Vallimont (Penn State), 5-3
Consolation 6th Round: W, maj. dec. Tyler Sherfey (Boise State), 11-2
Saturday:
Consolation Semifinals: L, dec. #8 Jonathan Reader (Iowa State), 7-4
5th-Place Match: W, dec. #4 Moza Fay (Northern Iowa), 9-6
