Bucknell University Athletics
All-American Andy Rendos Named Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week
3/23/2009 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 23, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell's Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway) was named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week Monday, two days after he finished fifth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships and earned All-America honors. The junior is Bucknell's first All-America selection in more than a decade, and is just the fourth different Bison to be named an All-American.
A three-time NCAA qualifier, Rendos, who was unseeded entering the tournament, went 5-2 at the NCAA Championships with three wins over seeded opponents. He advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual second-place finisher Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. In the consolation bracket, Rendos posted two more victories before dropping a tight 7-4 decision to eighth-seeded Jonathan Reader one bout before the third-place match. He then upended fourth-seeded Moza Fay of Northern Iowa 9-6 to earn fifth place.
The fifth-place showing by Rendos is the second-best in Bucknell history, behind Tom Marchetti's fourth-place medal in the 167-pound weight class in 1989. Rendos joined Marchetti (1989), Bryan Burns (1991) and Bobby Ferraro (1994, 1995) as the only All-Americans in school annals.
With his five victories at the NCAA Championships, Rendos improved his season record to 33-8. He tied classmate Shane Riccio and Brian Pitzer for the most wins in Bucknell history, while his 88 career victories are tied with Ken Herceg for fifth on the all-time wins ledger.
Rendos, who went 1-2 at both the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Championships, now has a 7-6 career record at the event.
In addition to his national tournament success, Rendos has also been impressive at the EIWA Championships. He claimed second at the tournament earlier this month after finishing third in 2007 and fourth in 2008.
Rendos, a three-time Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week award winner this year, was one of a record six Bison to qualify for the NCAA Championships. As a team, Bucknell finished in a tie for 29th place out of more than 70 squads despite having no seniors on the roster and just three classes of recruited student-athletes.
