Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
EIWA Championships
LeValley, Rendos Advance to Title Bouts at EIWA Championships, Bucknell Wrestling in Fourth After Day One
3/6/2010 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 6, 2010
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Kevin LeValley and Andy Rendos advanced to the title bouts in their weight classes and the Bucknell wrestling team has eight of its nine entrants still alive at the end of the first day of the EIWA Championships Saturday at Lehigh's Stabler Arena. The Bison stand fourth in the team standings, behind only two-time defending champion Cornell, host Lehigh and Penn, mirroring the top four teams from 2009.
Bucknell, which finished a program-best tied for third at last year's EIWA Championships, was in fifth place following the first day of last year's event.
LeValley and Rendos, who are guaranteed of automatic NCAA berths, are in position to claim Bucknell's first-ever individual EIWA title. LeValley, who is the top seed at 149 pounds and ranked seventh nationally, went 3-0 on Saturday with two pins and a decision. He defeated a pair of seeded opponents, including Navy's Glenn Shober. LeValley, who is now 37-5 and owns a 12-match winning streak, will face Army's Matthew Kyler in Sunday's championship bout. LeValley defeated Kyler 8-6 in overtime in November.
Rendos, who is the top seed at 165 pounds, also went 3-0 Saturday, winning the three bouts by a combined 24-2 margin. He finished second at last year's EIWA Championships and is trying to earn his fourth consecutive top-four EIWA finish. He will face Lehigh's third-seeded Brandon Hatchett in Sunday's championship bout.
No Bison has ever won an EIWA individual title. Rendos finished second last year and David Marble posted a second-place showing at 133 pounds in 2008, marking the program's best-ever placings.
While LeValley and Rendos are the only two Bison to earn automatic NCAA berths Saturday, Marble, Brantley Hooks, Shane Riccio and Rob Waltko will qualify for berths with wins in their first matches Sunday. Each wrestler advanced to the consolation semifinals of their respective weight classes on Saturday.
Marble, who is in search of his fourth consecutive NCAA berth and third career top-four finish at EIWAs, went 1-1 Saturday. After an easy opening win in the quarterfinals by tech fall, he dropped a 10-1 major decision to top-seeded Mike Grey of Cornell in the semifinals. It marked Marble's second loss to Grey, having dropped a 4-1 decision to him at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December.
Riccio, the No. 3 seed at 174 pounds, also advanced to the semifinals with a win in his first bout. He then lost to second-seeded Scott Giffin of Penn, who pinned him with four seconds remaining in the bout. Riccio has guaranteed a top-six finish, but can still place as high as third. After a loss to Giffin last year, Riccio bounced back to win four consolation matches and finish a career-best third at 174 pounds.
Competing at the EIWAs for the first time since 2008, Hooks lost his first match Saturday to second-seeded Steve Fittery of American. Hooks then won two straight bouts in the consolation bracket to advance to the consolation semifinals. He now owns a 5-5 all-time record at EIWAs and will finish no lower than sixth at 157 pounds.
At 184 pounds, Waltko, who was competing at EIWAs for the first time, followed a similar path to Hooks, winning a pair of consolation bouts to guarantee a top-six showing. He will face Cornell's Steve Bosak in the consolation semis with an automatic NCAA berth on the line.
Also in action Saturday was John Regan at 141 pounds. He went 2-2, defeating a pair of unseeded opponents and dropping a pair of matches to two of the top three seeds in his weight class. Regan, who will wrestle for seventh place on Sunday, was seeded sixth in the field. The lone Bucknell freshman in the field, Joe McMullan, will also wrestle for seventh place at heavyweight on Sunday after going 2-2 Saturday.
If all four grapplers who are still alive for automatic NCAA berths advance far enough, Bucknell will tie its program record for NCAA qualifiers, which is the six the program qualified last year.
The EIWA Championships will continue on Sunday with consolation brackets beginning at 10 a.m. and the championship bouts commencing at 3 p.m. at Lehigh's Stabler Arena.
EIWA Championship Standings (after day one)
1. Cornell – 124
2. Lehigh – 92.5
2. Penn – 92.5
4. Bucknell – 81.5
5. American – 75
6. Navy – 73.5
7. Rutgers – 72
8. Columbia – 58.5
9. Army – 54.5
10. Brown – 43.5
11. Harvard – 42.5
12. Princeton – 23
13. Franklin & Marshall – 2
133: No. 17 David Marble (No. 4 seed), Sr., Harpursville, N.Y.
Quarterfinals: W, tech. fall Jacob Bucha (F&M), 22-4 (5:35)
Semifinals: L, maj. dec. #1 Mike Grey (Cornell), 10-1
141: John Regan (No. 6 seed), So., Plum Borough, Pa.
1st Round: W, maj. dec. Zachary Kulczycki (Brown), 12-4
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #3 Trevor Melde (Rutgers), 6-1
Consolation 1st Round: W, fall Ryan Doyle (Columbia), 2:46
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, maj. dec. #2 Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh), 9-0
149: No. 7 Kevin LeValley (No. 1 seed), Jr., Hugo, Colo.
1st Round: W, fall Philip Marano (Brown), 3:26
Quarterfinals: W, fall #8 Daniel Kolodzik (Princeton), 6:36
Semifinals: W, dec. #4 Glenn Shober (Navy), 8-4
157: Brantley Hooks (No. 7 seed), Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.
Quarterfinals: L, maj. dec. #2 Steve Fittery (American), 15-4
Consolation 2nd Round: W, dec. Daniel Young (Army), 5-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: W, dec. Matthew Dunn (Columbia), 3-0
165: No. 10 Andy Rendos (No. 1 seed), Sr., Brockway, Pa.
1st Round: W, maj. dec. Christopher Marchetti (Army), 9-0
Quarterfinals: W, maj. dec. #8 Jeffrey Lemmer (Brown), 9-0
Semifinals: W, dec. #4 Eren Civan (Columbia), 6-2
174: No. 15 Shane Riccio (No. 3 seed), Sr., Warren, N.J.
Quarterfinals: W, dec. #6 Daniel Rinaldi (Rutgers), 3-1
Semifinals: L, fall #2 Scott Giffin (Penn), 6:56
184: Rob Waltko (No. 6 seed), Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #3 David Craig (Lehigh), 8-2
Consolation 2nd Round: W, dec. Harrison Cook (Penn), 11-6
Consolation Quarterfinals: W, dec. #7 Bran Crudden (Brown), 5-2
197: Jay Hahn (No. 6 seed), Jr., Malvern, Pa.
1st Round: L, dec. Branden Stearns (Rutgers), 5-3
Consolation 2nd Round: L, dec. Joseph Kennedy (Lehigh), 5-4 Hahn Eliminated
Hwt: Joe McMullan (No. 7 seed), Fr., Easton, Pa.
1st Round: W, fall Larry Otsuka (Brown), 4:43
Quarterfinals: L, fall #2 Dominick Russo (Rutgers), 1:42
Consolation 2nd Round: W, dec. Spencer DeSena (Harvard), 10-4
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, dec. #6 Kevin Lester (Columbia), 10-4
