Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
EIWA Championships
Bucknell Wrestling Finishes 10th at EIWA Championships, Stolfi Earns Automatic NCAA Berth
3/9/2013 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 9, 2013
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -Sophomore 285-pounder Joe Stolfi won two bouts Saturday to post a third-place finish in his weight class and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. Four other Bison were also in action Saturday at the Rutgers Athletic Center and each became a placewinner as Bucknell finished in 10th place in the team standings, an improvement of three spots over 2012.
Paul Petrov (6th at 133), Corey Lear (6th at 165), Robert Marchese (8th at 184) and Tyler Lyster (8th at 197) were the other placewinners for the Bison.
Stolfi earned two convincing wins in the 285-pound consolation bracket. He opened the day with a pin of Penn's sixth-seeded Steven Graziano and then defeated Cornell's third-seeded Stryker Lane by a 12-0 score to finish in third place. Stolfi had defeated Graziano 9-0 during a regular-season meeting, while it was his first bout against Lane.
The top four finishers at 285 pounds earned automatic NCAA berths, meaning Stolfi will be making his first career trip to NCAAs. He is Bucknell's first heavyweight to earn an NCAA bid since Tim Pangonas in 1984.
The fifth-seeded Stolfi, who went 5-1 during the EIWA Championships, is now 23-14 this season. He defeated three seeded opponents and is now 16-3 over his last 19 bouts.
Petrov, Marchese and Lyster became EIWA placewinners for the first time in their careers, while Lear is a placewinner for the third straight year after finishing seventh in 2011 and fifth in 2012.
There is still a chance for additional NCAA qualifiers for the Bison. The 40 at-large qualifiers across all weight classes will be announced Wednesday, March 13. Lear and injured sophomore Austin Miller represented Bucknell at the 2012 NCAA Championships.
This year's NCAA Championships are March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Cornell captured the EIWA team crown for a seventh consecutive season.
Team Scores
1. Cornell - 142
2. Navy - 117.5
3. Penn - 110.5
4. Lehigh - 101.5
5. Rutgers - 91
6. Army - 81
7. Harvard - 78.5
8. Columbia - 75
9. American - 57
10. Bucknell - 47
11. Brown - 38
12. Princeton - 24.5
13. Franklin & Marshall - 21.5
14. Sacred Heart - 0
Bucknell Results
133: Paul Petrov, Fr. (#6 seed)
Friday
First Round: W, fall Robert Ruiz (Franklin & Marshall), 1:50.
Quarterfinals: W, dec. #3 Bricker Dixon (Cornell), 5-4.
Semifinals: L, fall #2 Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 2:51.
Saturday
Consolation Semifinals: L, dec. #1 Vincent Dellafave (Rutgers), 3-2
5th Place Match: L, fall #5 Jordan Thome (Army), 4:28
Petrov places 6th at 133
141: Derrik Russell, Sr.
Friday
First Round: L, dec. #4 Trevor Melde (Rutgers), 2-0.
Consolation Round 2: L, dec. #6 Connor Hanafee (Army), 8-3.
Russell Eliminated
149: Adam Healey, Sr.
Friday
First Round: L, tech. fall #6 Zachary Bintliff (Princeton), 16-0.
Consolation Round 2:L, dec. #5 Kevin Tao (American), 8-3.
Healey Eliminated
157: Vincent Favia, Fr. (#7 seed)
Friday
First Round: L, dec. Mark Cirello (American), 5-4.
Consolation Round 2: L, dec. #8 Troy Hernandez (Penn), 10-3.
Favia Eliminated
165: Corey Lear, Sr. (#2 seed)
Friday
First Round: W, dec. Benjamen Haas (Lehigh), 5-1.
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #7 Josh Houldsworth (Columbia), 10-3.
Consolation Round 2: W, fall Judson Ziegler (Princeton), 2:38.
Consolation Quarterfinals: W, dec. Devon Gobbo (Harvard), 6-1.
Saturday
Consolation Semifinals: L, fall #5 Peyton Walsh (Navy), 4:28
5th Place Match: L, fall #6 Nicholas Visicaro (Rutgers), 2:25
Lear places 6th at 165
174: Robert Schlitt, Fr.
Friday
First Round: L, dec. Cameron Croy (Harvard), 8-3.
Consolation Round 2: L, fall #8 Marshall Peppelman (Cornell), 0:31.
Schlitt Eliminated
184: Robert Marchese, Fr.
Friday
First Round: L, maj. dec. #7 Ophir Bernstein (Brown), 8-0.
Consolation Round 2: W, dec. #8 Ryan Tompkins (Army), 7-3.
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, dec. #5 Canaan Bethea (Penn), 4-1.
Saturday
7th Place Match: L, dec. #6 Scott Gibbons (Princeton), 5-3.
Marchese places 8th at 184
197: Tyler Lyster, So. (#7 seed)
Friday
First Round: W, dec. Devon Bradley (American), 8-3.
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #2 James Fox (Harvard), 7-4.
Consolation Round 2: W, maj. dec. #8 Nicholas Mills (Columbia), 10-0.
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, dec. #6 Jacob Bennett (Cornell), 5-0.
Saturday
7th Place Match: L, dec. Dan Seidenberg (Rutgers), 3-1.
Lyster places 8th at 197
285: Joe Stolfi, So. (#5 seed)
Friday
First Round: W, dec. Collin Wittmeyer (Army), 3-0.
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #4 Daniel Miller (Navy), 10-5.
Consolation Round 2:W, fall Dillon Ingham (Brown), 5:38.
Consolation Quarterfinals: W, dec. #8 David Ng (Harvard), 5-1.
Saturday
Consolation Semifinals: W, fall #6 Steven Graziano (Penn), 4:26.
Consolation Finals: W, maj. dec. #3 Stryker Lane (Cornell), 12-0.
Stolfi places 3rd at 285 and earns automatic NCAA berth
