NCAA Tournament Previews: 157 Pounds
John Fuller/TheMat.com
The weight class that most wrestling fans have been watching all season long will finally crown a national champion.
There are four wrestlers in this weight class who have competed in the NCAA finals, and two of those have won the title. Another wrestler, Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov of American, transferred in this year from junior college and has taken the college wrestling scene by storm.
Abdurakhmanov has only lost to 2003 NCAA finalist Alex Tirapelle of Illinois, this year’s top seed. He has a win over Jake Percival of Ohio, last year’s runner-up. While the win was by injury default, Abdurakhmanov was winning the match by a decent margin at the time.
Ryan Bertin of Michigan and Matt Gentry of Stanford have won the last two NCAA titles at this weight, respectively, but a finals matchup is out of the question. These two are set up to meet in the semifinals.
Bertin is moving better on his feet than at any point in his career. Even though he lost to Tirapelle in the Big Ten finals, he controlled most of the match.
Last year, Gentry became the first Stanford wrestler to ever win an NCAA title. This year he became the first Stanford wrestler to win a Midlands title. Now, he is looking for the repeat. Two weeks ago, he was locked in at the No. 1 seed with a win over Tirapelle. Now, after an upset loss in the PAC-10 finals, he is the third seed, a much tougher place in the bracket.
Percival, one of the best mat wrestlers in the country right now, has been regarded as a heavy underdog throughout most of his career. In his senior season, he will have an opportunity to bring the MAC its first national title since 1999.
One wrestler to watch in this tournament will be Minnesota freshman C.P. Schlatter. The youngster came out of high school with all of the accolades in the world, but lost the confidence of Gopher fans after a tough regular season. He now seems to be back on track, and after a solid Big Ten performance, could be the most dangerous blind draw in the tournament.
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), 2. Ryan Bertin (Michigan), 3. Matt Gentry (Stanford), 4. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American)
Top Contenders: Abdurakhmanov, Bertin, Gentry, Jake Percival (Ohio), Tirapelle
The Others: Trent Paulson (Iowa State)
Darkhorse: C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota)
Top Freshmen: Brandon Becker (Indiana), Schlatter, Brian Stith (Arizona State)
Finals Prediction: Bertin defeats Percival
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