UNI Wrestling: 6 in Scuffle Semifinals

Photo by: Sam Janicki

UNI Wrestling: 6 in Scuffle Semifinals

1/1/2018 8:47:00 PM | Wrestling

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UNI wrestling at Southern Scuffle

(1/1/2018) 2018 Southern Scuffle

Jan. 1-2, 2018 I Chattanooga, Tennessee
LIVE stream on FloWrestling ($): http://bit.ly/2yO53NC
LIVE scoring on FloWrestling: http://bit.ly/2EtPCKk

SCHEDULE JAN. 2 (CT):

9 a.m. 5^th round of consolations
11 a.m. Championship semifinals
1 p.m. Consolation semifinals
6 p.m. Championship finals and medal matches

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI wrestling advanced six Panthers to the 2018 Southern Scuffle semifinals, and two are in the hunt for third place.

"The matches the guys have tomorrow, these are national placing matches. So it's a great opportunity for them to build their resumes," said head coach Doug Schwab. "I am looking forward to it. The six guys who are in the semis are wrestling well. They scored a lot points. Logan Ryan is battling. The effort overall is really good, but we want to help them to convert that into better performances. Hopefully we walk out tomorrow feeling better about our team."

The six who have a shot at being the first Panther to win a Southern Scuffle title:

125 pounds – Jay Schwarm
141 pounds – Josh Alber
165 pounds – Bryce Steiert
174 pounds – Taylor Lujan
184 pounds – Drew Foster
197 pounds – Jacob Holschlag

Two Panthers are still alive in the consolations for a shot at third place.

149 pounds – Max Thomsen
157 pounds – Logan Ryan

NOTABLE WINS

The Panthers went 30-16 overall on the day, winning 18 matches by bonus points (not including two forfeits).

"If you're going to win a tournament like this or the national tournament, you need to be able to get bonus points and take advantage of those opportunities," Schwab said. "Even some of the matches we lost tonight, I thought we competed hard, but we need to figure out how to put points on the board and be ready when we step out there."

Foster earned bonus points in all three of his matches with a pin and two tech falls in the 184-pound weight class.

"Foster looked really explosive," Schwab said. "That was the first I had seen him of him that strong. He looks good on his feet."

Schwarm (125 pounds) was on the mat for 4 minutes, 36 seconds total, notching falls in both of his matches.

Steiert, wrestling unattached at 165 pounds, pinned his first opponent and scored a major decision. Lujan grabbed two tech falls at 174 pounds.

At 165 pounds, Dan Kelly knocked off No. 18 Lorenzo De La Riva (CSU-Bakersfield) win a pin in 6:35. It was his first win over a ranked opponent.

"He's wrestling hard," said Schwab. "As far as competing, he competed hard. That's a step. You want him to be gritty and tough, so now we just need to carry it over to more wins."

At 197 pounds, Holschlag beat No. 20 Jake Jakobsen of Lehigh, 5-3. Jakobsen was seeded 12^th at the tournament. It's Holschlag's second win over a top-20 wrestler this year. He pinned Hunter Ritter of Wisconsin at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Holschlag also earned bonus points with a win by tech fall and major decision today.

The Panthers have notched wins over 14 wrestlers in the nation's top-20 rankings so far this season.

REMATCHES

Foster will see Bryce Carr of Chattanooga for the second time in his career. Foster beat Carr, 6-4 in sudden victory, at last year's Scuffle. Foster suffered an injury in his next match that prevented him from competing in his consolation matches in 2017.

TEAM STANDINGS

UNI was sitting in second place after the first day of competition. Penn State is the only team leading in points and wrestlers left in the championship round. Penn State has eight wrestlers in the championship round and three still alive in consolations.
Top 10 of 25 teams:

Penn State 101 points
UNI 81.5 points
Lehigh 68
Navy 50.5
Duke 49
T - CSU-Bakersfield 46
T - Virginia 46
Drexel 42
Lock Haven 36.5
Chattanooga 33

LAST YEAR AT THE SCUFFLE

UNI wrestling made its Southern Scuffle debut at last year's event. The Panthers entered the tournament ranked No. 22 in the nation and finished fifth as a team with 87.5 points.

Five Panthers medaled: