University of Northern Iowa
NCAA Championships
Fay Locks In All-America Status For Second Straight Year
3/20/2009 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Brackets (thru Session IV) in PDF Format 
Team Standings (thru Session IV) in PDF Format
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Senior Moza Fay guaranteed himself a second-straight All-American season on Friday night at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championship in the Scottrade Center. Fay conquered both foes in the round of wrestlebacks and can finish as high as third on Saturday.
Fay became UNI's 38th two-time All-American and the first to repeat since 2005 when both Eric Hauan and Sean Stender completed the feat. Stender ended his Panther career as a three-time All-American.
Senior Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) put up a valiant effort in the Round of 12 wrestlebacks but came up on the short end of a 10-2 major decision to No. 2-seed Phil Keddy (Iowa). Dolly capped his Panther wrestling career with a 74-57 record, including nine total wins at the NCAA Championships. Dolly recorded a mark of 9-8 in four appearances at the NCAA Championships.
Friday's morning round saw three Panther wrestler's seasons come to a halt in the wrestlebacks. Sophomore Andrew Anderson (197 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Christian Brantley (285 lbs.) all dropped matches in the consolation round.
Session V will get underway on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Session V, which is the Championship Medal Round (3rd/5th/7th place matches), will be broadcast live on ESPNU and ESPN360.com. Fay will square off against No. 3-seed Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) in his first match on Saturday. If Fay wins, he'll wrestle for 3rd place. If Fay drops his match, he'll wrestle for 5th place.
Wrestle-Backs - Friday Night
Senior Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) guaranteed himself All-America honors with a second-period fall over No. 11-seed Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan) in the Round of 12. Fay gave up a first period takedown to Stewart at the 2:12 mark, but responded quickly with an escape only eight seconds later. Fay earned his first lead of the match with a takedown at the 1:26 mark of the period and was able to use that move to catch Stewart in a three-point nearfall. Fay was called for locking hands at the close of the period to make it 6-3 in favor of Fay. Fay escaped to begin the second period and then caught Stewart in a standing cradle and took him to the mat for a fall with 52 seconds left in the second period.
Fay moved one step closer to third-place honors when he notched a 4-2 decision over No. 5-seed Nick Marable (Missouri) in the fifth round of wrestlebacks. Fay was awarded a takedown with only one second left in the first period and quickly added his third point of the match two seconds into the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Marable scored a takedown with 30 seconds left in the match and intentionally released Fay to try and tie the match. But Fay successfully defended a pair of shots by Marable and took the match, 4-2.
Senior Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) kept it close early with No. 2-seed Phil Keddy (Iowa) in the Round of 12 wrestlebacks, but Keddy eventually scored a 10-2 major decision. Dolly trailed 2-1 following the first three minutes of action and soon it was 3-1 in favor of Keddy as he escaped one second into the second period. Dolly nearly knotted the match at 3-3 with just over a minute to go in the second, but a scrambling move by Keddy turned it into a takedown for the Hawkeye wrestler and a 5-1 lead. Keddy added a pair of late takedowns in the match's final 15 seconds to score the major decision.
Dolly's only two losses at this year's NCAA event came to No. 1-seed Jake Herbert and No. 2-seed Keddy.
Quarterfinals - Friday Morning
Senior Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) saw his shot at a national title come to a close when he fell 11-5 to No. 12 seed Jarrod King (Edinboro) in the quarterfinals. Fay was in a on a leg early in the match but could not pull King back on to the mat. When they returned to the center, King scored the first of his four takedowns to take the lead. Fay tallied an escape, but King answered back with a takedown and a two-point nearfall to up his lead to 6-1 at the end of one period. Fay pulled to within four points on two occasions in the second period but could get no closer as King closed it out with a takedown in the third period for the 11-5 victory.
Wrestle-Backs - Friday Morning
Senior Alex Dolly scored a pair of victories in the wrestlebacks at 184 pounds. Dolly secured his second win of the NCAA tournament with a 9-4 victory over UNC-Greensboro's Mikal McKee in the second-round of wrestlebacks. Dolly fell behind 2-1 at the start of the second period, but used a five-point move to take control of the match. Dolly tallied a reversal and put McKee to his back to take a 6-2 lead with 50 seconds left in the second period. Dolly added to his lead with a two-point nearfall as the second period came to a close to up his advantage to 8-2.
Dolly then tallied a 6-5 victory over No. 8 seed David Craig of Lehigh. Dolly scored with a takedown at the 2:33 mark of the first period and then added three more points via nearfall when he tilted Craig with 52 seconds left in the first. Craig battled back with a four-point move of his own in the second period. But Dolly had built enough riding time to secure the victory despite giving up a stalling point with 10 seconds left in the match.
Sophomore Trevor Kittleson (St. Ansgar, Iowa) completed his first trip to the NCAAs with a wrestleback loss to Buffalo's Desmond Green at 149 pounds. Kittleson finished his season with a 28-11 record.
Senior Andrew Anderson (Sioux City, Iowa) saw his collegiate wrestling career end on Mat No. 3 in the second round of wrestlebacks at 197 pounds when Old Dominion's Jesse Strawn scored a 6-1 decision over Anderson. The match was scoreless through one period before Strawn scored first in the second period on an escape five seconds into the period. Strawn added a takedown to up the lead to 3-0 before the second period buzzer sounded. Anderson escaped for his only point of the match with 33 seconds left in the third period. Strawn added a takedown in the closing seconds for the five-point victory margin.
Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley had his stellar season come to a halt in the second round of wrestlebacks at heavyweight when he suffered a 6-1 loss to Cleveland State's Rashard Goff. Goff notched a takedown with 35 seconds left in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Goff then rode out Brantley in the second period. Goff notched an escape and another takedown before Brantley got on the board late with an escape.
UNI BOUT-BY-BOUT RESULTS FROM FRIDAY
149 lbs. - Trevor Kittleson
L, Desmond Green (Buffalo), 9-5
165 lbs. - Moza Fay
L, Jarrod King (Edinboro), 11-5
W, #11 Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan), Fall 4:08
W, #5 Nick Marable (Missouri), 4-2
184 lbs. - Alex Dolly
W, Mikal McKee (UNC-Greensboro), 9-4
W, #8 David Craig (Lehigh), 6-5
L, #2 Phil Keddy (Iowa), 10-2
197 lbs. - Andrew Anderson
L, Jesse Strawn (Old Dominion), 6-1
285 lbs. - Christian Brantley
L, Rashard Goff (Cleveland State), 6-1
