Seven Sooners Advance at NCAA's

March 19, 2009

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Seven of eight Sooners are still alive at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships, including two in the championship bracket, as day one of competition came to a close in St. Louis, Mo.

OU wrestlers Joey Fio and Kyle Terry's hopes of a national title are still intact and five other Sooners – Chad Terry, Jeff James, Pat Flynn, Eric Lapotsky and Nathan Fernandez -- are still in the running to become All-Americans.

“Tonight was a real strong performance for the Sooners,” head coach Jack Spates said. “We battled back strong. It was a complete effort because we won several tough, close matches. We are looking forward to building on this momentum when we return tomorrow.”

Joey Fio (125 pounds) picked up his second straight win at the championships and his 16th straight this season by defeating No. 13 Scotti Sentes of Central Michigan by a 5-4 decision. The victory advanced the Sandpoint, Idaho, native to the round of 16, needing only one more victory Friday morning to become an All-American.

Fio led 2-1 to begin the second and picked up an escape point to lead 3-1 going into the final period. A Sentes reversal to begin the third tied the score at three, but Fio quickly countered with a reversal of his own to lead 5-3. Sentes was only able to garner an escape point as the final seconds expired. Fio will meet second seeded Troy Nickerson of Cornell Friday morning.

Oklahoma's Kyle Terry (nine seed) was next to punch his ticket to Friday's quarterfinals with a defeat over Army's Matthew Kyler (eight seed). Terry, now 30-1 this season and a winner of 28 straight, avenged a loss to Kyler earlier this season, as the two met on Nov. 8 at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic.

Leading 2-1 to begin the second, the Midwest City, Okla., native scored an escape and takedown to lead 5-1. Kyler cut the lead to 5-3 with a reversal, but a Terry escape to end the second and a takedown in the final stanza gave the Sooner the victory. Terry will meet top-seeded and defending national champion Brent Metcalf Friday morning.

Also in the championship bracket, Pat Flynn and Eric Lapotsky dropped matches to the second and third seeds, respectively to fall into the wrestleback bracket. Flynn fell 8-2 to Iowa's Phillip Kennedy and Lapotsky gave up a takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the match to lose, 3-1, to Michigan's Tyrel Todd. Both will get back to action Friday in session three.

WRESTLEBACK BRACKET
Wrestling to avoid elimination in the wrestleback bracket, No. 17 Chad Terry posted a 3-0 decision over Hadley Harrison of Clarion. Terry recorded a takedown in the final period to put the match out of reach and advanced to Friday morning's session three.

Ryan Smith at 165 pounds then matched up against No. 16 Roger Smith-Bergrud of Illinois. After a scoreless first, Smith-Bergrud rode Sooner Smith the entire second period. An escape by Smith-Bergrud in the third gave the Illini wrestler a 2-0 win after riding time. Redshirt freshman Smith ends his season 15-13 overall.

No. 12 Jeff James bounced back from an opening round defeat to dominate by a 9-1 major decision at 174 pounds over Byron Sigmun of UNC Green. The El Reno, Okla., native recorded a takedown, reversal and two nearfalls in the winning effort.

No. 18 Nathan Fernandez also remained alive in the wrestleback bracket, upsetting No. 9 Ryan Flores by an 8-7 decision. Fernandez scored two takedowns and three escapes, but it was riding time that decided the match. T ied 7-7 as time expired, Fernendez took the win after accumulating more than a minute of riding time.

The Sooners will return to competition Friday morning for session three beginning at 10 a.m.

SESSION II RESULTS

125: No. 7 Joey Fio (OU) dec. No. 13 Scotti Sentes (C. Michigan), 5-4
149: No. 5 Kyle Terry (OU) dec. No. 9 Matthew Kyler (Army), 7-4
157: No. 17 Chad Terry (OU) dec. Hadley Harrison (Clarion), 3-0
165: No. 16 Roger Smith-Bergrud (Illinois) dec. Ryan Smith (OU), 2-0
174: No. 12 Jeff James (OU) maj. dec. Byron Sigmon (UNC Green), 9-1
184: No. 2 Phillip Kennedy (Iowa) dec. No. 19 Pat Flynn (OU), 8-2
197: No. 3 Tyrel Todd (Michigan) dec. No. 11 Eric Lapotsky (OU), 3-1
HWT: No. 18 Nathan Fernandez (OU) dec. No. 9 Ryan Flores (Columbia), 8-7
*Above are Intermat rankings