Bailey, Patterson Finish Seventh at NCAAs

March 19, 2011

PHILADELPHIA – Oklahoma senior Zack Bailey and sophomore Jarrod Patterson each earned seventh place at the 2011 NCAA Championships after closing out the tournament with wins at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively.

Entering the Championship's final session, Oklahoma stands in 15th place with 38 points. Penn State paces the field with 103.5 points, ahead of Cornell's 89.5.

Patterson (29-9) finished his NCAA tournament by upsetting ODU's No. 4 seed James Nicholson, 3-2, to finish seventh in the 125 pound division. Patterson trailed 2-0 after giving up a takedown but quickly earned an escape. In the second period Patterson posted an escape in just 3 seconds to even the score going into the third. The Cushing, Okla., native used his superior riding skills to ride out Nicholson throughout the entire third period.

Bailey, a two time All-American, earned seventh after defeating Penn's Zack Kemmerer, 5-2. Bailey (28-5) started off the scoring with two takedowns in the first period to lead, 4-1, going into the second. After a scoreless second period Kemmerer chose the bottom position and was ridden by Bailey until the 0:26 mark. Bailey added 2:28 of riding time to close out his career with a 5-2 decision. The Kansas City, Mo., native ends his Sooner career with 106 wins.

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Tonight OU's Tyler Caldwell will take on Nebraska's top-seed Jordan Burroughs for the 165 pound title. Caldwell is the first Sooner to appear in the finals since Sam Hazewinkel finished second in 2007. OU has not crowned a national champion since Teyon Ware won the 141 pound title in 2005.

Caldwell and Burroughs will meet for the third time this season. Caldwell has yet to defeat Burroughs after dropping the regular season match 7-3 and getting edged out in the Big 12 Championship match 2-1.

The finals commence at 6:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.