2010 National Duals DIII Preview

[admin]

By Gail Rush
Special to Illinois Matmen

View DIII Bracket

Teams competing (if you write these down vertically, there’s your bracket)
UW LaCrosse, University of Dubuque, St. Johns, Delaware Valley, UW Stevens Point, Luther, Johnson & Wales, Wartburg, Coe, Heidleberg, Cornell, Concordia, North Central, Williams, UW Whitewater, and Augsburg

According to the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, 7 of the top 10 ranked teams will be in attendance.

Top 4 Team Previews:

UW LaCrosse better known as LAX. They come in ranked #1 in the country and get the #1 seed. They are led by 2x DIII National Champion at 285, Dan Laurent (currently ranked #1) and 2x All American at 149, Matt Mauseth (currently ranked #4). Also look for strong performances from #1 ranked Bebeto Yewah at 133, #2 ranked and returning AA Mike Schmitz at 174, and returning AA and #2 ranked Andy Moore at 174.

Augsburg, #2 ranked and #2 seeded, is led by returning DIII National Champion at 197, Jared Massey, presently ranked #1. Their line-up could start out rather slowly, not having a ranked wrestler until 149, #3 Tony Valek. Their strength continues at 157 with returning AA 5th ranked Jason Adams, at 165 is #6 Orlando Ponce, returning AA Zach Molitar at 174, and ending with #5 ranked Andrew Wetzel at 285. Don’t be surprised to see some changes to their first semester line-up.

Coe College comes in ranked #3 and seeded #3. The Kohawks are led by 2x AA and 2008 DIII National Champion Tyler Burkle at 184, who is currently ranked #1, 2x AA and 2008 DIII National Runner-up at 125, Clayton Rush, also currently ranked #1, and 2x AA at 197, Rob Kramer, currently ranked #6. Coe doesn’t have another ranked wrestler until 157, #9 Dale Handley, followed by Coe newcomer and #1 ranked Nick LeClere at 165. Finishing Coe’s line-up is returning AA at 285 #7 Mitch Sander. Coe heads the top 4 teams with 3 #1 ranked wrestlers.

Wartburg, #5 ranked and #4 seed, starts their line-up strong with #2 ranked returning AA Mark Kist at 125. Who will we see at 133? Returning AA Matt Kelley or #3 ranked Sean White? Will 141 come into play here or will they go with #5 ranked Chris Sandy? 2nd ranked Carrington Banks should be at 165, #7 ranked Dylan Azinger at 174, #5 ranked Byron Tate at 197, and returning AA #3 John Helgerson at 285. Like Augsburg, don’t be surprised to see a few changes in their line-up.

Illinois Wrestlers to Watch:
LAX - Adam Sheley, Jonny Brennan
Dubuque - Josh Terrill, Ryan Warczynski, Ryan Lessner, Mark Schultz, Seth Noland, Andrew Knoll
Luther - Jayson Swanson, Steven Andrukaitis, Kevin Bokowski
Coe - Clayton Rush, Tyler Baker
Cornell - Tim Hood, Andrew Anderson
Whitewater - Austin Bautista
North Central - Joe Norton, John Starzyk, Nathan Fitzenreider, Gabe Youel, Cowan Brown, TJ Rowe, Andrew Zobak, Jody Bodi, Vinnie Sapieza, Rodney Knowlton

Now on to the brackets and a few predictions. And yes, these are most likely biased. I apologize in advance.

Wartburg and Augsburg have managed to stay on opposite sides of the bracket again. No surprise there.

My first round picks…
LAX over UD, but closer than LAX and Coach Malacek likes.
St. Johns over Del Valley in a close one.
Stevens Point over Luther.
Wartburg handles Johnson and Wales.
Coe should have no trouble with Heidelberg.
Concordia slips past Cornell.
North Central beats Williams.
Augsburg handles Whitewater.

Quarter final picks…
LAX over St. Johns fairly easily.
Wartburg beats Stevens Point.
Coe Beats Concordia.
Augsburg beats North Central although I HOPE NC can pull this off.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The “burgs” (Wartburg and Augsburg) have been dominant at the National Duals. Wartburg has been in the finals the last 7 years and won 4 of those. Last year Augsburg won against Wartburg for one of their 4 National Duals titles. In the years 2002-2009 one of the “burgs” has won the National Duals. Could this year FINALLY be different? Possibly. Coe and LAX will definitely be in it to leave their mark.

My prediction… a LAX vs Coe final. The “burgs” may go down. It’s going to come down to match-ups, bonus points, and a few upsets, but doesn’t it always? Potential “additions or changes” in the “burgs” line-ups could also be key. You never know what, or should I say “who” a new semester will bring with those 2 programs. I won’t go as far as to say who will win it all, but I will say it will be exciting. The Duals always are……

[Luvwrestling]

Originally Posted by admin

By Gail Rush
Special to Illinois Matmen

View DIII Bracket

Teams competing (if you write these down vertically, there’s your bracket)
UW LaCrosse, University of Dubuque, St. Johns, Delaware Valley, UW Stevens Point, Luther, Johnson & Wales, Wartburg, Coe, Heidleberg, Cornell, Concordia, North Central, Williams, UW Whitewater, and Augsburg

According to the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, 7 of the top 10 ranked teams will be in attendance.

Top 4 Team Previews:

UW LaCrosse better known as LAX. They come in ranked #1 in the country and get the #1 seed. They are led by 2x DIII National Champion at 285, Dan Laurent (currently ranked #1) and 2x All American at 149, Matt Mauseth (currently ranked #4). Also look for strong performances from #1 ranked Bebeto Yewah at 133, #2 ranked and returning AA Mike Schmitz at 174, and returning AA and #2 ranked Andy Moore at 174.

Augsburg, #2 ranked and #2 seeded, is led by returning DIII National Champion at 197, Jared Massey, presently ranked #1. Their line-up could start out rather slowly, not having a ranked wrestler until 149, #3 Tony Valek. Their strength continues at 157 with returning AA 5th ranked Jason Adams, at 165 is #6 Orlando Ponce, returning AA Zach Molitar at 174, and ending with #5 ranked Andrew Wetzel at 285. Don’t be surprised to see some changes to their first semester line-up.

Coe College comes in ranked #3 and seeded #3. The Kohawks are led by 2x AA and 2008 DIII National Champion Tyler Burkle at 184, who is currently ranked #1, 2x AA and 2008 DIII National Runner-up at 125, Clayton Rush, also currently ranked #1, and 2x AA at 197, Rob Kramer, currently ranked #6. Coe doesn’t have another ranked wrestler until 157, #9 Dale Handley, followed by Coe newcomer and #1 ranked Nick LeClere at 165. Finishing Coe’s line-up is returning AA at 285 #7 Mitch Sander. Coe heads the top 4 teams with 3 #1 ranked wrestlers.

Wartburg, #5 ranked and #4 seed, starts their line-up strong with #2 ranked returning AA Mark Kist at 125. Who will we see at 133? Returning AA Matt Kelley or #3 ranked Sean White? Will 141 come into play here or will they go with #5 ranked Chris Sandy? 2nd ranked Carrington Banks should be at 165, #7 ranked Dylan Azinger at 174, #5 ranked Byron Tate at 197, and returning AA #3 John Helgerson at 285. Like Augsburg, don’t be surprised to see a few changes in their line-up.

Illinois Wrestlers to Watch:
LAX - Adam Sheley, Jonny Brennan
Dubuque - Josh Terrill, Ryan Warczynski, Ryan Lessner, Mark Schultz, Seth Noland, Andrew Knoll
Luther - Jayson Swanson, Steven Andrukaitis, Kevin Bokowski
Coe - Clayton Rush, Tyler Baker
Cornell - Tim Hood, Andrew Anderson
Whitewater - Austin Bautista
North Central - Joe Norton, John Starzyk, Nathan Fitzenreider, Gabe Youel, Cowan Brown, TJ Rowe, Andrew Zobak, Jody Bodi, Vinnie Sapieza, Rodney Knowlton

Now on to the brackets and a few predictions. And yes, these are most likely biased. I apologize in advance.

Wartburg and Augsburg have managed to stay on opposite sides of the bracket again. No surprise there.

My first round picks…
LAX over UD, but closer than LAX and Coach Malacek likes.
St. Johns over Del Valley in a close one.
Stevens Point over Luther.
Wartburg handles Johnson and Wales.
Coe should have no trouble with Heidelberg.
Concordia slips past Cornell.
North Central beats Williams.
Augsburg handles Whitewater.

Quarter final picks…
LAX over St. Johns fairly easily.
Wartburg beats Stevens Point.
Coe Beats Concordia.
Augsburg beats North Central although I HOPE NC can pull this off.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The “burgs” (Wartburg and Augsburg) have been dominant at the National Duals. Wartburg has been in the finals the last 7 years and won 4 of those. Last year Augsburg won against Wartburg for one of their 4 National Duals titles. In the years 2002-2009 one of the “burgs” has won the National Duals. Could this year FINALLY be different? Possibly. Coe and LAX will definitely be in it to leave their mark.

My prediction… a LAX vs Coe final. The “burgs” may go down. It’s going to come down to match-ups, bonus points, and a few upsets, but doesn’t it always? Potential “additions or changes” in the “burgs” line-ups could also be key. You never know what, or should I say “who” a new semester will bring with those 2 programs. I won’t go as far as to say who will win it all, but I will say it will be exciting. The Duals always are……

Nice job, Gail! And I don't see any BIAS there at all. Coe has been moving up the last several years and I can see them in the finals. I've not seen LAX, but I heard they are very strong (only sorry we got them first round!). Good luck to Dubuque and Coe--and thanks for cheering on my son in my absence.

[CrazyLegs]

i think Delaware valley could surprise some people in this one

[DragonMaster]

Originally Posted by CrazyLegs

i think Delaware valley could surprise some people in this one

Great call CrazyLegs! Delaware Valley knocks off the #1 seed and finishes 4th, with them starting out as the #9 seed I would definatly call that a "Surpise".

[agdfan]

I agree...good call! Del Valley ends up 4th and LAX 5th, I believe. Very good call!! And the burgs do it again!