Just four years ago the AU wrestling program was on death watch. On Sunday the program proved how alive it is.
Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov and Josh Glenn each won Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association titles at Lehigh, earning berths to the NCAA championships next week.
For Abdurakhmanov, this is his second straight EIWA title and NCAA berth. Last year he won at the 157-pound weight class. This year he moved up and conquered the 165-pound weight class. He was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler of tournament and kept his spotless 21-0 record intact.
Ranked second nationally, Abdurakhmanov received a first-round bye. In his first match against Pennsylvania's Lior Zamir, he won with a fall at 1:36.
He took control in his second match by scoring four takedowns and an escape winning the match easily 9-5.
In the championship match Abdurakhmanov faced off against Cornell's Stephen Anceravage, who upset the No. 1 seed earlier in the tournament. Abdurakhmanov came out furiously, almost pinning his opponent 20 seconds into the match before letting him escape.Abdurakhmanov continue to take control by scoring two takedowns and never relenting control on the way to a 9-3 victory.
"I feel that no matter who he is wrestling, if he performs like he did today, he will be dominant," AU coach Mark Cody said in a statement. "His opponents here tried stuff on him early in the match and then towards the end you could see the frustration in their eyes just because they have a rough time attacking him. If he keeps this going, he'll be fine."
Glenn, the No. 1 wrestler at the 184-pound class, took on Joe Mazzurco of Cornell, who is ranked second. Glenn scored a takedown early in the period and amassed 1:45 of riding time. Mazzurco was never able to get going. Glenn escaped early in the second period and amassed another point for riding time to earn a 4-0 victory and the title.
"Josh wrestled great today," Cody said. "He was dominant. He needed this tournament, he needed those close matches early. He now knows what frame of mind he needs to bring into the national tournament. After the first day he just made a little adjustment."
On Saturday Glenn had an easy time with his first opponent, pinning him at the 4:25 mark. His second match was not as easy, as Glenn needed overtime to defeat Lehigh's Dave Felfrich, 5-4. Glenn then easily defeated Pennsylvania's Dustin Wiles with a 6-0 victory. Glenn's record now stands at 31-1 with 18 pins.
Also earning a berth to the NCAA championships was heavyweight Adam LoPiccolo. LoPiccolo earning a wild-card spot. The sophomore lost in the semifinals and finished fourth overall, but was voted in by the coaches to take one of the allotted 35 wild-card spots.
The only other wrestler to finish in the top six for AU was senior Matt Morkel. Wrestling in the 125-pound class, Morkel received a bye, but lost his match to Army's William Simpson. Morkel won one match in the consolation bracket before losing his next two to finish sixth overall.
Other wrestlers for AU did not fare so well. Anthony Fuschino, Dwayne Hash-Barberis, Tom Knizewski, Jordan Lipp, were all shut out of victories. Each lost in his first match in the championship bracket and the consolation bracket. Rudy Rueda lost his first-round match, but was able to win one consolation match.
Overall AU finished eighth with 52 points.
"This is still great for the team because these two guys can score a heck of a lot of points at the NCAA tournament, and if Adam LoPiccolo can wrestle to his potential, he's going to be fine," Cody said. "If he keeps bringing himself down to the level of competition, then he will not advance. He needs to relax and let it flow"
