March 16, 2007

Auburn Hills, MI - Wade Sauer at heavyweight, Morgan Atkinson at 149 pounds and Bryan Tice at 165 are all still alive for Cal State Fullerton in the consolation bracket of the NCAA Wrestling Championships as Day Two begins Friday in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Sauer fell out of the championship bracket when he lost for the fourth time this season to Oregon State's Ty Watterson, 5-2, Thursday night. Sauer runs into another familiar foe in Northern Colorado's Reece Hopkin in today's elimination round. Sauer beat Hopkin, 6-5, in the final dual meet of the year in Titan Gym.

Atkinson is coming off a consolation bracket default win over Joe Caramanica of North Carolina State. No. 9-seeded Atkinson next faces No. 7-seeded Scott Ervin of Appalachian State, who beat Derek Kipperberg of Oregon State, 9-0, but then lost to No. 10-seeded Lance Palmer of Ohio State, 10-3.

Tice also is coming off a consolation win, 5-3, over Sean Richmond of Pittsburgh. Tice next faces No. 10-seeded Michael Cannon of American. Cannon beat Stephen Dwyer of Nebraska, 8-4, before losing to No. 7-seeded Deonte Penn of Edinboro, 12-2. Tice lost to Cannon, 12-6, at a dual meet in Arizona earlier in the season.

Out of the competition after two losses in two bouts is 133-pounder T. J. Dillashaw. He was eliminated Thursday night by Dan Mitchell of Kent State, 8-4.