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Stolpinski Finishes Fourth at NCAA Championship
March 17, 2007 AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Navy junior 174-pound wrestler Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) registered a fourth-place finish at the 77th NCAA Wrestling Championship held at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan on Saturday. Stolpinski pinned Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State in his first match before dropping a 3-2 decision to Iowa's Eric Luedke in the third-place bout. With his pin during his first match of the day, Stolpinski pushed Navy's team score to 32 points, which ranks 16th out of 74 teams heading into the championship matches at 8 p.m. this evening. The Midshipmen can finish no lower than 19th place following the evening's action, which is the best finish under Navy head coach Bruce Burnett's seven-year tenure and the highest placing for the Mids since a 13th-place performance at the 1990 NCAA Championship. "I am really proud of Matt and the rest of the guys who competed," stated Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "It was a team effort that allowed to finish as high as we did. Everybody contributed with team points. We certainly have a lot to build on for next year." Stolpinski met Mason in his first bout on Saturday for the right to compete in the third-place match. The Navy junior looked to avenge a loss to Mason earlier this season in the consolation bracket at the Lone Star Duals, as Mason came away with a 4-2 decision victory. Mason opened the match low and picked up two minutes of riding time over Stolpinski during the opening period of play. The action started off the mat in the second period and Stolpinski wasted little time to bounce back from the first-three minutes, recording a toes-on-the-line takedown 15 seconds into the second stanza. The Navy junior let Mason go after the optional restart before Stolpinski made his final move of the match. Stolpinski grabbed Mason by legs and pushed them over his head to stick him vertically and get the pin while working on a takedown 4:55 into the match. With the victory, he advanced to meet Luedke for the first time in his career in the consolation bracket final. The third-place bout opened with very little action, as each wrestler's shot attempt ended up out of bounds. Luedke scored his first point with an escape and posted a two-point takedown of Stolpinski before the Navy junior recorded an escape and nearly registered a reversal before the match came to an end. "Matt had a really good tournament," said Burnett. "He was one of only two wrestlers that lost his opening round match and came through the wrestlebacks to compete on Saturday. They had him seeded eighth coming in, and he doubled everybody else's expectations. He took the long road back, but made it happen. "He has put himself in a great position to build on for his senior year. Truly, this is one sport where you get back the effort that you put in. His hard work all year has paid off for him." Stolpinski concluded his efforts at the NCAA Championship with a 6-2 record and earned All-America status yesterday by winning each of his four matches in the consolation bracket to advance to Saturday's action. He is Navy's 41st All-American in program history and the first since Frank Edwards earned the honors at the 165-pound weight class during the 2001-02 season. His fourth-place finish is the highest by a Navy wrestler at the NCAA Championship since Scott Schleicher place second at 158 pounds during the 1990 national championship. The product of Westfield, Mass., finished his junior campaign with a 44-7 record and a EIWA title. His 44 wins this season tied the program record held by two-time All-American Mark Conley in 2001-02, and Stolpinski's 51 matches wrestled broke Conley's program-record of 49 bouts competed in 2001-02. 174 Pounds - Matt Stolpinski (6-2NCAA Tourney Record; Season: 44-7; Career: 99-35) |
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