Madison, Wisc., March 8, 2003 每 Penn State got its first Big Ten Tournament finalists in three years and had nine of 10 men still competing after the first day of the Big Ten Championships at the University of Wisconsin＊s UW Fieldhouse. The Nittany Lions stood in third place after the first day of competition. Defending champion Minnesota was leading the team race with 110 points followed by Iowa with 105, Penn State (85) and Michigan State (80). Seven Penn State men guaranteed qualification to the NCAA Championships on the day, equaling last year＊s total, while two others were still alive in the hunt for a bid. Junior Scott Moore became the first Nittany Lion to reach the finals since the 2000 season and also equaled Kerry McCoy＊s single season win record of 47 with a 5-2 decision over Minnesota＊s Derek Phillips in the semifinals. Moore, seeded No. 2 at 141, used a takedown, a reversal and 2:16 in riding time, he took top and rode out the entire third period, to earn the victory and improve to 47-7 on the season. Moore defeated Michigan＊s Clark Forward, 5-1, in his first bout of the day and will face No. 1 seed Coyte Cooper of Indiana in the final. Moore, who earned his third NCAA bid, pinned Cooper earlier this season. Moore was joined in reaching the finals by senior 184-pounder Mark Becks. Becks, the No. 2 seed, used a takedown in the final seconds to overcome a 2-1 deficit and post a 3-2 victory over No. 3 seed Ty Matthews of Indiana. Becks posted earlier wins on the day over No. 7 seed Casey Kapustka of Ohio State (3-2) and Michigan＊s Willie Breyer (19-7). Becks, who earned his third NCAA bid, improved his season record to 39-3, seventh best all-time at PSU, and will face No. 1 seed Jessman Smith of Iowa in the final. Juniors Josh Moore and Pat Cummins also reached the semifinals on the day. Moore posted wins over Jesse Leng of Ohio State (F;1:28) and No. 5 seed Greg Schaefer of Indiana (7-0) in the 133-pound bracket. He faced off with No. 1 seed and defending Big Ten Champion Ryan Lewis of Minnesota. Moore took the early lead with a first period takedown, but Lewis stormed back with a pair of reversals and a takedown of his own for a 7-2 win. Moore, who earned his second NCAA bid, will face No. 6 seed Tom Clum of Wisconsin in the consolation semifinals. Cummins lost his semifinal heavyweight match with No. 1 seed Steve Mocco of Iowa, 8-4. Cummins, seeded fourth, posted earlier wins on the day over No. 5 seed Greg Wagner of Michigan (10-1) and Joel Powers of Indiana (F;2:31). He will take on No. 6 seed Justin Steabler of Wisconsin in the consolation semifinals. Both Cummins and Josh Moore can finish no worse than sixth and earned the second NCAA bid of their careers. Also guaranteeing NCAA qualification on the day were seniors Nate Wachter, Doc Vecchio and Ryan Cummins. Wachter, the No. 7 seed at 157, advanced into the third place bout on the day after a late penalty call in his consolation match with No. 3 seed Alex Tirapelle of Illinois sent the bout into overtime. Neither wrestler scored in the overtime period and Wachter won the toss for the tiebreaker, chose top and rode out the match (2-2;tb). Wachter, who earned the fourth NCAA bid of his career, will get a medical forfeit from No. 1 seed Keaton Anderson in his next match and will wrestle for third. Wachter lost a tough 4-3 decision to No. 2 seed Luke Becker of Iowa in the first round befor returning to down Northwestern＊s Mike Kimberlin, 3-2. Vecchio was impressive in dominating No. 8 seed Matt Anderson 12-4 in their consolation match. Vecchio, the No. 5 seed, moved on to face No. 7 seed Mike Kulczycki in the consolation semifinals. Vecchio lost his first match of the day 6-5 to No. 4 seed Oscar Santiago before returning to post an 11-4 win over Indiana＊s Alex LaPointe. Ryan Cummins was the big surprise on the day as the unseeded Nittany Lion pulled off a big 2-1 win over No. 7 seed Tyron Byrd of Illinois to advance to the consolation semifinals against No. 4 seed Anton Talamantes of Ohio State. With the win he earned his first NCAA bid. Cummins advanced to the match-up with Byrd by upsetting No. 3 seeded Ryan Fulsaas of Iowa 6-5. He lost his first match of the day in a tough 5-3 decision to No. 5 seed Pat DeGain. Both Vecchio and Cummins can finish no worse than sixth. Sophomore Adam Smith and freshman Nate Galloway also stayed alive in the tournament and still had NCAA qualification hopes. Smith dropped into the seventh place bout after being pinned by No. 3 seed Nick Simmons of Michigan State in the consolation bracket. He will face No. 5 seed Twan Pham of Illinois. Smith, the No. 7 seed, won his first match of the day by pinning Nathan Costello at 2:55 but fell in his second match to No. 2 seed A.J. Grant, 9-1. Galloway dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 5 seed Tony Pedrosa in the consolation bracket and will face No. 6 seed Ed Gutnik in the seventh place bout. Galloway, the No. 8 seed, started the day by falling to No. 1 seed and defending NCAA Champion Jared Lawrence, 15-3. He rebounded to down Ohio State＊s Josh Daugherty in sudden victory overtime, 6-4;sv, before falling to Pedrosa. Sophomore Dan Waters was the only Lion eliminated on the day as he dropped a 13-4 decision to No. 2 seed Ryan Lange and a tough 8-7 decision to No. 8 seed Pat Owen, In that match, Waters had a takedown in the final seconds reversed by the officials. Action continues tomorrow starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern time and can be heard live on WRSC Radio (1390 AM).
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