2009 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament

March 2, 2004
Bald Eagle Wrestling Set For Competition at EWL Championships

2004 EWL Championships Schedule of Events
Hosted by Bloomsburg University 
Nelson Field House - Bloomsburg, Pa.

Saturday, March 6
11 a.m. - Session One
Quarterfinals
6 p.m. - Session Two
Semifinals, Consolation Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 7
10 a.m. - Session Three
Consolation Semifinals, 
Consolation Finals Bouts (3rd-6th)
2 p.m. - Session Four
Championship Finals

THE EWL TEAM RACE: 
        A strong favorite entering into the weekend’s competition will be No. 23-ranked Edinboro University (10-3, 7-0 EWL), the EWL regular season champion and the tournament’s defending titlist. The Boro leads the field in number of championships won with five, all coming within the last six years. 
        No. 24-ranked West Virginia University (9-5, 6-1 EWL) finished second in the regular season, and has two EWL tournament wins with the latest coming in 2002.
        Winding up third in the regular season was the University of Pittsburgh, scoring a 5-2 record in the league and an 8-6 mark overall. Tied for fourth with three league victories were Bloomsburg University (8-8, 3-4 EWL) and Cleveland State University (9-9, 3-4 EWL). 
        Clarion University was 2-5 in the EWL and 4-8 overall, while Lock Haven and Virginia Tech (7-11, 1-6 EWL) round out the field.

**InterMat rankings.

 BALD EAGLES IN THE EWL TOURNAMENT: 
         The Bald Eagles have one EWL title, a win coming in the 1997 season when they claimed three first-place finishes and had seven grapplers qualify for the national championships. Last season Lock Haven was fourth overall with 75.5 points and four national qualifiers.  
         Lock Haven has crowned a total of 32 individual champions at the EWL Championships since its 1976 inception. In addition, 132 NCAA tournament berths have been awarded to Bald Eagle grapplers during that time. 
          In 2003, Lock Haven’s Mike Maney and Morgan Horner each advanced to the finals but were forced to settle for runner-up honors. Jason Gilligan placed third overall. Four wrestlers earned a trip to the NCAA championships including Mike Maney at 141 pounds, Justin Owens at 133 pounds, Jason Gilligan at 165 pounds and Morgan Horner at 197 pounds. 

Below is the LHU weight-by-weight preview:

125: Jim Collins (Jonestown/Northern Lebanon) was sixth at last season’s EWL Championships, going 1-3 in competition. This season, Collins is 2-4 in league dual meet action. Both his wins came by fall over Virginia Tech’s Ryan Broughman and Edinboro’s Chris Pruden. 

133: If senior Dave Predko’s (Ridgway/Ridgway) first go at the EWL tournament is anything like his first appearance at the PSAC tournament, then the Bald Eagles can expect to pick up a few team points at 133 pounds. Predko, the PSAC runner-up, is 12-8 on the season and has built a 4-2 record against league opponents in dual meet action. 

141: Freshman Casey Moore (Beech Creek/Central Mountain) is expected to take the mat for the Bald Eagles at 141 pounds after filing in there late this season. Moore is 10-12 on the season, wrestling at 133 pounds until being called up for the last two dual meets of the season. Moore was 10-6 in tournament wrestling at 133 pounds.

149: No. 16-ranked Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) has accomplished many things at Lock Haven, but the title of EWL champion has somehow eluded the senior standout in the previous three seasons. After finishing as the runner-up in 2003 and 2001 and fifth in 2002, Maney is in the hunt to add the league crown to his collection. He is 29-5 overall and posted a 5-1 mark in dual meet action versus EWL opponents. 

157: Senior Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) will vie for the chance to finish out his Bald Eagle career on a high note by placing in the top three and earning his first trip to the NCAA championships. Brenneman is the LHU wins leader at 30-7, and has gone 6-1 against EWL wrestlers in dual meets. Last season he went 0-2 at the league tournament.

165: Aiming for his third trip to the NCAA tournament, senior Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) enters action with a 16-8 overall ledger. Gilligan finished third at last year’s EWL tournament, earning an automatic bid to nationals and was fifth in 2001, picking up a wild-card bid to the tournament. This season he has a third-place finish at the PSAC championships among his accomplishments. He is 4-3 against EWL opponents, two of those losses coming against ranked grapplers Matt King of Edinboro and Chris Stith of Virginia Tech. 

174: One of three freshmen wrestling for the Bald Eagles this weekend, Ryan Summers (Plainwell, Mich./Plainwell) will look to hold his own at 174 pounds. He earned the starting nod in four EWL dual meets, going 1-3 with his one win coming against West Virginia’s Doug Studenic, 8-1. Summers has a season record of 10-10.

184: Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) has finished as high as fourth at the EWL tournament, earning that place finish last season. The senior Bald Eagle is 17-13 on the season, registering a 5-2 mark versus EWL opponents. His only two losses came against No. 1-ranked Greg Jones of West Virginia and #17-ranked Alex Clemsen of Edinboro. 

197: Wrestling at 197 will be red-shirt freshman Carlos Ponce (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes). Ponce, who is 8-17 overall, is currently winless in EWL dual meet match-ups but could surprise an opponent or two with his persistence for an upset win. He was fifth overall at this year’s PSAC Championships.

HWT: Competing in his final EWL championship is senior Steve Itterly (Bethlehem/Nazareth). Itterly has competed twice at the EWL tournament, finishing fifth last season. He is 11-14 on the season with a 1-5 mark against league opponents. He has built a tournament record of 7-5, placing second at the PSAC tournament and seventh at Mat-Town. 

UP NEXT: Qualifying Bald Eagles will represent the Haven at the 2004 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo. The EWL will send a total of 37 qualifiers to the national championships.

###LHU###