Round 3 at NCAA Wrestling Championships
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 19, 1999
EAST LANSING,Mich. - In what was an otherwise difficult round 3 for Michigan State at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday in University Park, Pa., junior Nick Muzashvili turned in the top Spartan performance of the tournament, defeating Pennsylvania's unbeaten and second-seeded Andrei Rodzianko. With the win, Muzashvili advances to the semifinals at 197 pounds.
Muzashvili, who lost to Rodzianko in a 2-1 tiebreaker at the Midlands Championships, got off to a slow start in the quarterfinal match. Rodzianko, who entered the match with a perfect 22-0 record, scored a first period takedown and a second period escape to take a 3-0 lead into the third period. Muzashvili then answered with an escape and takedown of his own to tie the score at three. But when Rodzianko escaped, Muzashvili found himself in need of some points.
With 23 seconds remaining the two wrestlers went out of bounds, stopping the action. At that time Muzashvili turned to his coaches.
"I looked at the coaches and they asked me how badly I wanted to win," said Muzashvili.
As soon as action resumed, Muzashvili went on the offensive and with 15 seconds remaining he got the takedown he needed to take a 5-4 lead. He then rode out the remaining time for the win.
"The looks on the coaches' faces gave me the courage I needed and lit something inside of me," explained Muzashvili. "He [Rodzianko] was very strong, but today I had the fire. It feels great."
Up next for Muzashvili is Iowa's Lee Fullhart. The third-seeded Fullhart advanced to the semifinals with a 13-1 win over Northwestern's Sam Neider.
Two other Spartans were not so fortunate in the quarterfinals. At 133, Pat McNamara went into overtime with Fresno State's Stan Greene. After one minute of the extra session, Greene scored a takedown and with it a 3-1 sudden victory win.
Will Hill tried for his third victory over a seeded opponent as he faced third-seeded Leo Giel of Rider in the 174 quarterfinals. At first, it appeared as if he might claim victory, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after two periods. Giel, however, would answer with a reversal and takedown to claim a 4-3 lead. Hill would escape, but with riding time in Giel's favor, he had to take the offensive. With three seconds Hill made a last attempt at scoring, but Giel took advantage and scored two points of his own. Giel's 7-4 victory will send Hill to the consolation bracket.
With his quarterfinal victory, Muzashvili assured himself of earning All-America honors. Hill and McNamara can claim similar honors with a victory in their next match.
In the 141 wrestlebacks, Spartan senior Issac Miller concluded his wrestling career with a 9-4 loss to Rider's Derek Jenkins. Heavyweight Matt Lamb also concluded his season with a 6-5 loss to Boise State's Rusty Cook.
Through three rounds, Michigan State has 15 team points and stands in 20th place. McNamara, Hill and Muzashvili will return to action on Friday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center.