Three Wrestlers Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 18, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Three members of the Michigan State wrestling team advanced to the quarterfinals of the championship bracket at the 1999 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday evening in University Park, Pa.
Pat McNamara was the first Spartan to advance. At 133 pounds, he squared off with Zach Zimmerer of Stanford. Zimmerer scored first with a takedown one minute into the match. With nine seconds left in the period, McNamara scored a reversal to even the score at two going into the second period. McNamara started the second period on the bottom but scored a reversal and a two-point nearfall to take a 6-2 lead into the third. His lead, however, was far from safe as Zimmerer quickly added five points in the third and was inches away from a pin. McNamara would respond though with an escape and a takedown with 30 seconds remaining. He then rode out the clock for the victory. Next up for McNamara is Fresno State's Stan Greene who defeated Michigan's Joe Warren, 8-5
The next Spartan to advance was Will Hill at 174. Hill avenged an early season 5-1 loss to Clarion's Jason Moaney with a 13-6 victory. By defeating the 11th-seeded Moaney, unseeded Hill completed a 2-0 day one with two victories over seeded opponents. Hill took control of the match in the last minute of the first period with a takedown and three-point nearfall to take a 7-2 lead into the second. Hill extended his lead to 11-4 with two second-period takedowns. In the quarterfinals on Friday, Hill will face third-seeded Leo Giel of Rider.
The final Spartan to advance to the quarterfinals was Nick Muzashvili at 197 who scored a 6-1 victory over Pat Quirk of Illinois. Muzashvili, who defeated Quirk twice at the Big Ten Championships, got off to a little bit of a slow start. After a scoreless first period, Quirk scored an escape in the second. Muzashvili would take the lead with a takedown in the last seconds of the second period. In the third period, he would add an escape and a takedown to ease to victory. Muzashvili will next face Pennsylvania's Andrei Rodzianko in the quarterfinals. The Spartan junior will look to avenge a 2-1 tiebreaker loss he suffered to Rodzianko at the Midlands championships.
In other championship action, Issac Miller was defeated by Michael Lightner of Oklahoma, 4-1.