Rodzianko takes first at Midlands tourney

Penn's wrestling team took sixth place with strong showings from Justin Bravo and Yoski Nakamura. EVANSTON, Ill. -- Maybe the wrestling world forgot about Andrei Rodzianko last fall. Just in case, he reminded them in a big way at the Midlands Wrestling Championships, held December 29 and 30 at Northwestern University. After studying abroad in Russia for a semester, Rodzianko came back with a vengeance, winning the tournament in his first action since his return. "He's not in top condition," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "But he performed at a very good level and showed a lot of poise." The 197-lb. wrestler swept through his weight class in impressive fashion, picking up wins over three opponents ranked nationally in the top 10. After two 16-1 technical fall wins, the fourth-seeded Rodzianko edged fifth-seeded Nick Muzashvili of Michigan State 2-1 to move into a tough semifinal match with top-seeded Lee Fullhart of Iowa. Fullhart, the defending NCAA champion and No. 2-ranked wrestler in the country, had behind him a partisan crowd of Iowans who made the trek to Chicago. But Rodzianko controlled the match from the get-go. Rodzianko rolled to an 8-4 victory in impressive fashion. "This might be the single biggest win in Penn history," Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Sports Information Director John Harmon said of Rodzianko's win over Fullhart. Fullhart has a chance for revenge, however, as he and Rodzianko are scheduled to face off at the NWCA All-Star Classic, February 1 at Oklahoma State University. In the finals, Rodzianko faced sixth-seeded Zachery Thompson of Iowa State. Rodzianko outlasted Thompson, winning the the title match 3-2. The win marked Penn's first ever title at the Midlands. The closest the Quakers had come were Brandon Slay's two second-place finishes in 1996 and 1997. Sophomores Yoshi Nakamura (157 pounds) and Justin Bravo (125) also placed for Penn, both earning fifth-place finishes. For the unseeded Nakamura, it was a repeat performance of his fifth-place finish in 1997. He had to wrestle 10 matches in the tournament, going 8-2, with wins over seventh-seed Darryl Christian of Oregon and national No. 5 Chris Ayres of Lehigh. It was Ayres who put Nakamura in the consolation bracket with a 9-7 win, but Nakamura won the rematch 10-6. Nakamura took the fifth place match over former NCAA champion Jeff McGinness of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club by a medical default. It should come as no surprise that Bravo finished fifth, at least to Midlands tournament organizers, who seeded Bravo No. 5. Despite a first-round loss, Bravo battled back to finish the tournament with a 6-2 record. He wrestled a strong match in the fifth-place bout, defeating Eastern Illinois' Tom Combes, who is ranked No. 9 in the nation, by a 9-4 score. Bravo also recorded a "fabulous win," according to Reina, over Oregon's Kenny Cox. "Cox had beaten Bravo in the junior championships a year and a half ago," Reina said. "It shows very good progress in his development." Despite the successes of the second day, the tournament started out precariously for Penn. Of the 12 Penn wrestlers in the tournament, eight lost their first round matches, including No. 2 seed Brett Matter (149) and No. 6 seed Mark Piotrowsky (141). Three more were eliminated in the next round of bouts. The early round struggles for Penn left Reina befuddled. "I'm going to go scratch my head for about four hours," Reina said during the break between the morning and the evening sessions. The Quakers got back on track in the evening session, though. Strong showings in the wrestlebacks led to a fifth-place team standing after the first day of competition for Penn. "[We were] able to salvage a very strong tournament," Reina said. "[The slow start was caused by] a combination of things -- some technical, and some of them may have to do with tactics and the level of aggressiveness needed to compete at the higher levels." After his disappointing first-round loss to the eventual seventh-place finisher Greg Mayer of Central Michigan, Matter battled back to win four straight matches. He was eliminated by third-place finisher and national No. 3 Adam Tirapelle of Illinois, falling only one round short of placing. "Brett was having trouble getting his offense going, which led him to be frustrated," Reina said. "[There were] largely some technical things that he can correct. "[He has] to shake this tournament off and take the steps necessary to get ready for [the NCAA Championships in] March." Along with Matter, three other Penn wrestlers finished one round short of placing, vaulting Penn to a sixth-place finish overall. Penn, ranked No. 19 in the country, placed ahead of No. 8 Arizona State, No. 13 Northwestern and No. 15 Cal-State Bakersfield. After picking up their best finish ever at the Midlands, the Quakers left snowy Chicago for sunny Honolulu to compete in the Aloha Classic.

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