Three Cavaliers Reach Round of 12 at NCAA Championships

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March 20, 2015

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Virginia’s Blaise Butler (R-Jr., Belvidere, Ill.), George DiCamillo (R-So., Highland Heights, Ohio) and Nick Sulzer (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) remain alive Friday heading into the Round of 12 at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. All three will wrestle for All-America status in the evening session.

Through three sessions, Virginia has totaled 15.5 team points and stands in a 21st-place tie in the team standings. The Friday evening session starts at 8 p.m. ET and airs on ESPN, while ESPN3 has coverage of each of the six mats.

The No. 12 seed at 133, DiCamillo (28-8) fell in a 14-5 major decision to three-time All-American Cody Brewer of Oklahoma, the No. 13 seed, on Friday morning. He comes back tonight with a second chance to earn All-America honors, facing No. 9 seed A.J. Schoop of Edinboro.

The No. 4 seed at 165, Sulzer (29-3) dominated Princeton’s Jonathan Schleifer in a 10-1 major decision Friday morning before scoring a hard-fought 7-6 win over No. 12 Dylan Palacio of Cornell. Trailing 6-5 for most of the third period, Sulzer worked hard on the mat to get his leg free and get the necessary control to score the winning takedown with 10 seconds left. Sulzer shoots for his third straight All-America honor tonight when he wrestles No. 7 seed Pierce Harger of Northwestern.

Seeded No. 5 at 174, Butler (21-5) scored a pair of wins in the early session. He started the day with a 13-5 major decision over Army’s Brian Harvey and moved into the Round of 12 with a 5-3 win over Indiana’s Nathan Jackson. Butler will square off with seventh-seeded Zach Epperly of Virginia Tech in the blood round; it marks their fourth meeting of the season – Butler won each of the first three.

At 125 pounds Nick Herrmann (Jr., Amarillo, Texas) saw his season end Friday with a 9-7 loss to Michigan’s Conor Youtley in the second sudden victory period. Earlier in the day, Herrmann advanced after two-time reigning national champion Jesse Delgado was forced to take an injury default with one second left in the first period of their bout. Herrmann finishes his season with a 17-9 record.

Virginia at the 2015 NCAA Championships
Nick Herrmann (125 pounds) – Eliminated
1st Round – No. 10 seed Ronnie Rios (Oregon State) dec. Herrmann, 6-5
Conso Rd. 1 – Herrmann dec. Trey Andrews (Northern Colorado), 7-5
Conso Rd. 2 -Herrmann wins by injury default over Jesse Delgado (Illinois), 2:59
Conso Rd. 3 – Conor Youtsey (Michigan) dec. Herrmann, 9-7 (SV-2)

No. 12 seed George DiCamillo (133 pounds)
1st Round – DiCamillo major dec. Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 8-0
2nd Round – DiCamillo dec. No. 5 seed Zane Richards (Illinois), 6-4 (SV)
Quarters – No. 13 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) major dec. DiCamillo, 14-5
Round of 12 – DiCamillo vs. No. 9 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro)

Joe Spisak (141 pounds) – Eliminated
1st Round – No. 3 seed Lavion Mayes (Missouri) major dec. Spisak, 14-4
Conso Pigtail – Spisak major dec. Chuck Zeisloft (Rider), 11-2
Conso Rd. 1 – Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) dec. Spisak, 8-4

Andrew Atkinson (157 pounds) – Eliminated
1st Round – No. 12 seed Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Atkinson, 8-4
Conso Rd. 1 – No. 5 seed Cody Pack (South Dakota State) dec. Atkinson, 3-2

No. 4 seed Nick Sulzer (165 pounds)
1st Round – Sulzer major dec. Clark Glass (Oklahoma), 10-2
2nd Round – No. 13 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa) pinned Sulzer, 2:19
Conso Rd. 2 – Sulzer major dec. Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), 10-1
Conso Rd. 3 – Sulzer dec. No. 12 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 7-6
Round of 12 – Sulzer vs. No. 7 Pierce Harger (Northwestern)

No. 5 seed Blaise Butler (174 pounds)
1st Round – Butler major dec. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan), 14-5
2nd Round – No. 12 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) dec. Butler, 5-2
Conso Rd. 2 – Butler major dec. Brian Harvey (Army), 13-5
Conso Rd. 3 – Butler dec. Nathan Jackson (Indiana), 5-3
Round of 12 – No. 7 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech)

Zach Nye (197 pounds) – Eliminated
1st Round – No. 2 seed Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. Nye, 3-0
Conso Rd. 1 – Jake Smith (West Virginia) dec. Nye, 3-3 (TB-2, RT)

2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Schedule of Events – All Times Eastern
Friday (March 20)
Fourth Session – 8 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)
Semifinals & Wrestleback Fourth and Fifth Rounds

Saturday (March 21)
Fifth Session – 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Wrestleback Semifinals & Third, Fifth and Seventh-Place Rounds
Sixth Session – 8 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)
Championships Finals