EIWA Conference TournamentMar 4, 2014 by Nickolas Velliquette
EIWA Championships: What To Watch For
EIWA Championships: What To Watch For
30 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 nationally come from the EIWA. This explains why the now 18-team mega conference was allocated 47 NCAA qualifying spots -2nd only the Big Ten Conference. Now, I'd love to talk about the EIWA team race all day, but to be honest, no one's touching Cornell this weekend. They're ranked #5 nationally and have a legitimate shot at getting on the podium at the end of the month. The individual match ups are what you'll want to pay attention to this weekend.
Things to Watch For at EIWAs & Related Thoughts
The Cornell Big 3: #1 Nahshon Garrett (125), #3 Chris Villalonga (149), #3 Gabe Dean (184)
Thoughts: All should win EIWAs; interestingly enough, I think Villalonga has the best shot to win NCAA's -funny cuz I never pictured Villalonga an NCAA Champ-type...then he beat Kendric Maple. He's also got a lifetime win over #1 Drake Houdashelt #JustSaying
Toughest Wt. Class: 141 with #5 Vaith , #11 Durso, #12 Gardner, #16 Nevinger
Thoughts: This may be the toughest 141lb bracket anywhere. Sure, Big Tens is more top-heavy with Stieber, Retherford and Dardanes but the back half of 141 at EIWAs is very comparable to that of Big Tens...for Pete's sake: 2x All American Mike Nevinger will most likely get the 4 seed here.
Beckman & Minotti: Beckman's beaten 7 of the 20 ranked 133lbers, Minotti won Midlands
Thoughts: Though it was at the All Star Classic, Mason Beckman has a win over AJ Schopp this year (that's big time), Minotti won his Midlands title by beating #6 Grajales so watch out for him!
Best (Potential) Matches
5. #3 Dean v. #11 Thomas (184) - Thomas wrestled Dean to a 7-5 match this season..hmm
4. #3 Villalonga v. #15 Minotti (149) - Can Minotti notch his 2nd HUGE tourney win this season?
3. #9 Realbuto v. #11 Napoli (157) - Realbuto takes everyone to the wire, Napoli's a crowd-pleaser
2. #6 Beckman v. #13 Grey (133) - I actually don't think these two young studs have ever wrestled.
1. #1 Garrett v. #8 Terao (125) - This'll be fun! Terao is one of the most dynamic light wts. of 2014
The EIWA Championships will be LIVE on Flowrestling. Log into your Flo Pro account or sign up HERE today to watch this Saturday and Sunday, March 8th - 9th.
Teams Competing
Cornell, Pennsylvania, Lehigh, Princeton, Rutgers, American University, Hofstra, Army, Columbia, Navy, Sacred Heart, Brown, Boston U, Drexel, Binghamton, Harvard, Bucknell, Franklin and Marshall
Things to Watch For at EIWAs & Related Thoughts
The Cornell Big 3: #1 Nahshon Garrett (125), #3 Chris Villalonga (149), #3 Gabe Dean (184)
Thoughts: All should win EIWAs; interestingly enough, I think Villalonga has the best shot to win NCAA's -funny cuz I never pictured Villalonga an NCAA Champ-type...then he beat Kendric Maple. He's also got a lifetime win over #1 Drake Houdashelt #JustSaying
Toughest Wt. Class: 141 with #5 Vaith , #11 Durso, #12 Gardner, #16 Nevinger
Thoughts: This may be the toughest 141lb bracket anywhere. Sure, Big Tens is more top-heavy with Stieber, Retherford and Dardanes but the back half of 141 at EIWAs is very comparable to that of Big Tens...for Pete's sake: 2x All American Mike Nevinger will most likely get the 4 seed here.
Beckman & Minotti: Beckman's beaten 7 of the 20 ranked 133lbers, Minotti won Midlands
Thoughts: Though it was at the All Star Classic, Mason Beckman has a win over AJ Schopp this year (that's big time), Minotti won his Midlands title by beating #6 Grajales so watch out for him!
Best (Potential) Matches
5. #3 Dean v. #11 Thomas (184) - Thomas wrestled Dean to a 7-5 match this season..hmm
4. #3 Villalonga v. #15 Minotti (149) - Can Minotti notch his 2nd HUGE tourney win this season?
3. #9 Realbuto v. #11 Napoli (157) - Realbuto takes everyone to the wire, Napoli's a crowd-pleaser
2. #6 Beckman v. #13 Grey (133) - I actually don't think these two young studs have ever wrestled.
1. #1 Garrett v. #8 Terao (125) - This'll be fun! Terao is one of the most dynamic light wts. of 2014
 |
Tournament Preview |
The EIWA Championships will be LIVE on Flowrestling. Log into your Flo Pro account or sign up HERE today to watch this Saturday and Sunday, March 8th - 9th.
Teams Competing
Cornell, Pennsylvania, Lehigh, Princeton, Rutgers, American University, Hofstra, Army, Columbia, Navy, Sacred Heart, Brown, Boston U, Drexel, Binghamton, Harvard, Bucknell, Franklin and Marshall