Hempstead, NY - Three
Hofstra wrestlers, senior Jonny Bonilla-Bowman and sophomores P.J. Gillespie
and Ben Clymer, will take to the mat Thursday when the 2010 NCAA Division I
Wrestling Championships begin at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
The 2010 NCAA Championships begin Thursday at 11 a.m. (CDT). Session II begins
at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night. Session III on Friday begins at 9:30 a.m. with
quarterfinals and wrestlebacks while semifinals are slated for Session IV at 6
p.m. Session V which features the wrestleback semifinals and third through 8th
medal rounds begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the finals scheduled for
session VI at 6:30 p.m.
Hofstra's three NCAA qualifiers in 2010 mark the 14th consecutive year that
three or more Pride wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships. But for
the first time since the 2000 NCAA Championships Pride wrestlers will not be
entering nationals as conference team champions after their fifth place finish
at the CAA Championship earlier this month at Rider University. Binghamton's
CAA title snapped Hofstra's streak of nine consecutive conference championships
including eight in the CAA.
The Pride will be sending two wrestlers to nationals, in Bonilla-Bowman and
Gillespie, who have experience on the
biggest stage and a third-Clymer-who will be making his debut in the NCAA
Championships. Bonilla-Bowman, who captured conference titles in the ACC at
Virginia Tech in 2007 and in the CAA in 2008 and 2009 at Hofstra, had to settle
for third place in the conference championships this year. He will be making
his fourth trip to nationals and will be looking to reach the All-American
stand for the first time. Bonilla-Bowman enters the tournament with a 19-5
record at 157 pounds and will face the second-seed Adam Hall (28-2) from Boise
State in the first round of the double-elimination tournament Thursday. It will
be the first meeting between the two wrestlers.
Sophomore P.J. Gillespie, who captured the CAA title at 149 pounds in 2009,
enters the 2010 NCAA Championships as the conference runner-up at 165 pounds.
He is 30-12 on the season and will face the 11th-seed Rick Schmelyun (28-7)
from Bloomsburg University. It will be the first meeting between the two
wrestlers. Gillespie posted a 2-2 record at last year's national tournament.
Sophomore Ben Clymer, who placed second at the CAA Championships at 184 pounds
two weeks ago, makes his first NCAA Championship appearance this week. Clymer
enters the national stage with a 24-7 record including a 23-7 mark at 184
pounds. He will be matched up with Michigan State senior Nick Palmieri (15-16)
in the first round at Omaha. Like Bonilla-Bowman and Gillespie, this is the
first meeting between the two wrestlers.
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