PHOTOS FROM 2014 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Oklahoma City, Okla. – Turtogtokh Luvsandorj topped Hofstra's Joseph Booth, 4-3 and Northwestern's Pierce Harger 3-1 (SV-1) on Friday evening to guarantee himself a spot on the podium tomorrow at the 2014 NCAA Championship held in the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Luvsandorj will become the Bulldogs' fourth All-American in program history and third in the last two seasons on Saturday. The redshirt senior will have a chance to finish as high as third place depending on the results of Saturday's matches.
Luvsandorj, who dropped an overtime match to Booth earlier this season, earned an early takedown in the first period to take a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Booth tied it with an escape to go into the final two minutes tied at 2.
In the final period, Luvsandorj added a two-point takedown to offset an escape by Booth.
In his second match of the evening, Luvsandorj and Harger, who was seeded seventh, battled it out through three periods with the score tied at one. In the one-minute overtime period, Luvsandorj earned the takedown and collected his fourth win of the tournament.
Luvsandorj has now beaten the sixth-, seventh- and ninth-seeded wrestlers in the tournament at 165 en route to a matchup against No. 3 Steven Monk of North Dakota State tomorrow morning. A win will put the Bulldog in the third place bout, while a loss will have him vie for fifth place.
The redshirt senior will close out an historic five-year career on Saturday as the Bulldogs' all-time winningest wrestler. In those four seasons, Luvsandorj earned two Southern Conference titles, made four trips to the NCAA tournament and was tabbed as the league's wrestler of the year twice.
Aaron Walker, Matt Frisch and Marshall Haas are all expected to return next season, while Ugi Khishignyam finished his Bulldog career with 64 wins through two seasons and won two SoCon titles at 141 pounds.
Luvsandorj's match can be seen on ESPN with the links provided below or on www.trackwrestling.com.
2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Schedule
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Date
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Time (ET)
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Session
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Number of Mats
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Network/Direct Link
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Sat, March 22
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11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
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Fifth Session – Medal Round
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Three Mats
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ESPNU/ESPN3
es.pn/1lL7znV
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8:00 p.m. – 11 p.m.
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Sixth Session – Championship Finals
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ESPN
es.pn/1gxMcBm
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Bulldog Wrestling Results
141: Ugi Khishignyam (0-2)
First Round: lost to No. 3 Zain Retherford (Penn State) by decision, 5-0
Pigtail Round: lost to Nick Lester (Oklahoma) by major decision, 13-2
149: Matt Frisch (1-2)
First Round: defeated No. 2 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) by decision, 8-5
Second Round: lost to No. 15 Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh) by decision, 8-1
Consolations: lost to Justin Arthur (Clarion) by decision, 8-2
157: Aaron Walker (1-2)
First Round: defeated Cody Pack (South Dakota State) by fall at 5:25
Second Round: lost to No. 2 Derek St. John (Iowa) by major decision, 18-5
Consolations: lost to Thomas Gantt (NC State) by technical fall at 4:19 (18-0)
165: No. 11 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (4-1)
First Round: defeated Dakota Friesth (Wyoming) by decision, 7-4
Second Round: defeated No. 6 Corey Mock (Chattanooga) by decision, 4-3
Quarterfinals: lost to No. 3 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) by tiebreaker, 4-3 (TB-1)
Consolations: defeated Joseph Booth (Hofstra) by decision, 4-3
Consolations: defeated Pierce Harger (Northwestern) by sudden victory decision, 3-1 (SV-1)
197: Marshall Haas (0-2)
First Round: lost to No. 12 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) by fall at 6:53
Consolation: lost to Abram Ayala (Princeton) by decision, 9-7