Glory, Kolodzik, Brucki All Advance To Second Round Of NCAA Championships

LINKS: Princeton Preview l Princeton Notes Packet (with individual match results) (PDF) l NCAA Brackets (PDF)

Check out the "Beyond The Stripes" feature on Matthew Kolodzik

Sophomore Patrick Brucki picked up his 30th win of the season, freshman Patrick Glory earned his first career NCAA win and junior Matthew Kolodzik took the first step on a potential record-setting weekend to highlight Session I of the NCAA Wrestling Championships for Princeton. That trio will compete in the second round tonight (7 pm, ESPN, ESPN3), while teammates Quincy Monday, Travis Stefanik and Kevin Parker will move into the consolation brackets during Session II as well.

Glory, who knocked off Cornell's Vitali Arujau to win the EIWA championship two weeks ago, didn't seem the least bit overwhelmed by the stage, as he took 26^th-seeded Alonzo Allen down immediately and then earned swipes three different times during a 14-0 opening period. A quick takedown in the second period sent Glory to a Session II showdown against 10^th-seeded Brent Fleetwood of North Dakota State Thursday night.

Kolodzik made the Princeton faithful sweat a bit more, though he handled the late pressure just like he did on his way to a third-place finish last year. He was the clear aggressor early against 28^th-seeded Michael Sprague of American, twice getting in on a leg but being unable to finish either time. He finally got his takedown late and carried a 2-1 lead into the second period.

Both would escape easily enough to open the next two periods, giving Kolodzik a 3-2 edge in the final minute. Sprague never got close to a takedown from there, and Kolodzik — looking to become the first three-time All-American in program history — moved on for a Thursday night showdown with 12^th-seeded Brady Barge of Penn State.

Brucki handled his business with the type of efficiency he's shown throughout the season, and he picked up his 30^th win of the season with a dominant performance over 29^th-seeded Brandon Whitman of North Carolina. The EIWA champion hit on a single in the first period for a quick 2-0 lead, and he added takedowns in both the second and third periods on his way to an 8-2 win. He'll face #13 Malik McDonald of N.C. State during the Thursday night session.

Freshman Quincy Monday was right in his opener against seventh-ranked Larry Early of Old Dominion, who owned a November win over the Tiger freshman at the Tiger Open. Monday got in on a couple scrambles and fended off Early shots in a scoreless first, but the momentum changed when Early rode out the second period and added swipes multiple times for a 6-0 lead. The Monarch veteran added an escape and takedown later to secure the 10-0 win.

Freshman Travis Stefanik and junior Kevin Parker both had impressive enough seasons to earn at-large bids to NCAAs, but both were also slotted against the #2 seeds in their respective weights. Parker gave the PPG Paint Arena crowd a temporary thrill when he nearly turned Penn State's Shakur Rasheed in a first-period scramble, but he couldn't manage enough offense in an 11-2 loss. Stefanik was caught and pinned in the first period by Missouri's Daniel Lewis.

The Thursday night session will begin at 7 pm, and will be televised live on ESPN. Follow the @TigerWrestling Twitter feed for direct mat links for all Princeton wrestlers in both the championship and consolation rounds.

125 – #7 Patrick Glory
1^st – Glory TF #26 Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga) 16-0
2^nd – Glory vs. #10 Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State)

149 – #5 Matthew Kolodzik
1^st – Kolodzik dec. #28 Michael Sprague (American) 3-2
2^nd – Kolodzik vs. #12 Brady Barge (Penn State)

157 – #26 Quincy Monday
1^st – #7 Larry Early (Old Dominion) mdec. Monday 10-0
1^st Cons – Monday vs. #23 Chase Straw (Iowa State)

174 — #31 Travis Stefanik
1^st – #2 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) WBF Travis Stefanik 1:13
1^st Cons — Stefanik vs. #18 Andrew Morgan (Campbell)

184 — #31 Kevin Parker
1^st – #2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) mdec. Parker 11-2
1^st Cons — Parker vs. #18 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming)

197 — #4 Patrick Brucki
1^st – Brucki dec. Brandon Whitman (UNC) 8-2
2^nd — Brucki vs. #13 Malik McDonald (NC State)

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