March 7, 2008

2008 MAC Tournament Brackets

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio wrestling team will travel to Kent State this afternoon to begin the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Brackets were released on Friday morning and a pair of Bobcats will receive first-round byes. Germane Lindsey (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) will automatically enter into the second round of the MAC Tournament and need just two wins to become league champion.

Perhaps the most difficult bracket this year comes at 133 pounds where three of the six MAC competitors are ranked nationally in the top-20. Northern Illinois' Pat Castillo has the highest ranking amongst the three, voted No. 11 in the nation by selected members of the national wrestling media as part of the InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Individual Rankings. Ohio's Quentin Keyes will draw the difficult task of trying to achieve a title at 133 pounds and will battle Eastern Michigan's Sean Clair, currently ranked No. 15, in the first round. Keyes and Morton have not met up this season, as Ohio's Seth Morton squared-off against Clair earlier in the season at the dual meet against the Eagles.

In the 125 pound division, Ohio's Heath Allen (Bellefontaine, Ohio) will compete against EMU's Andrew Novak. Novak pinned Allen earlier in the season at the dual meet in Ypsilanti, Mich. on Dec. 6, 2007.

Lindsey was given a bye in the first round of the tournament and will meet the winner of the bout between Kent State's Drew Lashaway and EMU's Zac Donofrio. Lindsey lost a close 6-4 bout at home against the then No. 18 ranked Lashaway - he has moved up one spot to No. 17 in the most recent poll.

Kevin Christensen (Springfield, Ohio) will take on Kent State's Clint Sponseller in the first round of the 149 pound bracket. Christensen was defeated by Sponseller 6-0 on Feb. 18 in a conference dual meet in Athens against the Golden Flashes.

In the next round, Ohio's Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) will take his 3-1 conference record at 157 pounds into the tournament. Tucker's first round opponent is Buffalo's Pat Lloyd, who did not wrestle against the Bobcats on Jan. 26 when the team traveled to Buffalo for a conference dual meet. His potential second round opponent will be CMU's Steve Brown - the only MAC wrestler to defeat Tucker this season at 157 pounds.

Kent Smith (Bowling Green, Ohio) will wrestle for the Bobcats at 165 pounds and will take on Central Michigan's No. 9 ranked Trevor Stewart. The Ohio coaching staff decided to forfeit that match in the Bobcats recent dual against the Chippewas after CMU built up a commanding 23-0 lead in the first five bouts.

Ison will receive a first round bye at 174 pounds and take on the winner of the match between CMU's No. 4 ranked Brandon Sinnott and Kent State's Chris Estep.

Freshman Erik Schuth (Spencerport, N.Y.) will wrestle against Kent State's No. 20 ranked Eric Chine in the opening round of the tournament. Schuth lost to Chine 9-1 on Feb. 8.

Chris Iammarino (Lyndhurst, Ohio) will square-off with Buffalo's Jimmy Hamel in the first round of the 197-pound weight class. Iammarino did not compete at Ohio's dual against Buffalo on Jan. 26.

In the heavyweight division, Tim Samson (Toledo, Ohio) will battle EMU's David Wade in the opening round. The pair has not met this season.

The 10 winners from the MAC Tournament will receive automatic bids to the NCAA National Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. A second place finish could also qualify a wrestler for Nationals as there are a limited number of at-large bids to be awarded. Last season, Ohio Jake Frerichs earned an at-large bid after taking second in the MAC Tournament at 157 pounds.

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Joe Waltasti is the wrestling contact for the Ohio Media Relations department. He can be reached via email at waltasti@ohio.edu.