Champaign, Ill., March 9, 2002 - Penn State sophomore Scott Moore (141) and junior Doc Vecchio (165) both reached the semifinals and Penn State qualified five men for the NCAA tournament after the first day of the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament in Champaign, Ill. Moore and Vecchio both lost their semifinal matches but are among seven Nittany Lions still alive in consolation action tomorrow. They joined sophomore Marat Tomaev (133), junior Mark Becks (184) and senior Pete Mielnik (197) among five Nittany Lions to earn NCAA qualifying berths on the day. Penn State stood sixth in the team standings with 55 points just ahead of Michigan State in seventh with 46.5. Minnesota raced to the team lead with 144 points ahead of Iowa in second with 107 and Ohio State in third with 105.5.

Moore, the No. 1 seed at 141, opened the tournament with an 11-0 pounding of No. 8 seed Charlie Sageman. However, he was over matched in the semifinal as he faced Minnesota's Chad Erikson, who despite being ranked among the Top 10 most of the season drew a low No. 4 seed due to his lack of activity over the last month of the season. Erikson threw Moore to his back on several occasions mounting a large lead before pinning him at 5:47. Moore, assured a finishing no lower than fifth, will next face No. 7 seed John Giacche in the semifinals of the consolation bracket. The top seven wrestlers at each weight advance to the NCAA tournament.

Vecchio started similarly strong as the No. 3 seed at 165. He posted a 12-7 win over No. 6 seed Anton Hall of Michigan State to advance to face No. 2 seeded Johnny Clark of Ohio State in the semis. Clark, who defeated Vecchio by a slim 6-5 margin early this year, proved to be to much as he got a late takedown to ice away a 6-2 decision. Vecchio also drops into the consolation semifinals where he will face No. 8 seed Nate Baker. He is assured of at least a fifth place finish. The NCAA bid will be the first for Vecchio, a former walk-on, while Moore earns his second NCAA trip.

Tomaev took a tougher road to his second-straight NCAA bid. The No. 5 seed at 133, he fell 7-2 to No. 4 seed Cliff Moore of Iowa in his opening match. He returned strong however to post convincing 14-2 and 6-3 wins over Northwestern's Tommy Vargas and Indiana's Brian Smiley to advance to the semifinals of the consolation bracket where he will face No. 6 seed Chad Hay of Illinois.

Becks, the No. 7 seed at 184, lost a tough opening bout to No. 2 seed Viktor Sveda after receiving a first round bye. Becks got a late takedown to tie the bout at 7-7 and send it into overtime. He again got in deep on a shot in overtime, but was unable to convert it as Sveda posted the winning takedown for a 9-7 victory. Becks again dropped into a bye in consolation action and then posted an 8-4 victory over No. 6 seed Ralph Denisco to move into the consolation semi-finals. With the victory he earned his second-straight NCAA bid.

Mielnik, the No. 7 seed at 197, battled his way through a painful rib injury that has hampered him the last three weeks to gain his second-straight NCAA bid. He opened the tournament with a fall at 6:42 over Purdue's Bryan Kapp, but ran into No. 2 seeded Owen Elzen of Minnesota in the quarterfinals and fell 9-1. He returned to pin No. 8 seed Brendan Curran at 4:10 and then worked for a hard fought 8-6 decision over No. 6 seed Jareck Horton of Wisconsin to move into the consolation semifinals.

Junior Nate Wachter and sophomore Pat Cummins both will wrestle in seventh place bouts tomorrow and look to secure NCAA bids. Wachter will face Purdue's Dan Jankowski who he defeated in his first round match 7-3. He ran into No. 2 seed Jared Lawrence of Minnesota in the quarterfinals falling 18-6 and then met No. 6 seed Karl Nadolsky of Michigan State after a bye in the consolation round. The two battled to a 1-1 tie after three periods and an overtime. Nadolsky won the flip and taking the down position escaped 14 seconds into the ride out period.

Cummins started the tournament with a 12-7 win over Michigan State's Mike Keenan, but also ran into the No. 2 seed in the quarterfinal round. He fell there to Ohio State's Tommy Rowlands, 10-5. He returned strong to pin Northwestern's Mike Little at 3:48 of his first consolation bout. He then met No. 6 seed Matt Brink falling 5-2. He will face No. 8 seed Justin Staebler of Wisconsin for seventh.

Eliminated from the tournament on the day for Penn State were three freshmen, Adam Smith (125), James Woodall (157) and Todd Brennan (174). Smith lost a pair of matches to the number three and four seeds in his first Big Ten appearance. Smith fell 13-3 in his opening match to No. 3 seeed A.J. Grant of Michigan and then was ousted from the tournament by an 8-1 decision to No. 4 seed Chris Williams of Michigan State.

Woodall, the No. 7 seed at 157, got a win in his first tournament bout as he downed Indiana's Rocky Mantella, 7-2. However, his fortunes turned when he ran into No. 2 seed Ryan Bertin of Michigan in the quarterfinal round. Woodall wrestled well, but fell in a 9-6 decision. He then met Wisconsin's Adam Turner in the consolation bracket. Turner who had defeated Woodall 6-1 earlier this year posted an 8-4 decision this time to end Woodall's season.

Brennan struggled in his first tournament appearance losing his two bouts. He fell 9-2 to No. 5 seed Rashad Evans in the opening round and then had the misfortune of facing No. 3 seed Jacob Volkmann of Minnesota, who was upset in the first round, in his consolation match. Volkmann prevailed 13-3.

Penn State Scores - Day 1; March 9
Team Overall Tournament Record: 12-15 (Becks)
Pig tails - 4-2; Quarterfinals - 2-6; Semis - 0-2 Consolations - 6-5
NCAA Qualifiers: 5
Wrestlers Still Alive: 7

125 - Adam Smith (Fr.)
L, 13-3 to (3) A.J. Grant (MI)
L, 8-1 to (4) Chris Williams (MS)
Tournament: 0-2; Season: 15-11

133 - (5) Marat Tomaev (So.) - NCAA Qualified
L, 7-2 (4) Cliff Moore (IA)
W, 14-2 over Tommy Vargaz (NU)
W, 6-3 over Brian Smiley (IN)
will face (6) Chad Hay (IL)

141 - (1) Scott Moore (So.) - NCAA Qualified
W, 11-0 (8) Charlie Sageman (MS)
L, F;5:47 to (4) Chad Erikson (MN)
will face (7) John Giacche (NW) in consolation semifinals

149 - (7) Nate Wachter (Jr.)
W, 7-3 over Dan Jankowski (PU)
L, 18-6 (2) Jared Lawrence (MN)
L, 2-1;tb to (6) Karl Nadolsky (MS)
will wrestle for 7th against Dan Jankowski (PU)

157 - (7) James Woodall (Fr.)
W, 7-2 over Rocky Mantella (IN)
L, 9-6 (2) Ryan Bertin (MI)
L, 8-4 to Adam Turner (WI)
Tournament: 1-2; Season: 9-10

165 - (3) Doc Vecchio (Jr.) - NCAA Qualified
W, 12-7 (6) Anton Hall (MS)
L, 6-2 to (2) Johnny Clark (OS)
will face (8) Nate Baker in the consolation semi-finals

174 - Todd Brennan (Fr.)
L, 9-2 to (5) Rashad Evans (MSU)
L, 13-3 to (3) Jacob Volkmann (MN)
Tournament: 0-2; Season: 12-23

184 - (7) Mark Becks (Jr.)
L, 9-7;sv (2) Viktor Sveda (IN)
W, 8-4 over (6) Ralph Denisco (WI)
will face (4) Jessman Smith (IA) in consolation semi-finals

197 - (7) Pete Mielnik (Sr.)
W, F;6:42 over Bryan Kapp (PU)
L, 9-1 (2) Owen Elzen (MN)
W, F;4:10 over (8) Brendan Curran (NU)
W, 8-6 over (6) Jareck Horton (WI)
will face (4) Pat DeGain in consolation semi-finals

Hwt. - (7) Pat Cummins (So.)
W, 12-7 over Mike Keenan (MS)
L, 10-5 (2) Tommy Rowlands (OSU)
W, F;3:48 over Mike Little (NU)
L, 5-2 (6) Matt Brink (MI)
will face (8) Justin Staebler (WI) for 7th place