Devoy Advances to Quarterfinals, Blanco and Cimato Continue to Day Two of NCAAs

Thursday, March 19

St. Louis, Mo.

Drexel University

NCAA Championships

Devoy Advances to Quarterfinals, Blanco and Cimato Continue to Day Two of NCAAs

3/19/2015 10:09:00 PM | Wrestling

DAY 1 BRACKETS

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Redshirt sophomore Kevin Devoy Jr. advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 NCAA Championships after downing two opponents on the first day of the tournament. His teammates Noel Blanco and Matthew Cimato also moved onto day two of competition in the wrestleback rounds.

Devoy started off his second-career NCAA tournament appearance with a 9-4 victory over Maryland's Geoffrey Alexander at 133. The match was close through most of regulation, but Devoy was able to pull away towards the end of the third period to advance to the round of sixteen. There he faced a familiar face in Penn's Caleb Richardson. The EIWA opponents were tied at the end of regulation, but Devoy secured a crucial takedown in overtime to move on. He is set to compete in the quarterfinals of the championship round on Friday morning, where he will take on the No. 1 seed Chris Dardanes of Minnesota.

Blanco joined Devoy in advancing to the round of sixteen as he defeated the No. 13 seed Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers in his opening match at 157 pounds. After having lost to Perrotti in Drexel's dual meet against Rutgers on Feb. 19, Blanco came out with a vengeance to earn the upset. A reversal with about a minute to go in the third period gave Blanco a 3-2 lead over Perrotti, but then Perrotti was able to escape and earn a point to tie the match up at three points apiece and send it to overtime. Blanco secured the first takedown in sudden victory to advance to the next round. Unfortunately, there he was defeated by the No. 4 seed, James Green, who he also faced earlier in the season in a dual meet. Blanco will continue his run in the wrestleback rounds on Friday morning against George Mason's Gregory Floumoy.

Cimato marked another Dragon that came out with a strong effort on the first day of competition. The 149-pounder jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in his first match against the seventh seeded Sal Mastriani of Virginia Tech. Cimato maintained a 10-4 lead with about 30 seconds to go in regulation, but Mastriani put together two near falls to tie things up at 11-11 with just seconds to go. As the match went to sudden victory, Mastriani was the first to score a takedown, which sent Cimato to the consolation rounds despite a strong performance. There he took on the No. 10 seed, Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State and with another strong effort earned a 13-2 major decision to advance through the wrestlebacks. He will continue to compete at the national tournament on Friday morning as well as he is set to take on Colin Heffernan of Central Michigan.

Pearce wrestled two close matches on day one of competition, but was unable to overcome his opponents. He fell to the eight seed, Geo Martinez of Boise State, in his first match by a margin of 6-4. In the consolation rounds, Pearce put in a strong effort against Purdue's Nick Lawrence. In an attempt to keep himself alive in competition, Pearce scored three points off an escape and a takedown in a matter of six seconds to tie it up at five points apiece with 15 seconds to go in regulation, but a reversal for Lawrence ultimately eliminated Pearce from the national tournament.

Competition at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships continues Friday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. Tune in to ESPNU, ESPN3 or use WatchESPN to follow all the action.

DAY ONE RESULTS:

133: #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU) DEC Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland), 9-4
          #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU) DEC Caleb Richardson (Penn), 3-1 (SV)
          #8 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU) vs. #1 Chris dardanes (Minnesota)

141: #8 Geo Martinez (Boise State) DEC David Pearce (DU), 6-4
          Nick Lawrence (Purdue) DEC David Pearce (DU), 7-5

149: #7 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) DEC Matthew Cimato (DU), 13-11 (SV)
          Matthew Cimato (DU) MAJ #10 Christian Pagdilao (ASU), 13-2
          Matthew Cimato (DU) vs. Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan)

157: Noel Blanco (DU) DEC #13 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), 5-3 (SV)
          #4 James Green (Nebraska) TF Noel Blanco (DU), 20-5
          Noel Blanco (DU) vs. Gregory Floumoy (George Mason)