High aspirations await in Cleveland as Wisconsin heads to NCAAs

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High aspirations await in Cleveland as Wisconsin heads to NCAAs

March 10, 2018 | Wrestling

Seven Badgers will make the trip seeking a finish on the podium

NCAA Selection Show

Brackets

MADISON, Wis.- That time of the year is officially here for Wisconsin wrestling, as it prepares to send its seven qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. The tournament is set to commence on March 15 with session one beginning at 12 p.m. ET and finish with session six on March 17 at 8 p.m. The entire schedule of the national tournament can be found here, with ESPN displaying every session through cable TV as well as an online stream.

Headed to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland? Make sure to join us for our Post-Finals celebration! https://t.co/gq9Qn8zerO
— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) March 9, 2018

The Badgers are coming off of an impressive showing at the Big Ten Championships on March 3-4, placing sixth with 67 team points, which is two places better than last season. In terms of expectations, UW had the best showing of any team in the conference, beating its ninth place projection and having the largest seed-place difference of all other 13 Big Ten teams with a +9 differential.

Senior Ricky Robertson has qualified for his fourth NCAA tournament and only the second in the 184-pound weight class after qualifying at 197 pounds last season and at 174 pounds in his sophomore campaign. The Tinley Park, Illinois native is 25-9 heading into Cleveland after placing seventh at the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing. His performance in the conference tournament gave Robertson the No. 11 seed, and he will face Alexander DeCiantis of Drexel. DeCiantis, a senior from Mars, Pennsylvania is 18-6 on the year and took sixth in the recent EIWA Championships.

Andrew Crone is making his second trip to nationals at 157 pounds, after competing at 149 pounds a year ago. Crone has an overall record of 25-10 on the season and is coming off of an impressive Big Ten Tournament, placing third after he defeated No. 8 Tyler Berger of Nebraska by a 6-2 decision. As a result, the senior received the 14 seed and will face the winner of the pigtail matchup between Old Dominion's Larry Early and Gardner-Webb's Tyler Marinelli. Early, a sophomore from Oak Park, Ill. is 27-10 on the season and faced Crone for seventh at the Midlands Championships. Crone took the victory over Early by a 7-1 decision in that meeting. Marinelli of Jefferson, Georgia is coming off winning a title at the SoCon tournament and is 26-6 on the season.

Journeying to his third-consecutive NCAA tournament, Ryan Christensen is looking to improve upon a 2-2 finish in last season's championships at 174 pounds. Competing in the same weight class this year, Christensen has amassed a 24-13 mark after going 3-2 at the Big Ten Championships earlier in the month, placing seventh. His opponent in the first round will be the No. 12 seed Forrest Przybysz, who is 24-7 in his senior campaign, and is coming off of a SoCon title.

A 26-9 record in his second season as a starter, Hunter Ritter is also heading to his second NCAA tournament, this time at 197 pounds. As a freshman, Ritter went 1-2 in his first appearance at the 184-pound weight class. Coming off of a stretch where he won 12 of 14 matches, the Perryville, Maryland native went 5-1 at the Big Ten Championships to take third in route to his automatic bid. In his first bout, he will be facing No. 8 seed Nate Rotert of South Dakota State. Rotert, a senior and now four-time NCAA qualifier is 28-6 on the season and is coming off a Big 12 individual championship.

Transitioning from 141 pounds to 149 pounds midway through the season, Cole Martin is heading to his second NCAA championships after an automatic bid from placing ninth at the Big Ten Championships. The sophomore will face No.14 seed Beau Donahue of North Carolina State in his first action of the tournament. Donahue is 19-6 on the season and recently went 1-2 at the ACC Championships.

Having one of the most impressive campaigns in the 165-pound weight class, freshman Evan Wick is headed to his first NCAA Tournament after a 24-6 finish that included six ranked wins. Most recently Wick placed fourth in the Big Ten Championships, going 3-1 and scoring wins over Nebraska's Isaiah White and Michigan's Logan Massa. In his first national match, the Murrieta, California native will face Drew Daniels of Navy. Daniels is 26-5 in his senior season and recently went 4-1 in the EIWA Championships in route to a third place finish.

Also making his debut at the NCAA Championships, Eli Stickley completed a 19-12 record in his sophomore year and is coming off of a sixth place finish at the Big Ten Championships at 141 pounds. His opponent in the first round will be a familiar foe in No. 15 seed Nate Limmex of Purdue. This will be the pair's fourth with Stickley taking the first victory at the Michigan State Open and Limmex taking the last two when Purdue visited Madison for a conference dual and at the Big Ten tournament. This will be Limmex' first tournament as well, after finishing 25-14 in his sophomore season.