Wednesday, Kent State juniors Casey Newburg (Union,
Ohio) and Mallie Shuster (Newville, Pa.) were given at-large bids to the
2012 NCAA Championships, giving the Golden Flashes a school-record seven NCAA
qualifiers. Brackets for the three-day tournament (March 15-17) were also
released.
“I think our body of work and strength of schedule
over the season prove that Mallie and Casey deserve to be in,” Andrassy
said. “Getting to the NCAA tournament is a goal for everybody on this
team and to get seven is another big step for us.”
The seven qualifiers marked another new milestone during the
Jim Andrassy era, as the Flashes’ No. 13 ranking in the final NWCA
Coaches Poll was the highest in program history. Kent State (14-5, 5-0) also
recently won its second outright Mid-American Conference regular season title
in the last four years and have won a share of that title three times in four
years.
Newburg (29-11) ranks second on the team with 29 victories
and has 17 bonus-point wins. He won both the Cleveland State Open and Mat Town
Invitational in December. Newburg will take on No. 2 seed Robert Hamlin
(Lehigh) in his opening bout.
“We thought Casey should have gotten in last
year,” Andrassy said. “I feel he’s got a chance to upset
some guys and really help us next week.”
Shuster (26-15) recently finished third at the MAC
Championships and placed fourth at the Mat Town Invitational. Shuster will be
in the pigtail round facing Ohio State’s Josh Demas.
“Mallie’s got four wins over Top 20 guys,”
Andrassy said. “And he’s worked to be in this position for a long
time.”
Senior Nic Bedelyon (Lewistown, Pa.) and freshman Ian
Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) each earned No. 5 seeds. Bedelyon opens with
Iowa State’s Cory Finch, while Miller will take on Eric Terrazas if
Illinois. Sophomore Tyler Small (Littlestown, Pa.) claimed the No. 12
seed and will battle Princeton’s Richard Krop in his opener.
Senior Brendan Barlow (Westerville, Ohio) opens
against Northwestern’s Michael McMullan, who is the No. 10 seed. Junior Keith
Witt (Oak Harbor, Ohio) will have a rematch against Dan Rinaldi of Rutgers.
Aaron Chimenti
Assistant Director, Athletic Communications
Kent State University
Contact for Football, Wrestling, Softball
