Senior Will Face Top-Seeded Zach Esposito Saturday for National Crown Live on ESPN
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Second-seeded Phillip Simpson earned a spot in the 149-pound championship bout by recording a pair of victories on the second day of competition at the 75th NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday at the Savvis Center. Simpson will face top-seeded Zach Esposito of Oklahoma State Saturday with a national championship hanging in the balance.
Simpson opened the day by pinning 10th-seeded Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan in 2 minutes, 32 seconds in the quarterfinal round. The win guaranteed Simpson his third straight All-America certificate, becoming the first Army wrestler to ever be crowned an All-American three times. Simpson took control early, taking DiSalvo to the mat and pinning him to forge his 12th win by fall this season.
“Phillip (Simpson) wrestled with a lot of confidence and a lot of poise in his quarterfinal win, “remarked Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “He is doing what needs to be done to advance at the NCAA Championships.”
The victory over DiSalvo set up a semifinal showdown with third-seeded Dustin Manotti of Cornell. Simpson and Manotti had met twice prior to Friday’s encounter, with each grappler winning once. Manotti won the first match-up, 6-4, in the finals of the Cornell Invitational back in November, while Simpson knocked off Manotti, 8-7, in the EIWA Championship final just two weeks ago.
Simpson dominated the third meeting from the beginning, taking an 8-0 major decision victory.
After a hard-fought first period, Simpson earned a takedown and carried a 2-0 lead into the second period. He picked up two more points on a near fall early in the middle frame and rode it out for a 4-0 advantage after two periods. The senior chose bottom to begin the third, and quickly earned one point on an escape. Simpson took Manotti down one final time, and earned the riding time point to round out the scoring, and secure his eighth major decision triumph of the year.
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