Spring Break
Hluschak secures All-American status at NCAA Tournament
Brett Fischer
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Sports
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If "destiny" isn't an accurate way to describe how the wrestling team built its eminence in the NCAA Tournament, perhaps "implausible" will.
But a large part of that recognition was received thanks to the heroics of 157-pounder Ryan Hluschak, who performed a feat that has only occurred one other time in Drexel wrestling history.
Hluschak earned the prestigious title of All-American after finishing in eighth place with a 5-3 record in the NCAA Tournament. The only other Drexel All-American was Rob Rebmann, who took seventh place at 125 pounds in 2004.
Hluschak had to overcome several obstacles to make it to that high level. He had never previously won a match at Nationals, he wasn't seeded in the tournament and worst of all, he didn't even earn an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The CAA sends three wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament per weight class. In the past, if a wrestler made it to the finals of the CAA Tournament, that person would get an automatic bid to the Tourney. However, this year was the first year the true second rule was implemented into the system.
The true second rule states the person who loses in the CAA Championship has to face the wrestler who placed third if they did not meet previously in that specific tournament. The winner of that match gets an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, while the losing wrestler has to hope he's qualified enough to get a wildcard.
Hluschak almost saw his hopes and dreams of advancing to Nationals vanish. In the CAA Semifinals, he was down by one with 19 seconds in the match to Old Dominion's Chris Brown and almost left for dead. The relentless Hluschak however, would not go down without a fight as he got a funk roll to take the match.
Unfortunately for Hluschak, due to the new true second rule, his CAA Championship appearance was not enough to assure him a spot in the Tournament. He lost his finals match and lost to the third-place wrestler as well, forcing him to wait patiently and see if his resume was strong enough to get him enough votes to earn a wildcard.
But a large part of that recognition was received thanks to the heroics of 157-pounder Ryan Hluschak, who performed a feat that has only occurred one other time in Drexel wrestling history.
Hluschak earned the prestigious title of All-American after finishing in eighth place with a 5-3 record in the NCAA Tournament. The only other Drexel All-American was Rob Rebmann, who took seventh place at 125 pounds in 2004.
Hluschak had to overcome several obstacles to make it to that high level. He had never previously won a match at Nationals, he wasn't seeded in the tournament and worst of all, he didn't even earn an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The CAA sends three wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament per weight class. In the past, if a wrestler made it to the finals of the CAA Tournament, that person would get an automatic bid to the Tourney. However, this year was the first year the true second rule was implemented into the system.
The true second rule states the person who loses in the CAA Championship has to face the wrestler who placed third if they did not meet previously in that specific tournament. The winner of that match gets an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, while the losing wrestler has to hope he's qualified enough to get a wildcard.
Hluschak almost saw his hopes and dreams of advancing to Nationals vanish. In the CAA Semifinals, he was down by one with 19 seconds in the match to Old Dominion's Chris Brown and almost left for dead. The relentless Hluschak however, would not go down without a fight as he got a funk roll to take the match.
Unfortunately for Hluschak, due to the new true second rule, his CAA Championship appearance was not enough to assure him a spot in the Tournament. He lost his finals match and lost to the third-place wrestler as well, forcing him to wait patiently and see if his resume was strong enough to get him enough votes to earn a wildcard.
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