Spring Break
Oplinger falls one match short of career milestone
Anthony Antinore
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
|
Oplinger was able to battle his way through the first two rounds of the tournament in the 197-pound division before falling in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded Tyrel Todd of Michigan. The 197-pounder was then eliminated by Cam Simaz in the Wrestleback bracket to end his hopes of a national championship.
As a senior, Oplinger wanted to make his final matches count before concluding his Drexel career. He began the tournament with a first round match-up against fifth-seeded Dallas Herbst.
"Nothing really changes going into a tournament match because it is important to train and eat the same way," Oplinger said.
The first round match began with a takedown by Oplinger, but Herbst quickly responded with three points of his own to take the lead 3-2. No points were scored by either wrestler in the second period. However, Herbst was issued a warning for stalling that would prove to be costly.
The third period's scoring began when Herbst escaped and expanded his lead to two points. Then, Herbst was called for stalling again, which resulted in a point for Oplinger to bring the score to 4-3. Shortly after the stalling call, Oplinger surged into a takedown to score two more points, but Herbst then scored an additional point via escape to take the deadlocked match into overtime.
When asked whether the seeding affected Herbst's mentality going forward, Oplinger replied, "I think it may have, but that usually only lasts for a minute once you get into it."
Oplinger wasted no time in the extra period by taking down Herbst to eliminate him from the NCAA Championships. Drexel's unseeded senior instantly grabbed the attention of the fans in the Scott Trade Center in St. Louis, Mo. after his upset win.
In the second round, Oplinger faced off against Kent State's Eric Chine. Oplinger led the match going into the final period 9-5. Chine mounted a comeback to bring the score to 9-8, but the buzzer sounded as Oplinger moved on to the quarterfinals.
Losing his quarterfinal match left Oplinger just one victory short of obtaining All-American status.
Coach Jack Childs knew Oplinger's main goal was to become an All-American, but felt his senior 197-pounder contributed much more than statistics to his wrestling program.
Be the first to comment on this story