Mavericks Take 2-1 Record Into Day Two of Tournament
Cedar Falls, Iowa – The Minnesota State Mavericks went 2-1 on the opening day of the 2011 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Mavericks would begin the opening round with a 19-18 win against Findlay before being defeated 31-6 against Augustana. The Mavericks would respond positively in their third and final match of the day as they defeated Central Missouri by the score of 26-19.
In the first match on Saturday the Mavericks were able to hold on late and earn a 19-18 win against the University of Findlay. The Mavericks would get out to a strong start as they won their first four matches and captured an early 15-0 lead. However, the Mavericks would go on to lose five of their next six matches with the only win being an important four-point major decision win by Aaron Norgren. The win would move the sixth-ranked Mavericks into a clash with the tournament’s number three seed Augustana College.
However, in the second match of the day, Augustana would show the Mavericks why they were the third ranked team in the tournament as they defeated Minnesota State 31-6. Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead after Andy Forstner won a 4-3 decision over Alex Meger, the Mavericks would go on to lose eight of their next nine matches. The only other Maverick to record a win against Augustana was Norgren who earned a 7-1 decision over Thomas Davies.
In the third and final match of the evening, the Mavericks would pull out a hard-fought 26-19 win over Central Missouri. The Mavericks found themselves with a 17-16 point lead after the first seven matches before they were finally able to extend their lead to 23-16 after Norgren earned a win by fall over Travis Miller at the 1:11 mark. Pat Mahan went on to win a 4-3 decision over Doug Thompson which sealed the victory for the Mavericks and will give them an opportunity to place in day two of the tournament.
The tournament will conclude tomorrow as the Mavericks will look to pursue a trip to the fifth-place match. Their first match of the day will be at 9:00 am against North Carolina-Pembroke whose journey to this point includes wins over Central Oklahoma and Minnesota State-Moorhead and a loss to St. Cloud State.