Roberts Splits on Opening Day of NCAA Championships
March 15, 2007 | Men's Wrestling
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Sophomore Mike Roberts split his first two matches on the opening day of the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships, nearly upsetting 11th-seeded Cyler Sanderson in the first round before earning a convincing victory in the 149-pound consolation bracket on Thursday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Needing two more victories to reach the consolation quarterfinals, Roberts will face Penn State's Dan Vallimont, the No. 12 seed, on Friday morning.
In the first round, Roberts gave Sanderson all he could handle before falling, 3-1, on a takedown with eight seconds left in regulation. After a scoreless first period, Sanderson opened the scoring with a second-period escape before Roberts got in on a single-leg shot. Sanderson, however, fought through before Roberts could secure a takedown and took a 1-0 lead into the third.
Roberts chose down to open the third and quickly got free to even the match. With under a minute left, Roberts once again was in on a single, but came up unsuccessful in recording a takedown. On another shot by Roberts with time running out, Sanderson countered and registered a takedown to escape with a 3-1 decision.
In Thursday's second session, Roberts made sure he would last another day by posting an 11-7 victory over Wyoming's Carter Dowling.
Roberts started off strong with a pair of first-period takedowns to take an early 4-2 lead. After opening the second period on bottom, Roberts used a reversal to take a four-point lead at 6-2. Dowling escaped and was nearly taken down again by Roberts in the late stages of the period.
After an escape by Dowling opened the third to make it a 6-4 bout, Roberts sealed the match with a four-point move, nailing his fourth takedown of the match before fighting hard for a pair of back points. A late takedown by Dowling was too little, too late, as Roberts earned his first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament.
Roberts will be in search of his 50th career victory in Friday's match-up with Vallimont, as the sophomore's career record now stands at 49-18.
