July 13, 2010

Sophomore Fred Santaite was named the MVP of the 2009-10 Boston University wreslting team after qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the the first time in his career and falling just one win short of All-America status.

Santaiate, who started out the year at 125 before moving up to 133 and then returning to 125 for the postseason, finished the year with a record of 20-11. None of his 20 wins was bigger than his NCAA second-round match against defending national champion Troy Nickerson of Cornell, as Santaite earned a takedown in the closing seconds to earn a 2-1 victory and stun the huge crowd at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.

In the first round of the NCAAs, Santaite earned an 8-7 victory over Ohio State's Nikko Triggas.

Eight of his 11 losses on the year were decided by two points or fewer and he went 13-5 over his final 18 bouts. Santaite placed second at the CAA Championships following a 14-5 major decision over George Mason's Brian Wright in the true-second match.