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SJSU Matmen Disappointed by NCAA Finish
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by Dave Meltzer
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| After a disappointing finish in the NCAA championships, coach T.J. Kerr is already looking to next season. |
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| "You can look at it (the tournament results) negatively and it gets you down, but we have to prepare for next
season to do that much better." |
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| The Spartans, who were ranked 17th in the nation going into the championships held this past weekend in Corvallis,
Oregon, finished 42nd place. |
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| Kerr stressed the importance of getting past the first three rounds of the tournament. |
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| Tournament rules require that if you lose within the first three rounds, your victor must win his third round match
or you are out of the tourney. |
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| Three of SJSU's competitors were eliminated from the tourney after one loss because their victor failed to win
his third round match. |
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| In the case of Dave Brouhard, it was very frustrating. Brouhard lost his second round match to Wisconsin's Dave
Evans. Evans lost his third round match to Matt Reiss, the eventual champion. |
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| Brouhard was leading 11-8 with just 30 seconds remaining in his bout with Evans. Evans managed to break Brouhard's
cradle and a scramble ensued, with Evans getting on top and gaining the win. That scramble ended the season for
Dave Brouhard. |
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| "I think i could have beaten Reiss," Brouhard said. "It's so disheartening to wrestle so well and
come so close to beating guys that finished so well, and not even place." |
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| Evans ended the tournament placing third. Reiss, who beat Evans by pinning him with 13 seconds left after Evans
had built a comfortable lead, took first. Brouhard came home with nothing. |
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| Jerry Morrison's final match saw him clearly pin Joe Atiyeh in the second round before losing 13-11. Atiyeh, nephew
of the governor of Oregon, earned All-America honors. |
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| "It could have gone either way," Kerr lamented. |
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| "Eddie (Baza) just didn't wrestle well," Kerr said. |
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| Baza was topped in his first match and didn't have a chance to return. The same fate struck Casey Gulliford. |
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| Casey's in hot water," Kerr said. "we had a mild disagreement." |
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| This disagreement stemmed from Gulliford's behavior after the tourney. |
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| "Casey's going to have to realize that we're probably a lot stricter on discipline than what he's obviously
used to," Kerr said. |
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| The "mild disagreement" arose when Gulliford failed to watch the rest of the matches after he was eliminated.
Kerr said he left with a friend to go to Portland, a two-hour trip. |
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| Kerr was so upset that he made Gulliford drive home from Corvallis, rather than fly home with the rest of the team. |
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| "I found out today (Monday) that we got a double-bill for his motel room because he left it such a mess,"
Kerr said. |
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| Gulliford has not been available at either his San Jose or Anderson, California residences, and did not report
for yesterday's optional workout. |
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