March 10, 2009

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Freshman Mendbagana Tovuujav performed liked a seasoned veteran at last week's Colonial Athletic Association Wrestling Championships, upsetting defending champion Alton Lucas of Hofstra on his way to capturing the CAA title at 174 pounds. Tovuujav was named the CAA Wrestler of the Week for his efforts at the championship tournament.

Tovuujav, a native of Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia, was named the CAA Championships' Most Outstanding Wrestler. The second seed at 174 pounds, Tovuujav won by technical fall (21-6) against Sacred Heart's Jonathon Rizzitello in the quarterfinals, 9-3 over the third seed Hunter Meys of Boston University in the semifinals and 3-1 in overtime against the ninth-ranked, No. 1 seed Lucas in the championship bout.

Tovuujav heads to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. with a record of 24-7. The national championship tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, March 19 and conclude on Saturday, March 21.

Paul Gillespie of Hofstra University was named the CAA Rookie of the Week. Gillespie, a freshman from Long Beach, N.Y., won the 149-pound weight class as the sixth seed.

The CAA is sending at least 20 wrestlers to the national tournament. The NCAA committee will release the remaining at-large bids on Wednesday, March 11.

Along with Tovuujav and Gillespie, the following will be heading to St. Louis, Mo. on March 19-21:
125: James Nicholson, Old Dominion
125: Steve Bonanno, Hofstra
133: Lou Ruggirello, Hofstra
141: Ryan Williams, Old Dominion
157: Jonny Bonilla-Bowman, Hofstra
157: Mike Kessler, Rider
165: Chris Brown, Old Dominion
165: Jason Lapham, Rider
174: Alton Lucas, Hofstra
174: Eric Decker, Old Dominion
174: Hunter Meys, Boston U.
184: Josh Patterson, Binghamton
184: Doug Umbehauer, Rider
197: Cayle Byers, George Mason
197: Jon Oplinger, Drexel
197: Jesse Strawn, Old Dominion
197: Joe Fagiano, Hofstra
285: Ed Bordas, Rider