Second-Ranked Augsburg Earns Dual Win over Third-Ranked Eagles

For Immediate Release: Sunday, January 27, 2008

La Crosse, Wis. - In a battle between two of the top-three ranked teams in NCAA Division III, Augsburg College (Minn.) earned a 23-14 victory over the UW-La Crosse wrestling team Sunday afternoon in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles entered the dual ranked second in the country while the Auggies were third.

UW-L falls to 19-2 on the season while Augsburg improves to 9-1. The Auggies avenged a loss earlier this season to the Eagles. UW-L picked up a 26-12 win January 13 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.

Augsburg won the first five matches Sunday afternoon to take a 20-0 lead. Seth Flodeen opened with a win by fall (5:58) over the Eagles' Pat Parrillo at 125-pounds. Travis Lang then won by decision (7-3) over Jordan Kolinski at 133 to make it 9-0. Flodeen and Lang are both ranked fourth in NCAA Division III while Kolinski is fifth.

Lucas Murray gave the Auggies a 12-0 lead with a win by decision (5-3) over Kevin Barber at 141 and second-ranked Willy Holst defeated Eric Seppelt by technical fall (18-3, 6:07) at 149-pounds for a 17-0 lead. Beau Hansen then won by decision (6-2) over Cory Ferguson for an 20-0 lead at 157-pounds.

UW-L won the next two matches as Tim Palmer (165-pounds) and Josh Chelf (174) recorded victories. Both wrestlers are ranked first in the country and each improved to 28-3. Palmer won by major decision (15-4) over Brandon Klukow while Chelf won by major decision (11-1) over George Lynaugh. Palmer moved into a tie for fifth in career wins at UW-L with a career record of 117-28 while Chelf moved into second-place in victories at 141-24. The two major decisions made it 20-8.

Eighth-ranked Robbie Gotreau of Augsburg defeated third-ranked Josh Zabel by decision (8-4) at 184-pounds for a 23-8 lead. Andy Moore (197) and Hakan Binek (285) finished the dual with wins for UW-L. Moore, ranked eighth in the country, won by decision (8-3) over Wallace O'Connor while Binek also won by decision (6-4) over Andy Witzel.

UW-L returns to action Tuesday, January 29 at UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.