Ryan Malo & Corey Paulish advance to semifinals at NCAA Championships; guaranteed to finish as All-Americans

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Remember this date -- March 6, 2009. It is the first time in the history of Williams wrestling that two Ephs have advanced to the semifinals at NCAA Championships in the same year thanks to sophomores Ryan Malo (197) and Corey Paulish (141).

Both Malo and Paulish by virtue of advancing to the semifinals have assured themselves of finishing no lower than sixth and as a result have earned All-America honors, which go to the top eight finishers in each weight class.

Malo, seeded 4th, was losing to unseeded Corbin Semple of Waynesburg in the first period when he used an escape and a take down to close out the period with a 3-2 lead.

To start the second period Semple chose down and Malo did not let Semple out. Malo ended up riding Semple for almost the entire period and led 3-2 after two periods with just under two minutes of riding time in the bank.

Malo chose down for the start of the final period and with a quick reversal he upped his lead to 5-2, but Semple responded with a reversal of his own to make it 5-4. An escape by Malo made it 6-4 in the Eph's favor. 

With about 30 seconds left Malo executed another take down and doubled up Semple 8-4 and the final margin became 9-4 with the riding time he had accrued in the second period. The victory improved Malo's record on the year to 37-1.

In his semifinal bout Malo will be paired against Andy Moore of Wisconsin-La Crosse the eighth seed. Moore is 23-7 on the year.

Paulish also found himself trailing in his match with sixth-seeded Chase DeCleene from Wisconsin-Stevens Point. DeCleene, a national qualifier from last year had a 4-2 advantage over Paulish entering the third period.

Early in the final period Paulish snapped off a quick single leg take down and evened the score at 4-4, however DeCleene had the advantage of having the riding time point in his back pocket. With just under 20 seconds left in the bout Paulish flashed another single leg take down and secured the match by a score of 6-5.

"[Co-head coach] Raf [Vega] and I are very proud of the way both of these guys competed tonight," said Eph co-head coach Dan DiCenzo. "They earned their spots in the semifinals and the recognition of being All-Americans with their efforts tonight and all season. Even when both guys were behind they wrestled their style and they wrestled with confidence."

The unseeded Paulish will be looking to claim his third seeded victim tomorrow in the semifinals when he takes on #2 Zach McKray from perennial powerhouse Wartburg. McKray sports a record of 27-3.

After day one of the two-day event the Ephs have 10 points and are tied for 14th place in a field of 51 scoring teams with Maranatha Baptist Bible College (WI). Wartburg leads the competition with 53.5 points.