March 8, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The NCAA will announce the brackets and competitors for the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Wednesday at 6 p.m. in its annual selection show, available online at NCAA.com.
With 281 automatic bids already in the hands of conference tournament individual champions, the NCAA will announce the remaining 49 at-large qualifiers Wednesday night along with the tournament brackets for each weight class.
At the 2011 ACC Tournament, six of Maryland's 10 starting wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships by securing automatic bids. Jon Kohler, Josh Asper, Mike Letts, Corey Peltier and Spencer Myers all won individual titles in their respective weight classes with Letts being named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. By reaching the 157-pound finals, Kyle John also clinched an NCAA berth.
Finishing in third at the ACC Tournament at 125 and 133 pounds respectively, Shane Gentry and Lou Ruland will both seek to accompany Maryland's six automatic qualifiers by earning at-large bids. Both are among the top-30 in RPI, one of several factors used to determine at-large invitations.
The NCAA Championships will be held March 17-19 in Philadelphia, Pa., where the Terps will look to finish in the top-20 in the team standings for the third straight year.
-ES-
