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March 17, 2007

Auburn Hills, Mich. - Illinois' Mike Poeta (157), finished his sophomore season with a third place finish at the 2007 NCAA Championships which is being held at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. In his second national tournament, the fifth-seeded grappler is the only placer for the Illini. Illinois has completed wrestling in the tournament and currently sit in 17th place with 31.0 points. Poeta will be back in tonight's final session to participate in the grand march of All-Americans.

Poeta went 2-0 in the morning session to finish in third place. In the consolation semifinal, he defeated 11th-seeded Matt Kocher (Pitt), 5-3, to advance to the third place match. Then, Poeta edged third-seeded James Strouse (Hofstra), 2-1, in an exciting overtime third place bout. The two grapplers traded escapes in the second and third periods to send the match into overtime. With no scoring in the sudden victory session, the match headed into the tie-break periods. In the first 30-second period, Poeta rode Strouse the entire time. Then, with a second left in the second 30-second period, the Illini sophomore escaped for the win. Hofstra protested the result of the match, but after 25 minutes, the escape call was upheld and so was the Poeta victory.

"Third is better than fourth, but I'd rather be two steps higher on the podium." Said Poeta. "There's a lot I have to work on between now and next March. I felt like there were two other guys I was wrestling out there - my opponent and myself. I just have to keep believing in myself and to not over-think every situation. Mostly, I have to just go out there and wrestle like I know how."

Media Coverage

Tonight, ESPN will air the finals at 8 p.m. (EST). ESPN360, ESPN's customized broadband service, will complement the ESPNU and ESPN telecasts by providing live coverage of all four mats during the quarterfinals, giving users the option to select the match they want to see. In addition, ESPN360 will also provide live coverage of all post-match press conferences during the semifinals and final rounds.

Team Standings

1. Minnesota	92.0
2. Iowa St.	84.5
3. Missouri	76.0
4. Oklahoma St.	69.0
5. Northwestern	67.5
17. ILLINOIS	31.0

Weight-by-Weight Results

157: No.5-seed, #5 Mike Poeta (So., Highwood, Ill.)
1st Round: Won by dec. Chase Pami (Cal Poly), 5-3
2nd Round: Won by dec. William Rowe (Oklahoma), 8-3
Quarterfinals: Won by dec. No. 4-seed C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota), 5-4
Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 1-seed Travis Paulson (Iowa St.), 4-0
Consolation Semifinals: Won by dec. No. 11-seed Matt Kocher (Pitt), 5-3
Third Place: Won by dec. No. 3-seed James Strouse (Hofstra), 2-1 (TB1)