"It was disappointing, but come March, we'll be better off because of it," noted head coach Kerry McCoy. "We'll learn from it and move forward. If we have a strong showing on Sunday, then this won't hurt us. It's tough for right now, but it will get better."
Sophomore Tanner Gardner helped the Cardinal take a 4-0 lead after the fist bout, posting a 14-5 major decision over Tim Kephart. At 133 and 141 pounds, 18th-ranked Tyler McCormick and 19th-ranked Chris McCormick posted wins over a pair of Stanford's true freshmen to give the Tigers a 7-4 advantage. Sophomore Josh Zupancic then put the Cardinal back on top with a 14-2 major decision at 149 pounds. At 157 pounds, Scott Loescher lost a 7-5 overtime match to put the Tigers ahead 10-8 going into intermission.
"We started off strong," added McCoy. "Tanner came from behind for the win, then our two freshmen went out and wrestled hard, but they were a little out-matched. Josh got us back on track and that showed we had a chance."
After a ten-minute break, the Tigers came back with five-straight wins, starting with a 9-7 decision at 165 pounds over Ray Blake. Missouri scored two-straight pins, as No. 1 Ben Askren and Raymond Jordan both scored falls. At 197, Ian Bork fell behind early and could not recover. The match ended with the Tigers winning by decision at heavyweight.
"Ray's loss was another heartbreaker," commented McCoy, "But he wrestled hard and proved that he is in contention to be an All-American. At 174, Luke fought hard and showed a lot of heart, and then Larry showed a few moments of greatness [at 197], but he never really got going. Ian got frustrated early and gave up points and it was an uphill battle from there. By Jared's match, everyone was flat."
Stanford will remain in the Show-Me State to compete at the Central Missouri Open in Warrensburg.
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