Nathan Tomasello stayed perfect on the season, earning his second victory of the season over Illinois' Zane Richards by a score of 3-1 and punching his ticket to the NCAA Semifinals.
Tomasello advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of major decisions on Thursday, but Richards was able to slow down his attack and minimize the scoring. After trading escapes, Tomasello scored the deciding takedown with half of a minute left in the third period to advance to Friday night's semifinals.
In the semifinals, Tomasello will get another chance against Iowa's two-time NCAA finalist Cory Clark, who defeated No. 5 seed Stevan Micic of Michigan 6-4 in his quarterfinal bout. Tomasello used a last second escape to defeat Clark in the Big Ten final at 133 two weeks ago.
In the semifinal in the bottom half of the bracket, Oklahoma State's No. 3 Kaid Brock will face South Dakota State's No. 2 Seth Gross.
The NCAA Wrestling Semifinals begin tonight on ESPN at 8 p.m.
