The Chattanooga wrestling team is sending five of its wrestlers to the 2013 NCAA Championships this week in Des Moines, Iowa. The competition begins Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena, and the finals set for Saturday.Â
Seniors Niko Brown (197: 29-3), Josh Condon (165: 12-5) and Dean Pavlou (141: 24-12), along with junior Alex Hudson (149: 15-5) and sophomore Nick Soto (125: 26-6) each earned automatic bids to the NCAAs with their performances at the Southern Conference Tournament on March 9.Â
Pavlou is making his third trip to the NCAAs, Brown, Condon and Soto are returning for the second time, while Hudson is making his first appearance.
The event begins with ESPN3's exclusive live coverage of the First and Second Rounds on Thursday at noon and 7:30 p.m, providing an exclusive four-screen, four-mat viewing experience unique to wrestling in the first, second and quarterfinal rounds.
Two of the four quarterfinals, as well as the semifinals, will be televised on ESPNU in a side-by-side format to maximize the HD viewing experience, allowing viewers to catch the action in two matches at the same time. During the Finals on ESPN Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m., referees will wear a microphone, providing fans with even more access and understanding of the action.
In addition to enhanced viewing and audio access, ESPN wrestling analysts Tim Johnson and Anthony Robles offer expert analysis alongside play-by-play from Adam Amin on ESPN and ESPNU.