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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 26 • 22 BY GOLD AND BLACK STAFF T he wrestling team was ranked No. 23 in the final preseason poll, a testament to the team's de- velopment under first-year coach Tony Ersland. But a 6-16 mark at the NCAA Championships gave Purdue a No. 42 overall finish in the national meet with 4.5 points, the second fewest in the Big Ten. Four Boilermakers advanced to the Day 2 wrestlebacks at the NCAA Championships — Danny Sabatello (133), Nick Lawrence (141), Brandon Nelsen (149) and Chad Welch (174) — but none were able to advance to the fourth round of wrestlebacks with All-America honors on the line. Sabatello concluded his deco - rated junior season with a 28-10 re- cord after a 2-2 mark at the NCAAs. The Long Grove, Ill., native started off nationals with a 4-2 victory over Missouri's Zach Synon before he dropped an 11-5 decision to sixth- seeded Earl Hall of Iowa State to send him into wrestleoffs. Sabatello stayed alive on Day 2 when he edged Kevin Nor- stem of Virginia Tech 1-0, thanks to a second-period rideout. His season lasted just one more match, how- ever, as he was upset by No. 14-seed Rossi Bruno of Michigan 5-2 in the conso- lation third round after he had jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Nelsen exploded for seven points in the third pe- riod to upset No. 16-seed Mike Rac- ciato of Pittsburgh, 10-6, in his open- ing match via a pair of reversals and a three-count during the last four min- utes. The senior was unable to spring a second upset though, as he fell 8-0 to eventual na- tional champion Drake Hou- dashelt from Missouri in the second round. Nelsen, who finished the season with a 23-14 mark and a team-high 267 points, saw his career come to an end with a 10-2 loss to Lock Haven's Daniel Neff. Welch defeated Wis- consin's 16th-seeded Frank Cousins for the second time of the season before he fell 11-0 to another Big Ten foe, top-seeded Rob- ert Kokesh of Nebraska, to send him into the consola- tion bracket. Welch came close to advancing to the third round of wrestlebacks, but dropped a close 4-2 match to N.C. State's Pete Renda to end his junior season. L a w r e n c e made the most of his first and only NCAA appearance, finishing as one of two Boilermakers to make it to the third round along with Sabatello. The senior suffered a 8-0 set - back to Nebraska's fourth-seeded Anthony Abidin to open the tour- nament before bouncing back with a 7-5 win over Drexel's David Pearce. Lawrence won a second consec- utive match with a 7-5 shocker over 10th-seeded Zachary Horan of Cen- tral Michigan. The Westlake, Ohio, native nearly advanced to the fourth round but fell 3-2 to Princeton's Jor- dan Laster to end his season. Pat Robinson, Patrick Kissel, Braden Atwood and Doug Welch went 0-2 at the national meet en route to being eliminated after the first day. Wrestling, women's swimming's seasons conclude at NCAAs Purdue Danny Sabatello went 2-2 in his second NCAA appearance. Purdue Nick Lawrence finished with a career-best 24 wins in his senior year.