Hempstead, NY – The NCAA has announced the qualifier allocations for the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), the conference that Hofstra competes in, has received 43 berths.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches ranking.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament, with automatic qualifying status, was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish.
The EIWA received the second-most allocations behind the 86 to the Big Ten Conference. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) received 33, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) received 29, the Pac-12 and the West Regional each received 19, the Eastern Wrestling League received 17, and the Southern Conference received 14.
The EIWA received seven bids at 157, six at 197, five at 141, 184 and 285, four at 165, three at 125, 133 and 149, and two at 174.
Three Hofstra wrestlers are currently ranked in the top 33 in both the NCAA Division I Coaches Panel Poll and the NCAA Division I RPI. Graduate-student
Cody Ruggirello and sophomores
Jamel Hudson and
Michael Hughes are ranked in their respective weight classes.
Ruggirello, who is 21-4 at 149-pounds this season, is ranked 13th in the RPI and 14th in the coaches panel. He is Hofstra's lone returning NCAA Championships qualifier from 2014. Hudson, who is 20-3 at 141-pounds, is ranked 14th in both the RPI and coaches panel. Hughes, who is 19-9 at 285-pounds, is ranked 27th in the RPI and 32nd in the coaches panel.
The EIWA Championships will be held at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday, March 6-7. In the most recent EIWA Coaches Poll and Rankings, Hudson is ranked first in the conference at 141, Ruggirello is third at 149 and Hughes is fourth at 285. As a team, Hofstra is ranked seventh in the 16-team league.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 70 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition, qualifying event placement, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, RPI, coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.
