BRISTOL, R.I. – Roger Williams University senior Nick Cambi (Cohasset, Mass.) competed Friday in the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships, held at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisc. Cambi was one of 18 wrestlers from across the nation wrestling for the 285 weight class title.
Cambi, ranked as high as 6th nationally earlier this season, began the day facing the No. 3 ranked wrestler, Judson Connell (Hastings, Minn.) from the Merchant Marine Academy. The senior secured a bid into the tournament after earning Centennial Conference Wrestler of the Year and winning the Centennial Conference 285 title. He entered the match with a 30-2 record.
After a scoreless first period, Connell recorded a point with an escape, only to allow Cambi to tally a point with his own escape in the third period. But Connell quickly recovered to take down Cambi and pin the senior 35 seconds into the final period.
The loss moved Cambi into the consolation bracket where he faced senior Jeremy Klein (Cooper City, Fla.) of Loras College. Entering the tournament at 25-15, Klein dropped his first match to Tom Foote of Williams College, the wrestler who upset Cambi in the New England Championships to win the 285 title.
Klein and Cambi remained scoreless through one, but Klein registered an escape followed by a takedown for a 3-0 lead before Cambi earned an escape point to enter the third period down two. After choosing bottom, Cambi pulled to within one with his second escape of the match, only to have Klein earn his second takedown for a 5-2 lead. Cambi escaped, but could not earn a takedown by the end of the match and suffered the 5-3 loss.
Cambi finishes the season with a 33-7 record and 108 career victories – among the most ever recorded at RWU. Along the way he collected back-to-back Pilgrim League All-Star First Team honors and back-to-back Pilgrim League Scholar Athlete Team honors. He was also named a 2009-10 Academic All-American – an award yet to be announced for the 2010-11 season.
