The 153-pound division got under way with off-campus senior Matthew "Chainsaw" Jensen against Dillon sophomore Michael "Doctor" Dolan. Dolan defeated his upperclass opponent by unanimous decision.
After an exciting preliminary match in the 153-pound division, Nate Schomas, a senior from O'Neill, defeated Brad Amiri, a junior from Alumni, in a unanimous decision.
Both competitors came out of the gates swinging and throwing many punches, but Schomas' relentless attacks and fast flurries were too much for Amiri, who seemed to tire toward the end of the fight. Schomas, a football walk-on, will go on to face Bobby Gorynski in the quarterfinals Monday.
Senior Don Zimmer dominated his match against Brian Garcia from beginning to end, causing the referee to end the bout early.
Although Garcia, a sophomore from Sorin, had an obvious reach advantage, Zimmer was able to control the ring well and get inside. Once inside, Zimmer stunned his opponent with strong combination after strong combination to win the match.
Zimmer will be up against Tim Huml in the next round of the tournament.
Joe Rehmann, a sophomore from Dillon, came out on top after an even, hard-fought match against Morrissey freshman Bryan Grissinger. The fight went back and forth, but Rehmann controlled the ring and was able to land more punches in order to win with a split decision.
Rehmann will face Alumni senior Corey Harkins in the next round.
155-pound division
After an impressive, hard-hitting match in the 155-pound division, Zahm sophomore Paul Hagan came out victorious over Alumni junior Kevin Loria. Hagan knocked Loria to his knees on one occasion and won the match in a unanimous decision.
Hagan will continue on to fight O'Neill junior Nathan Lohmeyer in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
A unanimous decision in the Mike Peters versus Sean Tucker matchup disguised how close the fight between the two competitors actually was. Tucker, a senior from Keenan Hall, won the match by a few punches after dominating the first round.
Peters, a sophomore from Knott Hall, looked to make a comeback in the following two rounds, even after getting knocked down midway through the second, but he ran out of time at the end. Tucker will be up against Mark Basola next.
Siegfried senior Ted Volz dominated his bloody match against Alumni sophomore Mike Rooney with his constant strong jabs.
Volz's consistency made the difference, and he won in a unanimous decision after controlling the ring and landing more combinations throughout the match. He will fight Mike Panzica in the quarterfinals.
Adam Burns, a freshman from Zahm, defeated Mike Gigante of Stanford in a one-sided, decisive match. Although he lacked the finesse of some of the older fighters, Burns came out strong and barely let Gigante get a shot off at all.
With Gigante struggling, the referee stopped the bout early and Burns came out victorious. Burns will face Brandon Gasser in the next round.
