Three Stanford Wrestlers Place at Reno Tournament of Champions
Tanner Gardner, Josh Zupancic and Zack Giesen are all among the top four finishers.

Dec. 18, 2007

Reno, Nev. - Eleven Cardinal wrestlers combined for 20 wins at the Reno Tournament of Champions at the Reno Downtown Convention Center in Reno, Nev. today. Senior 125-pounder Tanner Gardner took second place, and senior 157-pounder Josh Zupancic and sophomore 184-pounder Zack Giesen both finished fourth.

Gardner won his first three matches to advance to the evening's 125-pound championship bout, but suffered his first loss of the season at the hands of Central Michigan's No. 14 Luke Smith to take second place. Gardner, who is ranked fourth nationally, is now 20-1 on the year and has placed in all three career appearances at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

The Cardinal returns to action with a four-dual road trip to the East Coast in early January. Stanford will meet Drexel, Lehigh, East Stroudsburg and Princeton before beginning the Pac-10 season on Jan. 18.

As a team, Stanford finished seventh, the highest finish at the tournament in program history.

Stanford Results
Reno Tournament of Champions
December 18, 2007

125 pounds

Tanner Gardner (3-1, 2nd place):
maj. dec. Ben Ashmore (Oklahoma State), 8-0;
tech. fall Frank Perelli (Cornell), 15-0;
tech. fall Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 16-1;
lost to No. 14 Luke Smith (Central Michigan), 4-3.