INDIANAPOLIS -- Notre Dame captured three championships at the Greyhound Open hosted by the University of Indianapolis on Sunday. (Brackets)

#Dante Rini# went 4-0 to claim the title at 125 pounds, #Marty Carlson# topped teammate #Brett Freeman# at 141 and #Jon Bittenger# won at 174, as NDC grapplers earned three titles at the open tournament attended by squads from throughout the Midwest.

The Wrestling Falcons also garnered a number of second-through-sixth-place finishes on the afternoon. One of those -- a runner-up finish at 197 -- went to #Derek Foore#. Foore advanced to the title bout before bowing out to NAIA No. 2 (NAIA Coaches' Poll) Andrew Sanchez of McKendree. In defeating Foore, 6-1, in the final, Sanchez dealt the defending national champ at 197 his first loss of the season and his first as a Falcon. Foore had been 22-0 this season and 49-0 over the last two years combined.

“There were some excellent wrestlers in these brackets,” said Head Coach #Frank Romano#,”so this was a good event for us as far as seeing where we are heading into the final stretch of the season.”

That final stretch for Notre Dame includes another open tournament next week, then the NAIA National Qualifying Tournament (Feb. 19) and then the National Championship Tournament March 3-5.

The depth and variety of Sunday's field was evident in Rini's march to the title at 125. The Falcon senior from Massillon, Ohio, earned back-to-back pins over foes from Southern Indiana and Wabash (Ind.) to start the day. He then beat Larone Madison of ranked Campbellsville (Ky.) before downing an NCAA Division I opponent (Indiana's Zach Zimmer) in the title bout. In that championship match, Rini earned a taut, 8-7 win to run his record on the day to 4-0 and his season mark to 11-4. The title at the Greyhound Open marks his first of the season; he had earlier logged a runner-up finish (Jan. 16 Purple Raider Open) and a third-place finish (Nov. 20 National Catholic Invitational).

Marty Carlson title at 141 marked his first of the season. The sophomore from Birmingham, Ala., earned an 8-2 victory over Indianapolis' Johnny Henry, and he followed that up with a lightning-quick pin (31 seconds) over eighth-ranked Kyle Williams (McKendree). The title bout was a medical forfeit by teammate Brett Freeman, who himself went 3-0 in raising his season record to 22-3. Carlson upped his season ledger to 14-5.

Notre Dame's third win came courtesy No. 8-ranked Jon Bittenger, who has been on a roll now for several weeks. Bittenger went 3-0 on the mats in Indianapolis, with the title win coming against ranked McKendree foe John Vogt (NAIA No. 7). For the sophomore from East Liverpool, Ohio, the championship marked his second of the season; he also won Purple Raider Open on Jan. 16). Since starting the season 5-3 in his first eight bouts, Bittenger has gone 13-1, with his only loss coming in a close decision against Michigan State's Nick Kacznowski.

NDC will compete in another open tournament next week (Feb. 12), when the team travels to Pennsylvania to compete in the Edinboro Open.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

LAND OF THE “FREE”: Brett Freeman's amazing comeback season continues for the Falcons. The fourth-year NDC grappler owns a 22-3 record on the season, including a perfect 6-0 mark in dual bouts. He has placed in three straight tournaments and last week (Jan. 29) defeated the NAIA's No. 1-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, Campbellsville's Tommy Pretty. Freeman hasn't lost a bout since Dec. 11.

TITLETOWN, WRESTLING-STYLE: With their three champs at the Greyhound Open, Notre Dame has now earned 22 individual titles during the 2010-11 season. As a team. The Wrestling Falcons also won their second straight NAIA National Duals in January.

ANATOMY OF A STREAK: Derek Foore's 49-win streak over two seasons (2009-11) stands as the longest in program history. In those 49 victories, Foore collected 27 pins. Prior to Sunday, Foore's last loss came while wrestling for Eastern Michigan at the 2009 Mid-American Conference Championships (March 8, 2009).