Courtesy: Beverly SchaeferEIWA Championships Central l Tickets l EIWA Twitter l EIWA Facebook
The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association received the second-most qualifier allocations for the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, it was announced Thursday by the NCAA. The EIWA received 46 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, second only to the Big Ten (74), and 15 more than any other conference in the nation.
Each weight class will receive a minimum of three automatic bids to the NCAAs (held March 15-17 in the 22,000-seat Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.). Those bids, which go as high as six in a trio of weight classes, will be handed out when the EIWA Championships return to Princeton's Jadwin Gym March 3-4.
The automatic bids are determined solely on place finish at each respective conference tournament (see chart below). Thus, the fifth-place finisher at 133 in the EIWA Championships is assured a spot in the NCAA Championships, while the fifth-place finisher at 125 will be left hoping for one of the four at-large berths.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 7. 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.
Princeton currently has two wrestlers ranked in the final coaches' panel rankings, which plays a big role in determining the four at-large bids per weight. Sophomore Adam Krop is ranked 15th at 141 pounds, while senior Daniel Kolodzik is ranked 16th at 157 pounds.
Check back with GoPrincetonTigers.com for a full preview of the 2012 Championships.
| Conference | 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285 | Total |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
| Big 12 Conference | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 31 |
| Big Ten Conference | 6 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 74 |
| Colonial Athletic Association | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| EIWA | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 46 |
| Eastern Wrestling League | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Mid-American Conference | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| Pacific-12 Conference | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 19 |
| Southern Conference | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| West Regional | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| Total Qualifiers | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 290 |
