LYNCHBURG, Va. – The top seven seeds all held their places Friday in the championship bracket of the NCWA National Duals, setting up some time-tested matches between the NCWA’s longest-tenured programs along with the splash of new teams that will take on the top two teams.

Saturday’s quarterfinals will feature top-seeded Emmanuel College against ninth-seeded Alfred State, which is making its debut at the National Duals. Emmanuel is the top-ranked team in the NCWA’s Power Poll based off the individual weight-class rankings, and showed why on Friday with three runaway wins, capped by a 57-6 win over James Madison in the round of 16.

Saturday’s championship quarterfinals begin at 9 a.m.

Alfred State engineered Friday’s only upset, albeit a mild one, when it topped eighth-seeded Penn State Wrestling Club, 40-15, in the round of 16.

Tournament host and 2015 champion Liberty rolled into the quarterfinals with a 42-12 win over MIT after handily winning its pool bracket. The Flames face Springfield Tech Community College (Mass.), another new entrant into the duals, in the quarters. STCC reached the quarters with a 27-22 win over 10-seed Florida. STCC trailed the Gators 22-15 after nine weights, but gained forfeits in the 235- and 285-pound classes to get the win.

The other two quarterfinals pair four of the NCWA’s legacy programs, including a rematch from last year’s National Duals title match as third-seed Grand Valley State takes on defending champion and sixth-seed Central Florida. Between them, Grand Valley State and Central Florida have won four of the 11 previous National Duals, and all three of GVSU’s titles came off wins over UCF in the finals.

Fourth-seed Apprentice takes on five-seed Middle Tennessee in the other quarterfinal.

Only one team has repeated as National Duals Champion in the tournament’s 11-year history. In fact, since the NCWA began sponsoring the tournament in 2009 at the end of Grand Valley State’s three-peat, only one defending champion team has reached the finals match in the following year. Liberty won the 2012 Duals title, but fell to Lindenwood-St. Charles in the 2013 title match. The top two seeds in this year’s bracket, Emmanuel and Libety, placed fifth and third, respectively, at last year’s tournament.

The National Duals has perhaps its best and most balanced field in its history this year, as the top six teams in the NCWA Power Poll Division I Rankings are in the field, as well as 10 of the top 13 teams. Eight of the top 10 Division II teams are in the bracket as well.

The consolation bracket continues at 11 a.m. Saturday. Results are posted at ncwa.net, and live tournament coverage and brackets can be found at flowresting.org.

Quarterfinals – 9 a.m. Saturday
(1) Emmanuel vs. (9) Alfred State
(4) Apprentice vs. (5) Middle Tennessee
(3) Grand Valley State vs. (6) Central Florida


(2) Liberty vs. (7) Springfield Tech

Friday’s Round of 16 Results
(1) Emmanuel 57, (16) James Madison 6
(9) Alfred State 40, (8) Penn State WC 15


(5) Middle Tennessee 37, (12) Temple 20


(4) Apprentice 39, (13) Maine 16


(3) Grand Valley State 49, (14) Connecticut 7


(6) Central Florida 48, (11) Toledo 3


(7) Springfield Tech 27, (10) Florida 22


(2) Liberty 42, (15) MIT 12