EVANSTON, Ill. -- UVSC wrestler Erkin Tadzhimetov knocked off third-seeded Andy Hiatt of Northern Illinois 5-2 on Thursday evening to advance to the semifinals of the prestigious Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill.

The 133-pound senior from Uzbekistan will now face Iowa State Jesse Sundell in today's semifinal match. Tadzhimetov beat Sundell 5-2 in the Wolverines' season opener at Iowa State.

"He looked as good in that last match as I've seen him all season," said UVSC coach Cody Sanderson, who accompanied Tadzhimetov to Illinois. "He controlled every position from start to finish."

Tadzhimetov is the sixth-seeded wrestler while Sundell is the No. 7 seed. The other semifinal pits unseeded Tommy Vargas of Cal State Bakersfield and No. 4 Andrae Hernandez of Indiana.

Tadzhimetov cruised through his first two matches Thursday morning by pinning Joe Gomez of Illinois 2:43 into the match and winning a 6-3 decision over Brent Skorup of Wheaton.

"He's a very confident wrestler right now," Sanderson said. "If he keeps wrestling this way he has a chance to win the tournament."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C4.