BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo wrestling team
captured a pair of victories at the Buffalo Duals held at Alumni
Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls opened with a 36-8 victory
over Niagara County Community College followed by a dominating 37-3
victory over Findlay University. The Bulls concluded the day by
falling to Bloomsburg, 21-16 in a close match.
Opening the day with a 36-8 victory over NCCC, Buffalo managed to
gain a 19-0 lead through their first four matches. At 133, 20th
nationally-ranked Kevin Smith pinned NCCC's Dan Audy at 2:43. At
141, redshirt-freshman Chris Conti earned his first dual victory in
his first ever dual start, pinning Tim Coughlin in 1:36.
At 149, 19th nationally-ranked Desi Green gave the Bulls a 19-point
lead as he defeated 2009 JUCO All-American Shay Shive, 15-6 by
major decision. Due to unsportsmanlike conduct by Shive, the
Trailblazers were docked a team point.
Junior transfer Brian Sheehan registered the Bulls' third fall of
the match at 174, pinning Don Schildhauer at 2:28 to give the Bulls
a 33-2 lead. Also earning major decisions were John-Martin Cannon
and Josh Peters at 165 and 184, respectively.
The Bulls' 36-8 opening victory over NCCC marked head coach Jim
Beichner's 130th career victory at UB.
On mat two, Bloomsburg defeated Findlay, 33-6.
In the Bulls' second match of the day, UB defeated Findlay, 37-3.
The Oilers entered the contest 15th nationally-ranked in the NWCA
NCAA Division II poll. The Bulls earned victories in the first four
bouts including three falls and a technical fall at 149.
In his first home dual of the season, senior Dan Bishop started the
Bulls off in the 125-pound weight class with a fall at 6:49. At
133, Smith earned his second technical fall of the season by
defeating Findlay's Jan Ulsinski, 22-8 at 4:52. The sophomore
recorded 10 takedowns in the bout, including nine in the second
period alone. Freshman Andrew Schutt picked up his second dual win
by fall of the season at 2:02. Green followed Schutt's pin in the
141-pound weight class with one of his own, pinning the Oilers'
Jeremy Espinoza at 6:21.
Through the 165-pound weight class, UB extended its lead to 28-0
with decisions at 157 and 165. Findlay interrupted the Bulls' win
streak by picking up a decision at 174, the Oilers' lone victory
against Buffalo. The Bulls finished the match by picking up
decisions at 184, 197 and 285.
On mat two, Bloomsburg defeated NCCC, 43-5. The Huskies went on a
nine-bout win streak before falling at 285. Despite their fall in
the heavyweight class, the Trailblazers would be docked a point for
unsportsmanlike conduct for the second time on the day.
The Bulls concluded the day by facing Bloomsburg as the final
overall match of the day. Though previously scheduled, Findlay and
NCCC would not meet on mat two.
After dropping the 125 bout, the Bulls earned victories at 133 and
141. At 133, Smith captured his third victory of the day, posting a
3-0 record. In his second bout of the day, Schutt quickly pinned
the Huskies' Dan Gaylord in 49 seconds for his fastest dual victory
by fall of his career. The next four bouts would belong to the
Huskies as they would pull together a 15-points swing to take a
18-10 lead.
Peters ended the Huskies' string of victories with a 5-3 victory
over Derek Coffey at 184. With the score 3-3 following two periods,
Peters was able to pick up a penalty point off stalling by Coffey
with Peters sealing the deal with a late escape.
"Peters' match was a swing match for us. It was a critical match; a
close, hard-fought one. Without his victory, we would not have been
able to be in the position we were in to win the dual," said
Beichner.
At 197, Jimmy Hamel defeated Brian Shaw, 3-2. Hamel's winning
takedown in the third period was his 110th takedown, moving him
into third place on the UB career list for most takedowns. In his
victory, the junior earned his 75th overall win of his career to
move into a tie for 15th place for most overall career wins.
For the second year in a row against the Huskies, the match came
down to the 285-pound bout. Bloomsburg entered the final bout with
an 18-16 lead. Last year, the Bulls stole an 18-16 victory from the
Huskies on the road. This time around, the Huskies came out on top
with an 8-4 decision in the 285-bout for a 21-16 victory.
"This match was a hard fought one. We did not expect the match to
come down to the heavyweight weight class, which made for an
exciting bout. We were in possession to win it but could not
finish," stated Beichner. "The bottom line is that this was not a
one-man win or loss, its a team effort. We will walk away having to
improve off this loss and that is what we plan to do."
"Overall, we had solid performances from Smith and Peters, who each
posted 3-0 records. Also having solid performances were Schutt and
Hamel, who each posted 2-0 records," said Beichner.
The Bulls will return to action on Sunday, January 3 as they host
Binghamton at 5:00 pm.