Bulls Swept at Virginia Duals
HAMPTON, VA - The Buffalo wrestling team drop both matches Friday at the Virginia Duals tournament, forcing the team into an early exit from the event. The Bulls (0-5) lost to Boise State (2-5) 29-9 in the first round, and then was edged 20-16 by Bucknell (3-6) and Rider (5-4) in the consolation bracket.
Wrestling with a shuffled lineup, the team hung tough with the Broncos, who were receiving votes in the NWCA top 25 at the beginning of the week. Max Soria opened with an 8-5 decision over Rami Haddadin, and Erik Galloway returned to the lineup at his new 141 pound weight to win 10-5 over Travis Himmelman. Then, down 9-6, Mark Lewandowski tied up the dual with a 9-2 win over Holden Packard. Boise State would finish with wins in the final four matches, including bonus points at 184, 197, and heavyweight.
Then in the consolation round, the Bulls were forced to rally against the Bison, losing the first four matches of the dual in close affairs. Five different UB wrestlers competed at brand-new weight classes due to severe depth issues, but three would pull of wins in their new divisions to lead the way. Blake Roulo snapped the team out of its slump in a big way in the 157-pound bout, winning 16-1 over Vincent Favia for a five-point technical fall (the first of his career in a dual meet). That would be the first of four straight wins for UB, giving the team a 16-12 lead in the team score.
Wally Maziarz earned his first dual meet win of the season with a 5-0 shutout of Brenan McAllister at 165, then Dominic Montesanti won a 8-0 major decision over Ray Schlitt. Despite bumping up two whole weight classes than the dual against Boise State, Lewandowski won 12-1 over Robert Marchese to break the 12-12 tie and give the team a short-lived advantage. The Bison would win the last two matches to move on in the tournament.
In the final dual of the day, the Bulls again let a lead slip through its fingers late, taking a 13-6 lead in the match before losing three of the final four matches to fall 21-16. Max Soria started out by smoking his opponent with a 20-6 major decision before Rider responded with two straight one-point decisions to go up 6-4. Blake Roulo then beat Curt Delia 8-3 and Wally Maziarz beat Patrick Sabatini 6-4 to put the Bulls back on top. Mark Lewandowski then scored a minor upset, beating #16 Ramon Santiago 3-2 to expand the team's lead to seven points. A pin a 174 and a forfeit at 197 gave the Broncos an easy 12 points, and despite freshman Jarred Lux's first career dual win at 184, the match was again decided at heavyweight. Rider's Greg Velasco earned a 3-1 victory to seal the win.
In the three straight seasons the team has traveled to the Virginia Duals, this marks the first time that it was eliminated on the first day of action. The team will return to action on Jan. 18, facing Eastern Michigan at 7 pm.
Boise State 29, Buffalo 9
| 125 | Max Soria (Buffalo) over Rami Haddadin (Boise State ) Dec 8-5 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 133 | Brian Owen (Boise State ) over Justin Farmer (Buffalo) Dec 7-5 | 3.00 | 0 |
| 141 | Erik Galloway (Buffalo) over Travis Himmelman (Boise State ) Dec 10-5 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 149 | Jason Chamberlain (Boise State ) over Andrew Schutt (Buffalo) Dec 10-3 | 3.00 | 0 |
| 157 | George Ivanov (Boise State ) over Wally Maziarz (Buffalo) Dec 6-1 | 3.00 | 0 |
| 165 | Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) over Holden Packard (Boise State ) Dec 9-2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 174 | Scott Bacon (Boise State ) over Dominic Montesanti (Buffalo) Dec 4-1 | 3.00 | 0 |
| 184 | Jake Swartz (Boise State ) over Jeff Palmeri (Buffalo) TF 18-3 | 5.00 | 0 |
| 197 | Cod Dixon (Boise State ) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf | 6.00 | 0 |
| HWT | J. T. Felix (Boise State ) over Justin Heiserman (Buffalo) Pin 5:25 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Dual Meet Score | 29.0 | 9.0 | |
Bucknell 20, Buffalo 16
| 125 | Austin Miller (Bucknell) won by decision over Max Soria (Buffalo) 3-1. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 133 | Paul Petrov (Bucknell) won by decision over Justin Farmer (Buffalo) 10-5. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 141 | Derrik Russell (Bucknell) won by decision over Erik Galloway (Buffalo) 2-1. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 149 | Adam Healey (Bucknell) won by decision over Andrew Schutt (Buffalo) 6-2. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 157 | Blake Roulo (Buffalo) won by tech fall over Vincent Favia (Bucknell) 0:00 16-1. | 0 | 5.00 |
| 165 | Wally Maziarz (Buffalo) won by decision over Brenan McAllister (Bucknell) 5-0. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 174 | Dominic Montesanti (Buffalo) won by major decision over Ray Schlitt (Bucknell) 8-0. | 0 | 4.00 |
| 184 | Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) won by major decision over Robert Marchese (Bucknell) 12-1. | 0 | 4.00 |
| 197 | Tyler Lyster (Bucknell) won by tech fall over Jarred Lux (Buffalo) 0:00 15-0. | 5.00 | 0 |
| 285 | Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) won by decision over Justin Heisermen (Buffalo) 2-1. | 3.00 | 0 |
| Dual Meet Score |
20.0 | 16.0 | |
Rider 21, Buffalo 16
| 125 | Max Soria (Buffalo) won by major decision over Patrick Skinner (Rider) 20-6. | 0 | 4.00 |
| 133 | Jimmy Morris (Rider) won by decision over Sean Walton (Buffalo) 6-5. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 141 | Vinny Fava (Rider) won by decision over Erik Galloway (Buffalo) 3-2. | 3.00 | 0 |
| 149 | Blake Roulo (Buffalo) won by decision over Curt Delia (Rider) 8-3. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 157 | Wally Maziarz (Buffalo) won by decision over Patrick Sabatini (Rider) 6-4. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 165 | Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) won by decision over Ramon Santiago (Rider) 3-2. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 174 | James Brundage (Rider) won by pin over Dominic Montesanti (Buffalo) 0:37. | 6.00 | 0 |
| 184 | Jarred Lux (Buffalo) won by decision over Frank Crocco (Rider) 6-1. | 0 | 3.00 |
| 197 | Donald Mcneil (Rider) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached) . | 6.00 | 0 |
| 285 | Greg Velasco (Rider) won by decision over Justin Heisermen (Buffalo) 3-1. | 3.00 | 0 |
| Dual Meet Score | 21.0 | 16.0 | |