UB Open
Green Captures Individual Crown at UB Open
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BUFFALO, NY – Wrestling unattached, University at Buffalo sophomore and 16th nationally-ranked wrestler Desi Green captured the individual crown in the 149-pound weight class at the seventh annual UB Open at Alumni Arena on Sunday, November 1. Sophomore Kevin Smith and 20th nationally-ranked junior Jimmy Hamel finished in second place at 133 and 197, respectively. The Bulls finished with nine total wrestlers in the top six, all wrestling unattached at the non-scoring event.
Following Green's sixth-place finish at 157 in last year's UB
Open, he was determined to finish in the top spot. Green rattled
off five straight victories to capture his first UB Open crown at
149. In his first match, Green earned a 26-10 technical fall versus
Pittsburgh's Ian Heist. Moving on, Green pinned Jordan Powell of
#12 Edinboro in 2:36. Green responded with another technical fall
in his quarterfinals bout over two-time Division II national
qualifier Kayne Melko of #16 West Liberty State University. In his
semifinal match, Green captured a 10-3 decision over unattached
wrestler Craig Efert to move onto the championship match. In the
final match for the 149-pound crown, Green faced the 2009 Edinboro
Open champion Jon Kohler of #10 Maryland. Green led early in the
match with Kohler fighting back to make it a close bout. In the
end, Green walked away the 149-pound UB Open champion.
"We are proud of Desi and his accomplishments today. Desi also
knows there are improvements to be made. He needs to be upset at
the mistakes he made, which will allow him to reach his goal of
becoming an All-American," said head coach Jim Beichner.
Hamel strung together three victories to earn his spot in the
championship round for the crown at 197. In the championship bout,
Hamel battled with unattached wrestler Matt Wilps of Pittsburgh
with no decision at the end of three periods. With neither wrestler
scoring in the extra period, the two continued to fight with Wilps
picking up an escape in the first 30-second overtime to hold on for
the win, 2-1. Hamel finished the event a spot ahead of last year's
third-place finish.
"Jimmy did not do enough and he knows it. A couple more offensive
shots and he walks away as champion," stated Beichner.
In the 133-pound bracket, Smith collected four straight victories
to reach the final round. In order for Smith to reach the finals,he
had to get through the 14th nationally-ranked wrestler in the
nation Jimmy Conroy of Pittsburgh. With a 5-3 decision over Conroy,
Smith was on his way to the championship bout. After finishing
second last year, Smith was looking to capture his first UB Open
title. His opponent, Division I All-American and eighth
nationally-ranked Steve Bell of Maryland was also looking to
capture his first title at the event. Bell attacked aggressively
off the start, taking a 4-1 lead following the first period. In the
end, Smith fell to Bell in a 7-2 decision.
"This was a great character match for Kevin. In order for
him to reach his goal of becoming an All-American, he has to have a
taste of what it takes. He faced someone who has reached that
level," explained Beichner.
Dylan Dabolt, Justin Farmer and Sean Walton each placed in the top
six of the 125-pound weight class. Dabolt reached the semifinals
before falling to two-time Eastern Wrestling League place-finisher
Jason Guffey of Bloomsburg in a close 2-1 decision. Dabolt defeated
Walton for fifth place with a 5-2 decision. In his first collegiate
competition, Farmer reached the bout for third place by defeating
Walton but was unable to get by Chris Kochinsky of Pittsburgh.
At 141, freshman Andrew Schutt finished in fourth place. He
captured victories in his first two matches before falling to
unattached wrestler Mike Nevinger. In his bout for third place,
Schutt fell to the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference champion.
After not placing last year, redshirt freshman Josh Peters' second
time around was successful as he finished in third place at 184,
defeating Bradley Nielsen of Maryland in a 6-4 decision. Matt Bogardus placed sixth at 174, collecting four victories along the
way.
Heavyweight Jason Weber captured three opening round victories
before being sent to wrestlebacks where he took home sixth
place.
"Well, we certainly need to sit down and add up our wins and
losses. We are definitely not at our peak in terms of our
performance but we were very competitive out there today, placing
in eight weight classes. As a team, we are going to find ways to
build off of our first competition of the year," added
Beichner.
Of the 10 individual titles on the line, Maryland walked away with
three titles while Pittsburgh earned two titles. Edinboro and
Mercyhurst took home a title each and three unattached wrestlers
captured titles, including Green.
The Bulls open their 2009 dual meet season at home as they face
Ashland on Saturday, November 7 at 12:00 pm at Alumni Arena.
