Central Mich.
Bulls Fall to #6 Central Michigan, 35-3
2/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo wrestling team
fell to sixth nationally-ranked Central Michigan, 35-3, in a
Mid-American Conference match on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
The Chippewas earned victories in nine of the 10 bouts with two
one-point decisions.
Dan Bishop Prior to the dual, the Bulls honored seniors Dan Bishop,
Andrew Stella and Jason Weber as part of Senior Day.
In his final match at Alumni Arena, Bishop battled ninth
nationally-ranked Matt Steintrager of CMU. Trailing 3-1 at the
start of the second period, Bishop trimmed Steintrager's lead to
3-2 off an early escape. With Steintrager choosing down to start
the third, Bishop rode the ninth-ranked wrestler. Looking to break
down Steintrager, Bishop allowed him to reach his feet only to slam
him back to the mat. Steintrager managed to add to his two-point
lead late in the third to walk away with a 6-3 close decision.
Following their opening decision at 125, Central Michigan (15-2,
3-0 MAC) recorded decisions at 133 and 141. In the 149-pound bout,
the Chippewas scored a technical fall to extend their lead to
14-0.
At 157, Stella came out on the attack against 14th
nationally-ranked Steve Brown of Central Michigan. Within the first
minute of action, Stella took Brown to the mat for the first point
of the bout. Throughout the period, Brown managed to close the gap,
3-2. Holding a one-point advantage to start the second period,
Brown extended his lead to a four-point edge. At the buzzer, Stella
scored an escape to cut Brown's lead to 6-3. In the down position
for the third, Stella ripped away from Brown's grasp to pull within
two. Despite collecting a point at the end due to stalling by
Brown, Stella fell by decision, 6-5.
The Chippewas continued their win streak, earning a fall at 165
followed by a technical fall at 174 to take a 28-0 lead.
Central Michigan's win streak was snapped at 184 as redshirt
freshman Josh Peters captured a 4-1 decision over the Chippewas'
Dillon Kern. Peters jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the start of the
first period. Following a scoreless second period, Kern cut Peters'
lead in half, 2-1 off an escape from the bottom. Tirelessly working
Kern, Peters scored a takedown to seal the 4-1 decision over Kern,
handing Buffalo its first decision of the day.
Junior Jimmy Hamel came close to recording the Bulls' second
victory of the dual at 197. Facing a three-point deficit to start
the third period, Hamel reversed CMU's Eric Simaz to pull within
one. After an escape by Simaz and a takedown by Hamel the bout was
tied up at 4-4 with 1:20 remaining in the contest. Simaz was able
to escape Hamel's grasp for a 5-4 lead, which he was able to hang
on to for the decision.
Making his final appearance at Alumni Arena in the 285-pound weight
class was Weber. In the heavyweight bout, the senior fell to third
nationally-ranked Jarod Trice of Central Michigan, 19-7.
"With a full lineup, Central Michigan is easily a top-five team in
the nation. I feel in some weight classes, we were out-manned and
in others we were aggressive," said head coach Jim Beichner.
"Before getting this one out of our heads, we are going to have to
learn a lot from this loss as we will face them in the MAC
[Mid-American Conference] championships in about a month."
The Bulls (8-7-1, 1-3 MAC) close out their MAC dual schedule as
they travel to Northern Illinois on Sunday, February 21 at 2:00
pm.
