Buffalo Wrestling Hosts In State Rival Binghamton On Friday At Alumni Arena; Travel to Eastern Michigan Sunday
2/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo wrestling team (3-14, 0-6 MAC) will play host to the Binghamton Bearcats (4-11, 3-8 EIWA) on Friday night at 7:00 pm at Alumni Arena. On Sunday, the Bulls will travel to Eastern Michigan to take on the Eagles at 1:00 pm.
The Bulls previous match against the Bearcats turned out in the Bulls favor as they downed Binghamton by the score of 24-12 in 2011 while last season Buffalo downed Eastern Michigan for their only victory of the season by the score of 19-14.
LOCKED IN:
Following a freshman season that saw him go 8-12, sophomore Tony Lock has been the Bulls best wrestler so far in 2013-14. Lock currently owns a 17-12 overall record to go along with a 8-9 dual meet record. Over his 13 duals, Lock has been as consistent as they come for the Bulls, going 8-5. Lock had a tough match on Friday against #9 Missouri but came back on Sunday with a dominant victory over Deshaun White of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville by the score of 5-2. He has been the Bulls most consistent wrestler all season long as he leads the team in wins (17), third in takedowns (15), first in three point near falls (3) and first in reversals (5).
BULLS AT HOME ON FRIDAY AND ON THE ROAD ON SUNDAY
The Bulls will be hosting only their fourth home dual of the season on Friday night at 7:00 pm as they welcome in state rival Binghamton to Alumni Arena. Binghamton enters with a 4-11 overall record and a 3-8 EIWA conference mark. On Sunday, the Bulls will be traveling to MAC foe, Eastern Michigan for a conference dual. The Eagles have a 11-7 overall record but have struggled so far in MAC action, posting a 1-4 mark. Eastern Michigan's lineup boasts two wrestlers ranked in the most recent MAC monthly rankings, Jared Germaine ranks third at 125-pounds while Vinnie Pizzuto ranks fourth at 133-pounds.
BULLS SPLIT WEEKEND DUALS
The UB wrestling team faced a very stiff test on Friday night as they traveled to take on the #9 Missouri Tigers. The Bulls did not fair well against one of the most talented teams in the country as they fell by the score of 41-0. The Bulls picked up their third win of the season on Sunday morning as they traveled to take on Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Bulls put in a dominant performance, downing the Cougars by the score of 27-12. The Bulls picked up a season-high three wins by pin in the dual as Max Soria, Nick Flannery and Wally Maziarz eached picked up the pin. With the win, head coach John Stutzman now has 100 career victories as a head coach.
MALVESTUTO LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Heading into the season, the Bulls needed someone to step up and be a leader on the mat and so far this season it has been Angelo Malvestuto. The Niagara Falls, NY native is 6-5 in his last nine duals at 197 pounds for the Bulls. Malvestuto has been a consistent performer since he stepped on campus three seasons ago, racking up 30 career victories for the Bulls. Malvestuto also ranks third in dual meet wins (12), second in takedowns (23) and third in reversals (5).
SCHEDULING THE BEST OF THE BEST
First year head coach John Stutzman has a team full of newcomers and what better way to get them experience than to schedule the toughest opponents in the country. The Bulls have had six duals this season against nationally ranked opponents, including #1 overall Iowa earlier this season. Buffalo has faced four top-10 teams this season including two MAC teams, #4 Northern Iowa and #10 Missouri. With the MAC Championships right around the corner, the young Bulls roster has been exposed to some of the best competition in all of division I wrestling.
STUTZMAN PICKS UP 100th CAREER VICTORY
Buffalo head coach John Stutzman had a milestone victory on Sunday for the Bulls as he won his 100th career dual when UB downed Southern Illinois-Edwardsville by the score of 27-12. Stutzman returned to Buffalo this year following a great coaching career at Bloomsburg which saw hime record 97 career victories including a career-best 17 wins last season. The Buffalo alum had six seasons with 10 plus victories at Bloomsburg and never won less than eight matches as a head coach in his career. In all, Stutzman has coached 33 national qualifiers while earning a 58.5 percent winning percentage at the division I level.
YOUNG BULLS GAINING EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE
With a starting lineup that features only two seniors, the Bulls have a youthful team that is gaining experience each and everytime they take the mat. This past weekend, the Bulls traveled to #9 Missouri for a conference dual and were downed 41-0 but gained valuable experience. On Sunday, the Bulls put together their best effort of the season as they downed Southern Illinois-Edwardsville by the score of 27-12 for head coach John Stutzman's 100th career win. With half of the starting lineup consisting of underclassmen, the Bulls will only continue to improve under first year head coach John Stutzman.
NCAA QUALIFIERS APLENTY
The growth of the Buffalo wrestling program has been noticable not only locally but also nationally. Over the past five seasons, the Bulls have produced 20 NCAA qualifying wrestlers after only producing six during the previous five seasons. Buffalo set a program record during the 2011 campaign as they had six wrestlers qualify for NCAA's. As a program, the Bulls have notched 44 NCAA qualifiers since the 1996 season.
STUTZMAN TAKES OVER THE REINS
After a standout career on the mats in Alumni Arena, John Stutzman will begin a new era of Buffalo wrestling as its head coach. After eight seasons developing Bloomsburg into a national power, Stutzman has been hired as the 15th coach in the 79-year-history of the program. Stutzman has a great reputition for being a winner, earning double digit victories in six of eight seasons at Bloomsburg.
JOHN-MARTIN CANNON JOINS STAFF AFTER UB CAREER
Three-time NCAA qualifier and 2013 UB graduate, John-Martin Cannon joined the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant this season. Cannon will look to help the young Bulls squad earn success in the very difficult Mid-American Conference. Cannon finished his illustrious UB career with 84 career victories and 33 dual wins.
