Buffalo Wrestling Travels To Kent State For 2014 MAC Championships On Saturday
3/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo wrestling team (3-17, 0-8 MAC) heads to Kent, OH on Saturday afternoon for the opening rounds of the 2014 MAC Championships, hosted by Kent State. It is a two-day tournament that starts on Saturday at noon and will continued on Sunday with the championship rounds.
The conference's largest tournament in the last 32 years will feature nine teams and 90 total wrestlers fighting for 10 individual titles. This season, the Mid-American Conference earned 41 automatic qualifying bids for the NCAA Tournament that will be held in Oklahoma City, OK on Friday, March 21.
Competing against nationally ranked opponents at every turn this season, the Bulls earned two more victories than all of last season and had multiple wrestlers find themselves in the individual rankings. Always regarded as one of the top conferences in America, the MAC had a total of 49 wrestlers ranked in the final NCAA rankings of the season.
LIVE AUDIO, VIDEO, STATS & SCHEDULE:
Live streaming video on both days can be seen with a subscription on Flowrestling. Live audio with updates on every match can be heard free on Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio. Live scoring can be followed on trackwrestling.com. Action begins at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. The semifinals are slated for Saturday at 4 p.m., while the championship round will be Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP BREAKDOWN:
The 2014 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held on Saturday, March 8th and Sunday, March 9th at the M.A.C. Center on the Kent State campus. The nine team field includes Northern Iowa, Missouri, Central Michigan, Ohio, Kent State, Old Dominion, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Buffalo. Action opens on Saturday at noon as the 90 wrestlers will compete for the 39 automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March, 21. All 10 weight classes in the MAC have at least three auto bids for the NCAA's.
POWER CONFERENCE:
The Mid-American Conference has been regarded as one of the top conferences in the country over the past few seasons and that held true this season as well. The MAC currently has three teams ranked inside the top-25 rankings as Northern Iowa leads the way at No. 5. The Panthers are the lone undefeated team in the country at 13-0. The other ranked MAC teams are No. 9 Missouri and No. 25 Central Michigan. Kent State, Ohio and Old Dominion are also all receiving votes for the top-25 that was released earlier this week. The final NCAA rankings had 49 MAC wrestlers ranked including two at No.1.
BULLS LABELED AS UNDERDOGS HEADING TO MAC'S:
Following a less that desirable regualr season that saw the UB Bulls go 3-17 overall and 0-8 in the Mid-American Conference, Buffalo is looking to surprise some people at the MAC Championships this weekend. The Bulls have been labeled in many circles as the underdog and that is just finbe by them. The Bulls have 10 wrestlers who are at the top of their game right now and all aim to shock the field. The Bulls only had one wrestler, Tony Lock, ranked higher than seventh (5th).Two others garnered rankings of seventh, Max Soria and Nick Flannery. The MAC field is loaded but with 39 auto bids up for grabs, the Bulls have a chance to send some grapplers to the NCAA Tournament.
HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME:
Senior Nick Flannery had an adjusting period once he got to Buffalo following a transfer from Cleveland State. It didnt take Flannery long to settle in but he is heating up at the right time of the year. He led the Bulls this season with 18 regular season victories and has won four dual matches in a row and is 7-3 in his last 10 matches overall for the Bulls. Flannery had his most impressive victory of the season when he defeated No. 4 ranked Chris Mecate of Old Dominion by the score of 12-7, dominating the match from start to finish. Mecate enters this weekend as the No. 1 seed and Flannery will hunt to take him down at 141 pounds.
LOCKED IN:
Sophomore Tony Lock has improved on his skills all season long under first year head coach John Stutzman, earning the Bulls highest seed for the MAC's at No. 5. Lock was tied for the team lead in wins with 18 this season and compiled nine dual meet wins and a 4-4 record in MAC action. Lock got back on track last time out for Buffalo as he earned a 3-1 victory over Caleb Busson of Northern Illinois. Earning the Bulls highest seed has some added pressure for Lock as his weight class, 184-pounds, will only have three automatic qualifying bids for the NCAA Tournament.
SORIA AIMS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT NCAA TRIP:
Redshirt junior Max Soria is the only Bull on the current roster with NCAA Tournament experience as he has earned a trip the past two seasons while wearing the Blue and white. Soria enters this weekend's tournament with a chip on his shoulder as the two-time NCAA qualifier is ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds. He has fought through injuries this season en route to a 13-10 overall record including a 7-7 dual meet record. The Kings Park, NY native is the active leader for the Bulls in wins (59), dual meet wins (24), takedowns (71), two point near falls (7) and three point near falls (9).
UPPERCLASSMEN ON HUNT FOR NCAA VISIT:
Being in the minority on a very young starting 10, Justin Farmer, Wally Maziarz and Angelo Malvestuto are all hoping that their experience in previous MAC tournaments will pay off with a trip to the NCAA's. Farmer has racked up 50 career victories for the Bulls and this weekend will be his last chance to earn a bid to the big dance. Wally Maziarz hopes that the hard work he put in this season will pay off with a NCAA appearance as well, following two unsuccessful campaigns as an underclassman. Angelo Malvestuto has loads of talent and experience but still lacks the NCAA appearance that he so badly values.
EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF:
Although the current Buffalo roster only boasts one wrestler with any experience in the NCAA Tournament, their head coach is no stranger to the bright lights of the NCAA tourney. John Stutzman is in his ninth season as a division I wrestling head coach and he has sent a total of 33 wrestlers to the NCAA's in his previous eight seasons at Bloomsburg. He has had six grapplers qualify for the tournament on two occassions including last season. With the guidance of a coach who has recorded 100 career wins and sent multiple wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament each season as a head coach, the Buffalo Bulls will enter the MAC Championships with no fear.
2013 MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS:
In last season's MAC Championship hosted by the Bulls at Alumni Arena, Max Soria and Mark Lewandowski earned Buffalo's lone automatic qualifying spots for the NCAA tournament. The MAC had a total of 30 auto bids for NCAA Tournament. The Missouri Tigers burst onto the scene last season, winning the team title by a 48-point margin with four individual crowns.
STUTZMAN'S STAFF TAKES OVER BULLS PROGRAM:
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. Stutzman also brough in Bryce Hasseman as his top assistant coach. Hasseman has an impressive resume including earning a spot on Team USA in 2009-10. Hasseman had a successful college career that was highlighted by a EWL championship and NCAA appearance under Stutzman at Bloomsburg. Also joining as an assistant coach is Quincy Osborn. Osborn joins the Bulls after four successful season at MAC foe Ohio University. The final piece to the staff is three-time NCAA qualifier and 2013 UB graduate, John-Martin Cannon, who joined as a volunteer coach prior to the 2013-14 season.
UP NEXT:
The NCAA will release the remaining 4-5 at-large selections in each weight class and brackets for the 2014 NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 12. Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena will host the three-day tournament from March 20-22.
BUFFALO LINEUP:
125: Max Soria
133: Justin Farmer
141: Nick Flannery
149: Ryan Todora
157: Wally Maziarz
165: Jake Campana
174: Rrok Ndokaj
184: Tony Lock
197: Angelo Malvestuto
HWT: James Benjamin
