The University at Buffalo's wrestling team entered competition last weekend coming off an impressive outing at the New York State Championships, and was looking to carry that success over into their dual meets.
This would not be the case, however, as the Bulls tripped, stumbled and plummeted their way to two-straight losses against top 25 teams Kent State and West Virginia.
"Kent has been playing spectacular and West Virginia is the 12th-ranked team in the nation," said Bulls Head Coach Jim Beichner.
Buffalo dropped to 1-2 in the MAC courtesy of a 28-9 drubbing at Kent State Friday. In that loss the Bulls only managed to post three personal victories in their first dual meet in nearly two months.
"We just didn't wrestle that well and we came up short; it's disappointing, but that's life," said Beichner.
The action commenced in the Memorial and Athletic Convocation Center with Mike Tolar of KSU taking a major decision victory over Dave Edwards in the 157-pound weight class.
In a nail-biter at the 165-pound weight class, Nick Nemeth decisioned Dave Guarino in a rematch of the MAC championship from last year. Using a late escape and a riding-time point, Nemeth eked out Guarino in the waning moments of the contest.
Buffalo would find their first victory at the 174-pound weight class. Gary Cooper won 14-9 over Ken Clark in a bout where the score was deceivingly closer than the match itself.
Garrett Bontempo, who now leads UB with 21 overall wins, would follow suit and take a 10-4 decision victory over KSU's Ben Rings.
Kyle Cerminara gave the Bulls their final win of the day in the 197-pound class. Cerminara, a freshman, blasted Zeb Miller 11-4 giving the Bulls a 9-7 lead at that juncture in the match.
Yet the Bulls would fail to register another victory as the match slipped out of their grasp. The Golden Flashes went on to score the meet's final 21 points and improve their record to 13-5 and 2-1 in the MAC.
Two of Buffalo's losses were by pin-fall. Golden Flashes' behemoth Mike Swetter pinned Mike Cooper at 4:05. In the 125-pound class, Charlie Voorhies was also pinned, this time at the 3:20 mark by Jared Opfer.
133-pounder Brian Sebaaly fell 6-3 at the hands of Kent State's Kevin Linich. UB's Ryan Bentley and Bill Jacoutot were both decisioned 10-5 and 7-5 respectively by Mark Wentz and Ryan Simmons.
The Bulls' next venture was to the abyss that is West Virginia to face the 12th-ranked Mountaineers on Saturday. Buffalo would fare no better than they did at Kent State, tangling with some of the top wrestlers in the nation, and losing the meet by a 26-6 score.
Guarino was major decisioned by Tom McCath, who is ranked 6th in the country at the 165-pound class, with a score of 18-7.
Gary Cooper had to square off against third-ranked Greg Jones in a 174-pound showdown. He was decisioned 11-5.
In a heartbreaking, overtime loss, Bontempo came back to force overtime but could not get over the hump, and fell valiantly 5-3 to Ryan Wilman in the 184-pound class.
At this point the Mountaineer snowball had picked up major velocity as the West Virginians rolled through the competition.
Cerminara lost to Brent Miller in the 197-pound class via an 8-4 decision. Next, heavyweight Mike Cooper lost in an 8-2 decision at the hands of Ryan Kehler.
Voorhees and Sebaaly were UB's lone bright spots, the only two Bulls to post victories on the day. Voorhees, competing in the 125-pound class, defeated Nathan Kendjorsky, 8-3. Sebally took a 10-4 decision against Greg White in the 133-pound class.
Yet the momentum Sebally and Voorhees attempted to create did not carry over into the final three matches as Bentley, Jacoutot and Edwards all took home losses. Bentley (141-pounds) fell 12-2, thanks to a Shane Cunanan major decision. Billy Smith beat Jacoutot (149-pounds) 6-2, and Joe Carr beat Edwards (157-pounds) with a 14-9 decision.
Despite the loss, Beichner considered the meet as a good learning experience for his program, which has consistently been one of UB's best.
"We were just outgunned by West Virginia, now it's time to refocus," said Beichner. "This team has always impressed me, they always find a way to come back and I expect them for that, it's about learning lessons now."
"We are still enthusiastic, this is a good strong team and they are dedicated to the university and the program, I wouldn't trade these guys in for anything in the world."
Saturday the Bulls will hope for some good home cooking as they host Bucknell at 1 p.m. in a dual meet at Alumni Arena.
