UB wrestling's Kyle Cerminara endured the fight of his life Thursday night in Albany, N.Y. at the NCAA wrestling championships against the ultimate competitor in the sport.
Cerminara, who advanced to the national championship by winning the 197-pound weight class in the MAC, won his opening-round match and earned the opportunity to face Iowa State's Cael Sanderson in the second round - the most highly touted wrestler in the country.
Sanderson, a senior who had never lost a collegiate match coming into the tournament, defeated Cerminara by pinfall to improve his record to 156-0. Sanderson is looking to become the first wrestler in history to finish his college career undefeated and win four national championships.
"I tried to take it as any other match," said Cerminara. "Everyone in the arena knows [Sanderson] is the best and that it would take an incredible upset or a perfect match to beat him."
Cerminara put up a valiant attempt against the unbeatable Sanderson, but eventually was subdued at 6:33 by pinfall. Sanderson had a 22-9 lead when he slipped Cerminara in a cradle and finished him off.
"He's definitely as good as they say he is," said Cerminara. "His endurance was incredible and he was extremely quick."
Sanderson lent Cerminara a compliment, saying that the UB freshman was "tough to score on."
Cerminara may have been overmatched, but he was by the greatest wrestler in the college game. Sanderson is the Michael Jordan of college wrestling, and UB Head Coach Jim Beichner was very proud of the way his true freshman represented the university.
"We just wrestled one of the best wrestlers on the planet," said Beichner. "I thought Kyle did a pretty good job. He didn't give [Sanderson] a lot of respect, he went at him and he moved around pretty good. He did everything we asked him to do. He just got beat by somebody who is much better than anybody in this tournament in every weight class. I was proud of his effort."
Cerminara first saw action earlier in the day in the opening round against Millersville's Greg Eynon. He soundly defeated Eynon with a 6-2 win in which he never trailed, and jumped out to a 4-0 lead via a takedown and two back points in the opening minute.
"To start your match in the NCAA championships with a takedown like that makes you confident because that first match can be very difficult," Beichner. "You're usually anxious going into the match, but I thought Kyle was very composed as his confidence just grew after getting that early high single [takedown]."
Although diminished, Kyle Cerminara's dreams of becoming an All-American still blaze on. He will compete in the wrestlebacks tomorrow, and three victories in a row would mean at least an eighth-place finish, which would make him Buffalo's first Division-I All-American.
"I think Kyle's the kind of wrestler that takes everything in," said Beichner. "He'll learn from it. He has a great positive attitude and if nothing else he's better off for the experience. Tomorrow is tomorrow and I don't think this match is going to effect it other than the fact that he was glad to be in that situation."
