The wrestling team has already had a tough season. It has suffered major injuries in the upper weight class, and the team lost four straight dual matches last weekend. The sixth-best school in the country didn't give Buffalo room to recuperate over the weekend.
Buffalo (0-5) hosted Michigan (1-0) on Friday and then traveled to Cornell on Saturday to compete in the Body Bar Invitational. The Bulls were on the losing side of both meets – losing 27-13 to the Wolverines and finishing 10th of 12 in the invitational.
Buffalo walked away from the weekend with one thing to be proud of. While most of the Bulls' wrestlers struggled, one was able to make UB history. Senior Kevin Smith became the seventh wrestler in UB history to reach 100 wins.
Smith's win came in the third match of the day in a dominant performance over the Wolverines' Donnie Watkins. The match was originally supposed to feature defending National Champion Kellen Russell, but an injury to Russell prevented him from wrestling. Smith took advantage by easily defeating Watkins, 11-3, in a major decision thanks to a takedown in the waning seconds. The win gave the Bulls four points and Smith his place in the record books.
"It's just a great milestone," Smith said. "Not many wrestlers have accomplished that. It just shows the longevity to be able to last for five years and wrestle at a high level. It's a difficult thing to do at any school."
Smith wasn't the only Bull to turn in a solid performance against the perennial powerhouse. In fact, through the first few matches Buffalo looked poised to pull off the upset. The Bulls won three of the first four matches of the afternoon.
In the 125-pound weight class, freshman Max Soria got the match off to a hot start with his 8-3 victory over Grant Pizzo. Soria's victory keeps him undefeated this year.
Head coach Jim Beichner was impressed with Soria's progress.
"[Max] has come a long way through our program," Beichner said. "It's probably the most competitive at that weight class it's been in many years for us."
Fellow freshman Blake Roulo also gave the Bulls hope in the 149-pound weight class. Roulo was able to grind out a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Wolverines' James Hillock. The Bulls had a 10-4 lead through four matches.
However, the Bulls gradually looked less impressive as the weight classes got heavier. Buffalo was only able to pull out one of the final six matches of the afternoon. The Bulls lost three of those matches by pin fall and technical fall.
The match took its turning point at the 165-pound weight class. The Bulls sent junior Mark Lewandowski, the team leader in wins, to the mat. Buffalo was still clinging to a slim lead and desperately needed points, knowing the squad was disadvantaged in higher weight classes, thanks to injuries.
Lewandowski couldn't get the job done and failed to battle back against Daniel Yates, who claimed an early lead. The junior ran out of time, as his comeback bid fell short at 3-2.
Freshman Jake Waste was the only wrestler to get a victory down the stretch. He was able to edge out Christopher Heald, 4-2, in the 184-pound weight class.
Beichner was optimistic about the results, despite the disappointing outcome.
"I think the guys that won wrestled very well, and we had some matches there that could have gone our way," Beichner said. "We had at least one match I thought we should have won, I just think it was not quite inspired. But you've got to become more inspired, because you don't get these opportunities very often [against a team like] Michigan in your home gym."
Lewandowski redeemed himself in the Body Bar invite. He finished second in the 165-pound weight class – the highest finish for the Bulls.
His impressive run started with a 10-3 defeat of Columbia's Adam Fondale, followed by a pin of Army's Colman Gracey. He would go on to defeat Virginia's Nick Sulzer 8-4 before Drexel's Joe Booth gave Lewandowski too much to handle in the final match, as Buffalo's wrestler fell 3-1.
Soria and Roulo finished fourth and sixth in their weight classes, respectively.
The Bulls will take next weekend off to rest for the Penn State Open on Dec. 4. The meet will begin at 10 a.m.
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