With the Mid-American Conference tournament approaching quickly, the Buffalo wrestling team is looking to turn up the intensity another notch as they host a quad-meet this weekend.
The Bulls will host MAC opponent Ohio and non-divisional opponents Delaware State and Ithaca on Saturday at Alumni Arena.
The tri-meet will include several New York State champions, including three from Buffalo (5-3 overall, 0-1 in the MAC). Junior Mark Budd won his second straight title at 133 pounds and seniors Garret Hicks and Kyle Cerminara took home first at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively. Overall, the Bulls fell short in the team standings as they ended up placing second in the tournament behind Army.
However, Buffalo bounced back last week as the Bulls earned their first top-30 ranking in the Division I era as they came in at No. 25 on wrestlingreport.com.
After intensive training sessions at the beginning of the week, the Bulls hope to rebound from last weekend's second-place finish, and win against all three teams.
"We have three or four great wrestlers and a great team," said senior captain Kyle Cerminara.
The rivalry between Buffalo and Ohio should prove to be a lively one. In their last three meetings the team score has come down to the final match. Ohio currently has two ranked wrestlers in the MAC, while Buffalo has seven.
"There is a rivalry among all MAC teams," Cerminara said.
Also taking the long bus ride to Alumni is Delaware State, which has struggled in all nine meets so far this year. The team's 0-9 record could be deceiving, as Delaware State is expected to fight hard in search of its first win this season. This will be the first time that Bulls wrestling has ever faced off against the Hornets.
Also coming to Alumni Arena will be nationally ranked Division III Ithaca. The Bombers are currently ranked 24th and performed well at last weekend's state tournament, finishing fifth. This will be the first time that the two teams have met since 1992.
The wrestling team is the second UB team to be ranked nationally this year (men's soccer also earned the honor), yet the students are most often absent from the seats of Alumni during the matches. An early morning start time could deter fans, but Cerminara thinks the event is well worth climbing out of bed for.
"If the students come out, they will enjoy the show," Cerminara said.
Currently, Cerminara is ranked No. 2 in the nation by wrestlingreport.com and is currently 30-0.
"I always try to score as many points as possible and break their spirits early," Cerminara said.
The team is being lead by coach Jim Beichner, who holds a 96-62-2 record in his 11th season at UB. He is currently looking for his 100th dual-meet win and will only be the second coach in Bulls' history to do so.
"The long agonizing practices keep the men mentally prepared," Beichner said.
The Bulls' rigorous training should come in handy, as John Cummings of Buffalo will match up in the 157-pound weight class against Jad Duca of Ithaca (5-4 overall), who is ranked third in D-III. Cummings has a record of 19 wins in his career and Duca is coming off his state championship last weekend.
Another interesting match of the meet will be in the 184-pound weight class, when Ohio senior Brian Cesear takes on Hicks.
The last time the two wrestlers met was a year ago. Hicks was the victor winning by a score of 8-3.
"Our focus is for the team to be healthy and ready for the MAC tourney," said Beichner
Saturday is set to be a quality day of wrestling at Alumni Arena, beginning at 9 a.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
