UB Press Release - Virginia Duals Day 1 Recap

Bulls Score Early Upset, Earn Split on First Day of Virginia Duals

HAMPTON, VA - Though it faced some of the best teams in the nation, the Buffalo wrestling team came out with a purpose Friday morning and scored a convincing 24-12 upset over Virginia at the 31st Annual Virginia Duals. In the second dual of the day, the Bulls fell to fifteenth ranked Michigan.

The win over the Cavaliers was the second straight over teams receiving votes in the NWCA national top 25 after it beat Binghamton less than a week ago. Virginia came in to the day as the sixth seed in the sixteen-team tournament field and ended up being the only seeded team to be upset.

After the Cavs took an early lead, the Bulls woke up and struck back with a string of decisive wins. Kevin Smith took a 6-3 decision and sophomore Andrew Schutt had the most impressive win of the day by pinning nationally ranked Gus Sako in the 141 pound match to spark the Buffalo run.

Desi Green (5-3), Mark Lewandowski (3-1) and John-Martin Cannon (9-4) also earned decisions to extend Buffalo's lead, and Josh Peters iced it with a 4-2 win over Virginia's Mike Salopek in the 197 pound match. Salopek came in ranked eighteenth in the nation but could not slow down Peters, who is riding a hot streak as of late. Brett Correll had another ranked opponent in his heavyweight match but won 3-1 over Jack Danilkowicz, ranked 27th in the nation.

In its next match, the Bulls drew Michigan, a team ranked by most media outlets in the top 15 in the country and eleventh in the most recent InterMat rankings. The team fell behind early but pulled within striking distance before the Wolverines closed the door and finished Buffalo off for a 29-7 win. Green was the only wrestler for the team to win both of his dual meets as he took a dominating 18-7 major decision. Senior Brian Sheehan also won for the team, taking a 6-2 decision.

Despite the loss, Buffalo can still finish fifth if it can win out in the final two dual meets to be held tomorrow. First up will be a challenging Rider team that routed Chattanooga 33-10 after losing its first match of the day to Kent State. Day two will begin tomorrow morning with the losing team being eliminated and the winning team moving on to face the winner of the Old Dominion and Wyoming match.

Match #1 Champ. Round 1: Buffalo defeated Virginia 24-12

125 - Matt Snyder (Virginia) over Sean Walton (Buffalo) Pin 0:00
133 - Kevin Smith (Buffalo) over Joe Spisak (Virginia) Dec 6-3
141 - Andrew Schutt (Buffalo) over Gus Sako (Virginia) Pin 0:00
149 - Desi Green (Buffalo) over Derek Valenti (Virginia) Dec 5-3
157 - Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) over Shawn Harris (Virginia) Dec 3-1
165 - John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) over Conner Miller (Virginia) Dec 9-4
174 - Chris Henrich (Virginia) over Brian Sheehan (Buffalo) Dec 10-4
184 - Jon Fausey (Virginia) over Jimmy Hamel (Buffalo) Dec 8-1
197 - Josh Peters (Buffalo) over Mike Salopek (Virginia) Dec 4-2
HWT - Brett Correll (Buffalo) over Jack Danilkowicz (Virginia) Dec 3-1

Match #2 Quarterfinal: Michigan defeated Buffalo 29-7

125 - Sean Boyle (Michigan) over Sean Walton (Buffalo) Maj 11-0
133 - Zac Stevens (Michigan) over Kevin Smith (Buffalo) Dec 5-2
141 - Kellen Russell (Michigan) over Andrew Schutt (Buffalo) Dec 6-0
149 - Desi Green (Buffalo) over Eric Grajales (Michigan) Maj 18-7
157 - Aaron Hynes (Michigan) over Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) Dec 6-1
165 - Dan Yates (Michigan) over John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) Dec 5-2
174 - Brian Sheehan (Buffalo) over Mark Boyer (Michigan) Dec 6-2
184 - Hunter Collins (Michigan) over Jimmy Hamel (Buffalo) Dec 3-2
197 - Anthony Biondo (Michigan) over Josh Peters (Buffalo) Pin 4:49
HWT - Ben Apland (Michigan) over Brett Correll (Buffalo) Maj 14-5