Chris Conti sings National Anthem at Nationals!

Great job, Chris!

COACH BEICHNER MAC COACH OF THE YEAR!

CLEVELAND, OH - Following one of the most successful seasons in program history, including a record six national tournament qualifiers, head wrestling coach Jim Beichner was named the Mid American Conference coach of the year, as announced today by the conference. The honor comes in addition to Beichner being named NYS Division I Coach of the Year twice (1996, 2004), East Coast Wrestling Association Coach of the Year and the Amateur Wrestling News Rookie Coach of the Year during his 16 seasons at Buffalo.

"I am very excited for our program to receive this award. It is truly an honor to receive this from my peers in the MAC," Beichner said. "We have a great group of coaches and programs within the MAC and I have a tremendous amount of respect for each program and our fellow MAC coaches."

Buffalo tied with Kent State as both programs sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship, the most of any MAC wrestling program. After sending a program-Division I record six wrestlers to the NCAA championships, Beichner has now guided 41 student athletes to the national tournament during his tenure.

In addition, Buffalo finished third in the 2011 MAC Wrestling Tournament as Andrew Schutt (141), Desi Green (149),Mark Lewandowski (157) and John-Martin Cannon (165) each won their weight class for the Bulls. The third-place finish tied the program's best finish in the conference tournament since joining.

"The award is really the result of our athletes beginning with our four MAC Champions and it permeates down to the five wrestlers that placed in the MAC championships and through the entire team, our backups and red-shirts," Beichner added.

At the NCAA tournament, Buffalo wrestlers won six matches, highlighted by sophomore Mark Lewandowski earning a top-12 finish, just one win away from becoming an All-American. All six of the national qualifiers will return in 2011-12 as the team will only lose three wrestlers from the team.

It was not just the work of the wrestlers, Beichner said, but also all the members of the coaching staff.

"There is no chance that I would have received this honor with the efforts of my assistant coaches, Frank Beasley, Ricky Deubel and Jeff Catrabone and strength & conditioning coach Nate Harvey. It's also an award that has to be shared with our trainer - Allison Zulawski, the administration (sport supervisor Paul Vecchio) and other administrative support staff. There are a few other support staff members people that need to be thanked - Danny Bishop, Administrative Assistant, Joe Muscarella and Micky Moran. I am extremely lucky that we have so much help and support. With their help, we are definitely headed in the right direction." 

Kent State's Dustin Kilgore was awarded the Wrestler of the Year award and Ohio's Jeremy Johnson was named Freshman of the Year.  All three awards were voted on by each of the conference's six head wrestling coaches.

"I sincerely appreciate this recognition and hope that our program wins future awards such as this one because we are consistently winning MAC Championships, producing all-americans and future NCAA champions. I am very proud of everyones efforts and we plan to do even more," Beichner said.

WATCH YOUR UB BULLS AT NATIONALS ON ESPN3

LIVE COVERAGE OF NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS ON ESPN3.COM! 

Alumni & Friends Social in Philly: An Invitation from Joe Muscarella

 Alumni and Friends,

I am so proud to be a BULL today!  Our team wrestled with heart and passion all weekend at the Mid American Conference Championships in DeKalb, Illinois.  As I look back at the weekend… I believe that we were the best conditioned team at the MAC championships.  This is a testament to our wrestlers and to our coaches, Head Coach Jim Beichner, Assistants, Frank Beasley, Ricky Deubel, Jeff Catrabone and Mickey Moran (Club Coach).

For the first time since returning to Division I, UB Wrestling qualified 6 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.  We had a record setting 4 MAC Champions… most champions of any team in the MAC.  We also had one of our wrestlers earn the Most Outstanding Wrestler at this year’s MAC Championship (John-Martin Cannon).

We are hosting a pre match celebration in Philadelphia for all UB Wrestling Alumni who are planning on attending the NCAA National Championships March 17-19, 2011 in Philadelphia, PA..  We will gather at Chickieand Pete’s South Philadelphia location on Thursday, March 17^th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.  The address is 1526 Packer Avenue Phila. PA 19145.  This is only 0.3 miles from the Wells Fargo center.  WEAR YOUR BUFFALO gear so we can find you easily – this place is 30,000 sq ft!  LOOK for our UB GEAR! 

On behalf of the UB Wrestling program, I would like to personally invite you and your guest to attend the UB Wrestling celebration, sponsored on our behalf, by the UB Alumni Association .  Food will be provided.  Please RSVP, as soon as possible, to Joe Muscarella if you planning on attending our social.  Please also give us your cell phone number so we can communicate during the weekend.

I hope to see you in Philly to support UB Wrestling andour 6 NCAA Division I National Qualifiers!!

Sincerely,

Joe Muscarella

Voice of the Wrestling Bulls

NCAA Brackets

NCAA BRACKETS... CLICK HERE!

UB Press Release - Kevin Smith Earns At-Large Bid to NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Redshirt Junior Kevin Smith became the sixth Buffalo Bulls wrestler to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament this season after earning an at-large bid during the selection process held Wednesday night. The draw was for the 50 possible wrestlers who did not earn an automatic qualification. The six Buffalo national qualifiers were the most since the Bulls joined the Mid American Conference.

The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria without priority order: head-to-head competition, qualifying event placement, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI), coaches ranking and number of matches contested at that weight class. The Mid American Conference earned five of the at-large bids and, in total, will send 23 wrestlers to the national tournament, to be held in Philadelphia, PA.

Smith led the team with 34 wins this season and will be making his second straight trip to the tournament. In his first round match up, he will face Thomas Mitchell of Liberty. Mitchell - a fellow redshirt junior - finished the season with a 15-10 record. The winner of the match will then face either number two overall seed Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State or Missouri's Nathan McCormick.

At 141 pounds, Andrew Schutt earned his first trip to the national tournament after winning his bracket at the MAC championship. Coming in unseeded, the sophomore will face a tough first-round opponent in third-seeded Borislav Novachkov of Cal Poly. A redshirt junior, Novachkov lost only one match all season and finished with a 27-1 record. The winner of the match will face the winner of Lock Haven's Matthew Bronson or the winner of a play-in match between Levi Jones of Boise State or Hicks Manson of Cornell.

In the 149-pound bracket, Desi Green was rewarded with the twelfth seed by the committee and will look to use his high draw to make the All-American round in what will be his third straight appearance in the national tournament. He will first have to face Eric Terrazas of Illinois, who is a true junior who finished 24-9 for the season. The winner of that match will then take on either fifth seed Jamal Parks of Oklahoma State or Daniel Zilverberg of Minnesota.

Mark Lewandowski will try to maintain his recent hot streak in to the NCAA tournament after winning the 157-pound championship at the MAC championship. In the first round, the redshirt sophomore from Depew, NY will face Josh Condon of Chattanooga. A fellow redshirt sophomore, Condon went 24-6 during the regular season. The winner will face either Alex Medved of Gardner Webb, or fourth seeded Bubba Jenkins of Arizona State.

Fresh off a championship at 165 pounds and the honor of Most Outstanding Wrestler at the MAC Championship, junior John-Martin Cannon will need to keep his intense offensive productivity going in to the national tournament, his second appearance in as many years. After wrestling a challenging schedule in the regular season, it appears that Cannon could be ready to take the next step up on the national scene. Standing in his way will be Lehigh's Brandon Hatchett, a redshirt junior who was 17-9 overall this year. The winner will face either second seed Andrew Howe of Wisconsin or Ryan DesRoches of Cal Poly.

The final Bull making the trip to Philadelphia will be heavyweight Brett Correll, who earned one of the MAC's automatic qualifying bids after placing fourth at the conference tournament. As a whole, the MAC will send five of the six starting heavyweights to the national tournament. Correll will square off against eleventh seed Tucker Lane of Nebraska in the first round. Lane, a redshirt sophomore like Correll, finished the regular season with a 29-7 record. 

The NCAA tournament will begin Thursday, Mar. 17 with the opening rounds in the morning before the second round is wrestled in the evening of that day. It will be a double-elimination tournament.

Records Fall as Bulls Finish Third at MAC Championships

DEKALB, IL - The Buffalo Bulls won a conference- and program-best four individual titles and finished third only to champion Central Michigan and Kent State at the Mid American Conference Championship Sunday afternoon.

The third-place finish is tied for the best in program history. The team will also send at least five wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, another program best. John-Martin Cannon also became the first Bull wrestler to ever win Outstanding Wrestler, capping a record-shattering day for the program.

The run of titles began at 141 pounds, with Andrew Schuttbeating Central Michigan's Scott Mattingly in sudden-victory overtime, 6-1. After a scoreless first period, Mattingly earned the lead on an escape. The 1-0 lead carried over to the third period, when Schutt tied it with an escape of his own. A potential game-winning penalty point for Schutt was waved off, pushing the match to overtime. Schutt just missed a pin but wound up with a takedown and three near-fall points to win it 6-1. 

"He had to wrestle through some adversity but he came out of it," said head coach Jim Beichner. "People call him a gunslinger – he's dangerous and in overtime he almost pinned him. What a great story, he came in here and did a great job." 

Next up was junior Desi Green, looking to become the team's first back-to-back MAC champ since Mark Budd in 2006 and 2007. The Henrietta, NY native used an early takedown and took a 2-1 lead in to the third period against Central Michigan's Donnie Corby. An escape sealed the deal and a 3-1 win. Green will now head to the NCAA tournament for the third straight year, the second wrestler to do so under Beichner. 

"Desi has turned into an all-around great wrestler," Beichner said. "He's a two-time MAC champ and he could probably become the all-time wins leader at Buffalo. He's breaking all the records and doing all the right stuff."

Despite the title, Beichner knows Green is capable of so much more, adding "he just needs to know that he has a lot left to accomplish. He's a guy that wants to be an All-American, not just an all-time wins leader. That should be just a bonus." 

The streak of titles continued with Mark Lewandowski versus Northern Illinois' Bryan Deutsch at 157 pounds. It promised to be a thriller and it lived up to every expectation, with Lewandowski beating the Huskies senior in a come-from-behind win. After leading 4-1 through the first period, Lewandowski found himself in trouble in the second, getting reversed and giving up two near-fall points to trail 5-4 heading to the third. After giving up two more near-fall points, Lewandowski reversed Deutsch before being reversed himself and facing a 9-6 deficit midway through the period. After making an escape, the Depew, NY sophomore took down Deutsch and scored riding time to win the title.

"Mark had a lead and lost it because he wrestles a very funky way. It was a back-and-forth match and was one of the most exciting matches of the day, probably the weekend," Beichner said. "For him to show as much courage as he did to make that last-second takedown and ride him out was just phenomenal. He has been wrestling so well lately that I'm just so pleased for him." 

Hoping to win the team's fourth-straight individual title, John-Martin Cannon took on number one seed Mike Miller of Central Michigan. A takedown put him up 2-1 after one period, but Miller used an escape and a takedown to go up 4-3 through two periods. Not ready to go quietly, Cannon used an escape and a late takedown in the last ten seconds of the match to win 6-5. For his effort in beating the top two seeds en route to his first career title, Cannon was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler.

"He was just ready and he was outstanding," Beichner said. "Here is a guy that wrestled 19 or more of the top 33 guys in the country, probably one of the toughest schedules in the country. He comes out here and found a way to win a MAC championship seeded third."

Aside from the four titles, Buffalo placed nine total wrestlers in the top four, another program record. Kevin Smith beat NIU's Kevin Fanta 4-2 in sudden victory overtime to claim third at 133 pounds. He still has NCAA tournament hopes but must wait for the wildcard announcements to decide his postseason fate. Sean Waltonlost a tough 3-2 decision to Central Michigan's Christian Cullinan to place fourth and Jimmy Hamel ended his career in Buffalo with a fourth-place finish at 184 pounds.

Brian Sheehan also finished fourth, losing in triple overtime to Northern Illinois' Mike Lukowski, 3-1. Brett Correll was awarded third place at heavyweight due to a medical forfeit by Ohio's Jeremy Johnson. Due to the conference being allocated four automatic qualifiers at heavyweight, Correll will be making his first career appearance at the NCAA tournament, the fifth Bull to make it. 

While waiting for wildcard announcements, the five Buffalo wrestlers will prepare for the national tournament with each vying for an All-American classification. The tournament will run March 17-19.

"Our assistant coaches did a phenomenal job this year. Frank Beasley and Ricky Deubel had our guys ready to go. They were all in great shape and physically healthy. A lot of the credit should go to them," Beichner said. "I think we did really good things. I'm proud of every single guy on my team. They put forth strong efforts and gave us a chance to win this tournament." 

"Most importantly, we were here to get national qualifiers and we've never had more than four but we're leaving today with five and hopefully one more," he added. We've never had more than eight place - today we had nine place. We did some things this week that were special, things that I will never forget."

Final Team Standings

1. 79.0 Central Michigan

2. 73.5 Kent State

3. 69.5 Buffalo

4. 41.5 Ohio

5. 39.5 Northern Illinois

6. 14.0 Eastern Michigan

MAC Live Web-Stream and Notes

All of the matches this weekend will be live web-streamed this weekend.  Here is a link to the web-stream and notes from the MAC:  http://mac-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9400&ATCLID=205107688
Walton will wrestle the first seed in a pigtail match (Bedelyon).

Smith is the #2 seed and will wrestle Wojick in a pigtail match.

Schutt does not have a pigtail match. He is the #2 seed and will have the winner of #3 DeShazer and Skonieczny in the semifinals.

Green is the #1 seed and  will wrestle Castillo in a pigtail match.

Lewandowski is the #1 seed and will wrestle the winner of Sulzer and #4 Cubberly in the semifinals.

Cannon is the #3 seed and has a pigtail first round.  In the Semifinals, he will have the winner of #2 Tice and Wilson.

Majerus will wrestle #4 Eggert in a pigtail match.

Hamel is the #3 seed and will wrestle Kelliher in a pigtail match.

Sheehan will take on the #2 seed Schuth in the pigtail round.

Correll will wrestle #3 seed Johnson in the first round.

Glance at the MAC Field

Central Michigan University
Head Coach Tom Borelli
2010-2011 Record, 8-8
Finished the Regular Season Ranked at the #14 Team in the Country by intermatwrestle.com
Weight - Name, Season Record, ranking/best win of the season/etc.
125 - Cullinan, 15-11, has been ranked in the top 33 in the country (Coaches Panel Ranking)
133 - Sentes, 27-6, Returning All-American
141 - Mattingly, 16-22, beat nationally ranked Skonieczny (Kent)
149 - Corby, 21-13, has been ranked in the top 25 in the country (Coaches Panel Ranking)
157 - Cubberly, 7-10, best win over nationally ranked McMurray (Michigan State)
165 - Miller, 5-3, 2X returning All-American
174 - Bennet, 25-5, returning All-American
184 - Kelliher, 13-22, best win over nationally ranked Thomas (Clarion)
197 - Friend, 3-15, moving up from 184
285 - Trice, 23-3, returning All-American

Eastern Michigan University
Head Coach Derek Delporto
2010-2011 Record, 10-11
Weight - Name, Season Record, ranking/best win of the season/etc.
125 - Germaine, 14-6, has been ranked in the top 33 in the country (Coaches Panel Ranking)
133 - Colon, 22-11, best win over top 20 ranked Stevens of Michigan
141 - LeHolm, 13-14, best win over returning National Qualifier McLemore (NIU)
149 - Phillips, 9-13, best win over Cubberly (CMU)
157 - Sulzer, 16-11, best win over top 20 ranked Gregoris (Missouri)
165 - Hendrick, 13-14, best win over nationally ranked Michaels (Cleveland State)
174 - Eggert, 15-14, best win over nationally ranked Huntley (Navy)
184 - Hoballah, 10-13, best win over Rizgallaah (Michigan State)
197 - Whitenburg15-8, has been ranked in the top 33 in the country (Coaches Panel Ranking)
285 - Wade, 20-8, has been ranked in the top 20 in the country

Kent State
Head Coach Jim Andressy
2010-2011 Record, 14-6
Ranked as a top 20 team the entire season
Weight - Name, Season Record, ranking/best win of the season/etc.
125 - Bedeylon, 20-3, returning All-American
133 - Small, 16-13, has been ranked in the top 33 in the country (Coaches Panel Ranking)
141 - Skonieczny, 17-17, has been ranked in the top 33 in the country (Coaches Panel Ranking)
149 - Clopton, 19-12, best win over returning National Qualifier Valenti (Virginia)
157 - Cathell, 14-5, 2X National Qualifier that is ranked top 15 in the country
165 - Tice, 24-11, returning National Qualifier that has been ranked top 20 in the country
174 - Johnson, 19-17, has wins this year over returning National Qualifiers Ferguson (UNC) and Sigmon (UNCG)
184 - Newburg, 22-12, has wins this year over returning National Qualifiers Graham (Bloomsburg) and Hamel (UB)
197 - Kilgore, 31-2, returning All-American
285 - Barlow, 20-10, returning MAC Champion

Northern Illinois University
Head Coach Dave Grant
2010-2011 Record 5-11
125 - Smith, 22-7, best win over Germaine (EMU)
133 - Fanta, 7-6, best win over Colon (EMU)
141 - DeShazer, 15-9, was top 16 at the National Tournament two years ago
149 - Castillo, 9-14, best win over Dozier (Michigan State)
157 - Deutsch, 19-9, has been ranked in the top 20 in the country almost all year
165 - Mougin, 8-15, best win over Cubberly (CMU)
174 - Busson, 4-10, high school stand-out in OH as a multiple time state place winner
184 - Dieckhaus, 13-8, best win over returning National Qualifier Hamel (UB)
197 - Lukowski, 6-17, best win over retuning All-American Beets (Northern Iowa)
285 - Greenhaw, 6-15, best win over nationally ranked Correll (UB)

Ohio University
Head Coach Joel Greenlee
2010-2011 Record 10-6
has been ranked as a team on the honorable mention this season
125 - Ramos, 10-6, was a NCAA Alternate last year
133 - Wojcik, 11-8, best win over nationally ranked Trumbetti (Lock Haven)
141 - Lindsey, 26-6, retuning All-American
149 - Squire, 12-3, best win over retuning National Qualifier Green (UB)
157 - Kline, 3-13, best win over Blakely (Appalachian State)
165 - Wilson, 6-17, best win over Mougin (NIU)
174 - Purdue, 27-3, retuning National Qualifier
184 - Garringer, 15-13, best win over nationally ranked Giorgio (UNC)
197 - Schuth, 19-3, multiple time retuning National Qualifier and has been ranked in the top 15 in the country
285 - Johnson, 28-10, ranked in the top 20 in the country

Predicted MAC Seeds

The following is purely a guess of the top four seeds for the MAC Championships.  I am hoping to post the real MAC seeds when we get them on Friday evening.

125 - 1. Bedelyon (Kent), 2. Ramos (Ohio), 3. Cullinan (CMU), and 4. Smith (NIU)
133 - 1. Sentes (CMU), 2. SMITH (UB), 3. Small (Kent), and 4. Fanta (NIU)
141 - 1. Lindsey (Ohio), 2 SCHUTT (UB), 3.DeShazer (NIU), and 4. Mattingly (CMU)
149 - 1. GREEN (UB), 2. Squire (Ohio), 3. Corby (CMU), and Clopton (Kent)
157 - 1. LEWANDOWSKI (UB), 2. Cathell (Kent), 3.Deutsch (NIU), and 4. Cubberly (CMU)
165 - 1. Miller (CMU), 2. Tice (Kent), 3. CANNON (UB), and 4. Hendrick (EMU)
174 - 1. Purdue (Ohio), 2. Bennett (CMU), 3. Johnson (Kent), and 4. Eggert (EMU)
184 - 1. Newburg (Kent), 2. Dieckhaus (NIU), 3. HAMEL (UB), and 4. Kelliher (CMU)
197 - 1. Kilgore (Kent), 2. Schuth (Ohio), 3. Whitenburg (EMU), and 4. SHEEHAN (UB)
285 - 1. Trice (CMU), 2. Barlow (Kent), 3. Johnson (Ohio), and 4. Wade (EMU)

NCAA Qualifiers, RPI, and Coaches Ranking

The MAC is going to automatically qualify the following number of wrestlers to the NCAA National Championships... 125 (1), 133 (2), 141 (1), 149 (1), 157 (3), 165 (1), 174 (2), 184 (1), 197 (2), and 285 (4). That means that the MAC will have 18 automatic qualifiers before the wildcards are selected.

The final RPI ranking (strength of schedule) also came out with the following UB Wrestling ranked...Kevin Smith #21 at 133 pounds, Andrew Schutt #19 at 141 pounds, Desi Green #8 at 149 pounds, Mark Lewandowski #18 at 157 pounds, John-Martin Cannon #31 at 165 pounds, and Brett Correll #28 at heavyweight.

The third and final Coaches Panel Ranking also came out recently with the following UB Wrestlers ranked... Kevin Smith #21 at 133 pounds, Desi Green #14 at 149 pounds, and Mark Lewandowski #25 at 157 pounds.