Ohio Sneaks Past Buffalo With Late Decision

ATHENS, OH - The Buffalo wrestling team opened Mid American Conference play Saturday evening at Ohio. Despite a comeback from an early deficit, the Bulls could not hold off the host Bobcats, losing 16-15 on a decision in the final match.

It was a typical conference face-off, with each team earning five wins. The difference ended up being in the 141-pound match, with Germane Lindsey earning a four point major decision over Chris Conti. The Bulls came achingly close to winning the dual, falling just a point short at 133 (Kevin Smith won 11-4) and 149 (Desi Green won 10-3). If either or both wrestlers had earned just one more point, they would have earned a major decision and bonus points.

Aside from Smith and Green, Mark Lewandowski won his 157-pound bout 4-0, John-Martin Cannon won at 165 3-2 and Jimmy Hamel won 4-3 at 184 pounds. The Bulls led 15-10 following Hamel's win, but Ohio won the following two matches to overtake Buffalo.

The Bulls are now 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the MAC. The team will return home for a match next Sunday against Kent State, who are currently ranked seventeenth in the nation. Match time is set for 1 pm. 

Results

125-Gabe Ramos (Ohio) dec. Sean Walton (UB), 10-9 (Ohio leads 3-0)

133-Kevin Smith (UB) dec. Gavin Moore (Ohio), 11-4 (Meet tied 3-3)

141-#20 Germane Lindsey (Ohio) maj. dec. Chris Conti (UB), 15-5 (Ohio leads 7-3)

149-#16 Desi Green (UB) dec. Darrin Boing (Ohio), 10-3 (Ohio leads 7-6)

157-Mark Lewandowski (UB) dec. Chris Kline (Ohio), 4-0 (UB leads 9-7)

165-John-Martin Cannon (UB) dec. Steve Wilson (Ohio), 3-2 (UB leads 12-7)

174-Nick Purdue (Ohio) dec. Ron Majerus (UB), 10-5 (UB leads 12-10)

184-Jimmy Hamel (UB) dec. Ryan Garringer (Ohio), 4-3 (UB leads 15-10)

197-#16 Erik Schuth (Ohio) dec. Josh Peters (UB), 10-6 (UB leads 15-13)

HWT-#20 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) dec. Brett Correll (UB), 4-2 (Ohio wins 16-15)

Coach Beasley's Pre-Match Notes

The match starts at 7pm tonight and will be web streamed live for free on livesportsvideo.com.

125 - Walton will battle Ramos. Ramos is a returning MAC runner-up and NCAA alternate last year.  He hasn't wrestled a lot this year but he is funky and capable of scoring a lot of points if he gets on a roll.  Ramos is 6-3 on the season.

133 - Smith will wrestle Moore.  Moore spots a 14-9 record with five of those victories coming at the Cleveland State Open.

141 - Conti will take on returning All-American Lindsey.  Lindsey placed 6th last year at the National Tournament and is very tough to score on.  He has been ranked in the top 20 all season long.  He is 20-5 so far this year.

149 - Green  will probably wrestle Boing.  Most of the season, Boing has been the back-up behind Lindsey at 141 but has successfully moved up to 149 and is competing well at the weight.  He is 12-9 currently.

157 - Lewandsowki either Kline or Gordon tonight. Gordon is 5-10 and Kline is 3-9.

165 - Cannon will take on Wilson.  Wilson has struggle a bit this year and is 6-10 currently.

174 - Majerus will have Purdue.  Purdue was a National Qualifier last season and has been ranked in the top 20 all season.  Purdue is very good when he's aggressive on his feet.  He is 20-6 on the season.

184 - Hamel will open the MAC season against Garringer.  Garringer won both of his matches last weekend and comes into tonight on a bit of a roll.  He's a redshirt freshman.  He is 12-9 and won the Michigan State Open.

197 - Peters will return to our line-up against reigning MAC Champion Schuth.  Schutt has been ranked in the top 10 in the country, is a couple of time national qualifier, and was a Reno finalist.  He sports a 14-2 record.  He is very tough on top.

Hwt - Correll will have Johnson.  Johnson leads OU in wins with 24.  He is ranked in the top 20 and was on the junior world team this past summer.  He is 24-7.

UB Takes On Ohio in Opening MAC Dual

Our match with Ohio University will be live tomorrow on livesportsvideo.com.  Ohio Univeristy is broadcasting the match for free on Live Sports Video.  Check out our first MAC Dual of the season.  We start at 7PM tomorrow evening.  Also, tomorrow, I will provide a preview of tomorrow’s match on the blog.


-Coach Beasley

UB Press Release: NYS Day 1 Recap

VESTAL, NY - Three Buffalo grapplers are still in contention for individual championships after the conclusion of day one at the New York State Intercollegiate Championships, hosted by Binghamton University.

Andrew Schutt had a busy first day as the sixth seed, having to win three straight matches just to make the semifinals of the 141-pound bracket. Schutt defeated Mike Nevinger of Cornell in the first round then pinned Tim Coughlin of Niagara County Community College in round two. To earn a spot in the semis, Schutt won a decision over number three seed Anwar Goeres of Binghamton. He'll face Casey Thome of Army in his first match tomorrow.

As the number one seed in the 133-pound bracket, junior Kevin Smith had a comparatively easier time making his way to the semifinals, winning a 6-2 decision over John Miller of Nassau County. Tomorrow he will face Seth Ecker of Ithaca tomorrow with the hopes of winning it all.

The final Bull still in championship contention is senior Jimmy Hamel, who has been the team's high scorer today as he has stomped his way in to the semifinals of the 184-pound bracket. He opened with a pin of Alex Meyers of Cornell and then a 14-3 major decision of Brian Kramer of Oneonta in the next round. His ticket to the semis was punched with yet another major decision, this time over Bobby Doyle of Army. With the top four seeds all still alive in his bracket, however, the road to the championship will be a stacked one for Hamel, who is looking to head in to conference action on a high note.

The tournament features wrestlers from schools all across the state, from Division I to Division III as well as junior colleges. After day one, Columbia leads the way with host Binghamton in second. Buffalo sits in fifth place and is resting many of its main starters in preparation for the Mid American Conference opener next weekend at Ohio. Day two of the NYS Championships will begin at 10 am tomorrow.

Second Annual Takedown Cancer Event Info Released

The University at Buffalo athletic department, in conjunction with the Bulls' wrestling program, are moving forward with its second annual Takedown Cancer event which will culminate in the Bulls facing rival Northern Illinois on Sunday, February 20 at 1 pm at Alumni Arena.

Last year's event exceeded all expectations by raising over $35,000 for former Bulls wrestler Jeff Parker, who was battling cancer, as well as Carly's Club in Buffalo, the pediatric cancer unit of Roswell Park. Parker, who hailed from Foxborough, MA, was a UB captain, vice-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at UB and a scholar-athlete who won over 70 matches for the Bulls. He lost his courageous battle to cancer on May 22, 2010 at the age of 25. 

Sales are already underway for three major fundraising initiatives for this year's event: a New Era 5950 hat that honors the memory of Parker, raffle tickets that sell for $10 each and feature a grand prize of a 58" television set, and pledge forms that will allow people to donate for the number of takedowns the Bulls will compile in the match against Northern Illinois are all available at a website devoted to the event that can be found here. 

In addition, the Parker 5950 hats and the raffle tickets will be on sale in Alumni Arena at both the UB Ticket Office and the Recreation and Intramurals Office (Room 130) during regular business hours. Cash and checks will be accepted at both locations. 

The day of the event will feature a huge raffle with numerous autographed items from the world of sports as well as numerous gift certificates and prizes from local vendors as well as long-sleeve t-shirts commemorating the second annual event. 

"Last year's event went above and beyond my wildest expectations and showed us again how caring and giving Western New York and the wrestling community is," said UB head coach Jim Beichner. "With Jeff's tragic passing in the past year, our resolve is even greater to make this event bigger and better and raise even more to assist cancer research and make a difference in both the Buffalo and Boston communities. We hope that wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike will join us on Feb. 20 to salute Jeff's life and help us in our quest to Takedown Cancer for good."