Senior wrestlers go out with a win at McGuirk Arena during Royal Rumble and Tumble
No. 12 wrestling defeated Eastern Michigan 31-6 at its last home meet of the season on Friday during the Royal Rumble and Tumble and senior day.
All five Chippewas seniors were victorious in their matches, first of which to wrestle was No. 11 Christian Cullinan at 125 pounds. Cullinan gave CMU an early 3-0 lead by winning 4-0 against freshman Alexander Calandrino
“I feel that we wrestled very well,” said head coach Tom Borrelli said. “We had some close matches, but we rallied back in those matches, and won. We were dominant in most of our matches and I’m pleased with the outcome of the match.”
No. 7 133-pounder Scotti Sentes continued the senior class domination with a 5-1 win against Eagles senior Filiberto Colon.
With the gymnastics team competing at the same time and it being senior day, Sentes said he had a little extra excitement.
“I was a little more excited than usual,” Sentes said. “There was a lot going on tonight. We just have to see if we can continue this going forward.”
No. 5 heavyweight Jarod Trice finished his career in McGuirk Arena with a 3-1 win against EMU freshman Anthony Abro, while No. 2 184-pounder Ben Bennett won 13-3 against junior Khodor Hoballah.
149-pounder Donnie Corby beat Mike Shaw in a 7-2 decision to give his team a 15-0 lead.
“It’s nice to see guys progress over the years,” coach Borrelli said. "Their importance to the team won’t be overlooked.”
It wasn't just the seniors racking up the points for the Chippewas.
Junior 141-pounder Scott Mattingly pinned junior Seth Schaner in the 2nd period, gaining CMU the only pin of the night increasing the lead to 12-0.
“I expected my seniors to wrestle well tonight,” Borrelli said. “I didn’t expect them to let all their hard work be for nothing.”
With the win, CMU clinched the outright Mid-American Conference regular-season championship.
It's the fourth-straight MAC Championship for the Chippewas.
The team will finish its season on the road, and they wrestle next in Palo Alto, California when they take on Stanford on Saturday Feb. 16.
They will be back in Michigan, to take on Michigan State in East Lansing to end the regular-season.
