But CMU’s win against Kent State Sunday afternoon in McGuirk Arena earned it a share of its second consecutive Mid-American Conference championship, and its 12th in 13 years.

One person who knew another MAC title was possible was head coach Tom Borrelli. During the rough stretch, Borrelli’s resolve never waivered. Even after losses, he had a quiet confidence about him that was unique and refreshing.

One would think that even Borrelli would have lost confidence after the team traveled to Athens, Ohio, and lost 21-17, handing Ohio its first win against CMU since 1998. The loss was just its third in the last 64 MAC dual meets,

“I felt like we out-wrestled them in the dual meet, and they had three takedowns to our 10 or more,” Borrelli said after the match. “If you look at it there was a 22-point swing that the officials had to do with.”

Borrelli also attributed the bad start to a tough schedule and inexperience of a couple new athletes. The team’s record was very deceiving earlier in the year. Five of CMU’s first six losses came at the hands of teams ranked in the top 21 in the country, based on Intermat rankings. They weren’t losing against cupcakes.

“I’m proud of our team. We started 7 new guys most of the year,” he said. “We probably asked too much of our young team. I’m glad they hung in there and they fought and they fought.”

Another reason the team struggled was because for most of the season, they were without their senior All-American Mike Miller. The 165-pounder sat out most of the year with every injury imaginable.

Miller got healthy, just in time for the biggest dual of the season, and stepped right into the hero role, winning his match decisively, with more braces on him than a teenage girl. He had protective devices on his shoulder, ribs and knee.

Borrelli raved about his senior and what he has had to go through in his career.

He dislocated his shoulder this year at practice, then he sprained his knee real bad at (Las) Vegas,” he said. “For a kid to go through the things he’s gone through and still mentally be able to compete the way he does, he’s a really special kid.”

Miller said he wanted to come back to get another title.

“To me, I wanted to win the MAC championship, I wanted to do things right and have fun,” he said. “I get another MAC ring so (it) just makes it fun.”

Miller and the Chippewas are scrappy group of guys who don’t care what the rankings are, don’t care what the record is and don’t care who the opponent is.

The team has one goal: Win.

Like Borrelli said, his team ‘hung in there.’ They hung in there just long enough to snag a share of the MAC title in the last seven seconds of the final dual meet of the regular season. Sunday’s match was a microcosm of the Chippewas season. They started slow, came back, things got interesting, but eventually came out with the win.

The Chippewas (7-8 overall, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) nearly earned their first shutout of the season only losing one match in the dual.

With the win, CMU also kept its hopes alive to win a share of the Mid-American Conference championship.

EMU didn’t lead in any match until the fifth match of the night, when 157-pounder Ryan Cubberly fell behind early 1-0. But the deficit was short-lived as Cubberly came back with an escape to tie the match, forcing the only overtime match of the dual.

Cubberly’s match also provided the only controversy of the night as EMU nearly earned a victory in the first overtime period. The Eagles’ Aaron Sulzer was close to earning a two-point takedown, but the referee never awarded the points, allowing Cubberly to stay in the match and eventually get the win.

EMU’s coaches were irate when the points weren’t awarded, and were even more animated after the match, giving the referee an earful until the next match started.

Head coach Tom Borrelli said he was extremely happy with his team’s performance in the dual.

“That might be the most comfortable win we’ve had all year,” he said. “We’ve been pretty inconsistent most of the year. This was the first time we were real consistent throughout the whole dual meet. That’s a good time for that to happen.”

CMU earned two major decisions in the dual. Junior 133-pounder Scotti Sentes won 17-6, and sophomore 174-pounder No. 7 Ben Bennett shutout his opponent 13-0.

No. 11 Sentes handily defeated EMU’s Filiberto Colon, who came into the match 17-9 on the season. Sentes won his sixth consecutive match, improving to 25-6 this season.

“I know he’s really funky. He either wanted to pin me or get pinned,” Sentes said about Colon. “The guy I have from Kent State is kind of like that too. So it was real good to go out there and wrestle a kid similar to a kid I’m going to wrestle later on.”

Borrelli said Sentes has wrestled well all season, facing some opponents’ best wrestlers.

“Scotti’s been wrestling really good. He’s wrestled really, really good competition this year, our whole team has,“ he said. “Like Scotti said, the guy he wrestled is kind of a flip-flopper, and Scotti’s really good at wrestling those guys.”

CMU improves its all-time record against EMU to 53-9-1, winning 20 straight meetings. The Chippewas have beaten the Eagles more than any other team in program history, and haven’t lost to EMU since 1991.

CMU now turns its attention to Kent State Sunday in its regular season finale in a dual meet that will determine the MAC champion.

KSU (14-5 overall, 4-0 MAC) sits atop the conference as the only undefeated team in MAC play. The Golden Flashes come into the match, winners of eight in a row and will look to hold off CMU to win the MAC title outright.

If CMU wins, both teams will have an identical 4-1 record in conference play and will share the regular season title. Ohio can also earn a three-way tie of the conference crown with a win against EMU Sunday, paired with a CMU victory over Kent State.

Borrelli said he expects the match against KSU to be a very close, exciting match. He said it will be a pivotal match for both teams.

“This is a real important event for Kent State every year. Kent State has tried to gauge the success of their program on how they do against us,” he said. “Obviously we’re fighting to stay at the top of the MAC and it’s big for us too.”

But when Buffalo took an 14-13 lead in Sunday’s match, the No. 17 Chippewas found themselves dangerously close to doing so again.

CMU (6-8 overall, 2-1 MAC) defeated the Bulls 19-14 Sunday at McGuirk Arena, getting a big contribution from an unlikely source.

Junior Chad Friend made his debut at 197 pounds and won just his third match all year to give the Chippewas a lead that they wouldn’t look back from.

Friend (3-13), who has wrestled all season at 184 pounds, said he is more comfortable at 197 pounds because it’s closer to his natural weight.

“Since I moved up, I’ve got a lot more energy out there,” he said. “I feel a lot stronger and I feel like I’m able to create a lot more offense.”

CMU began the dual in dominating fashion, taking an early 9-0 lead after winning each of the first three matches. But Buffalo (8-8 overall, 1-3 MAC) bounced back, taking the lead 11-9 after winning the next three matches, including earning major decisions at 149 and 157 pounds.

Head coach Tom Borrelli said the three consecutive wins for Buffalo were by its best wrestlers. Sophomore Donnie Corby suffered a 9-4 loss to the Bulls’ Desi Green, who is ranked 14th in the country at 149 pounds. Junior Eric Cubberly lost at 165 pounds to John-Martin Cannon, who Borelli said was the conference runner-up last season.

With a two-point deficit, CMU’s Ben Bennett took the mat and reclaimed the lead with a decisive 11-0 major decision over Ron Majerus at 174 pounds. Bennett scored three takedowns in the match to improve to 23-5 overall.

Sporting a 13-11 lead in the dual, redshirt freshman Craigh Kelliher debuted at 184 pounds. Kelliher was tied with his opponent Jimmy Hamel going into the final period, but suffered two takedowns and was penalized for an illegal hold, allowing Hamel to win 5-3, which gave the Bulls a 14-13 lead.

Borrelli said the coaching staff wanted to swap Kelliher and Friend at 184 and 197 pounds earlier this season, but had to wait because of NCAA weight loss restrictions. He said Kelliher needed to work down to 184 pounds slowly.

“(Kelliher’s) been wrestling at 197, but he’s been weighing in at like 192, 189, 187 (pounds),” Borrelli said. “This was the first weekend he could go at 184, so it just worked out well.”

Borrelli said the coaches thought Friend wasn’t displaying enough energy at 184 pounds, so a switch needed to be made.

“We just noticed Chad having a hard time, not competing with the same intensity that he was practicing with,” he said. “I think making the weight was taking a lot out of him.”

Despite Friend’s victory, a loss from junior heavyweight Jarod Trice would have spelled doom for the Chippewas in the dual. The No. 2 All-American fell behind early in his match and was down 1-0 going into the third period, but Trice earned an escape and scored an emphatic takedown, to take the lead 3-1.

Trice added another takedown and a riding time point to secure the victory, the team win in the dual, and an undefeated 16-0 record all-time against Buffalo.

“It was nice to get a win,” Borrelli said. “Any time we can win right now, and not just from a team standpoint, but any time we’re competing well as individuals is really important this time of year.”

CMU, which has won 64 of its last 67 conference dual meets, ends the regular season with two MAC duals at home this week. The Chippewas host Eastern Michigan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Kent State at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The CMU wrestling team doesn’t lose against Mid-American Conference opponents. But that was the case Friday as CMU fell to Ohio 21-17 for just its third loss in 66 conference dual meets.

The No. 12 Chippewas (5-8 overall, 1-1 MAC) snapped a 12-match winning streak against the Bobcats (8-4 overall 3-0 MAC), suffering two defensive falls and an overtime loss, which proved to be too much for CMU.

Head coach Tom Borrelli said it was tough to overcome pin fall losses, especially after 125-pounder Christian Cullinan, and 174-pounder Ben Bennett were ahead in each of their respective matches.

“That’s a nine point swing in each of those matches,” Borrelli said. “You go from gaining three points for your team to them gaining six points for their team. I don’t know that you can overcome that.”

Junior 133-pounder Scotti Sentes was one of the bright spots for the Chippewas winning his fourth match in a row, improving to 24-6 this season. CMU also earned victories from sophomore Donnie Corby, juniors Eric Cubberly and Chad Friend and senior Jarod Trice at 149, 165, 184, and 285 pounds respectively.

The victory for Friend was just his second decision of the season (2-13). His 6-5 win over Ohio’s Ryan Garringer brought the Chippewas back to within four points at 18-14.

Borelli said he’s pleased with Friend’s improvement as the season progresses.

“He’s really coming on right now. He scored three takedowns in that match,” he said. “We’re excited for him, and hopefully he’ll continue to make progress.”

But Friend’s victory was the closest CMU would get as 197-pounder Craig Kelliher fell in the next match to No. 16 Erik Schuth, extending CMU’s deficit to 21-14, forcing Trice to pin his opponent in the heavyweight match to force overtime.

No. 2 Trice defeated No. 20 Jeremy Johnson, but wasn’t able to earn a pin fall, which sealed CMU’s fate, falling to Ohio for the first time in Mount Pleasant since 1998.

Injuries

The Chippewas have been riddled with injuries at key positions all year long. Two-time All-American 165 pounder Mike Miller sat out for the second consecutive match, forcing CMU to make changes in the middle of its lineup. The senior has suffered knee and shoulder injuries that have sidelined him for much of the last two seasons, and Miller is currently on the bench with a rib injury.

Borelli said he has tried to look at the injury bug as a positive. He said with such a young team, he’s been able to move guys around, wrestling them in positions they wouldn’t normally be in.

“Its given us an opportunity to get other guys ready that probably wouldn’t get an opportunity to wrestle,” he said. “That’s actually made our team stronger, and once we get everyone healthy, I think by the end of the year, we’re going to have a strong situation.”

Despite the disappointing record, Borelli said his team is in a good position, and getting better every day.

“I think we need to keep doing what we’re doing. I think our guys are going to peak at the right time of the year,” he said. “I already see them improving a lot this last month of the season.”

The Chippewas return to action on Feb. 13 at home against Buffalo.

The Chippewas dual meet against Old Dominion wasn’t the only event going on at McGuirk arena on Sunday afternoon. The wrestling team shared the arena with the gymnastics team in the inaugural Royal Rumble and Tumble.

Both CMU teams won their respective contests. The wrestling team beat ODU 18-16 and the gymnast’s defeated Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois 195.750-189.100.

The event was the brainchild of head coach Tom Borrelli and gymnastics head coach Jerry Reighard, who originally developed the concept of having simultaneous meets four years ago.

“We never felt we had the space in the arena to accomplish it,” Reighard said. “We’ve both been in meets similar to this and it’s always been a great atmosphere.”

One would think that athletes from both sports would be distracted by all the activity happening by while they are competing, but junior wrestler Scotti Sentes said he wasn’t affected when he hit the mat.

“Once you get there out there, you don’t notice anything,” he said. “All I hear is my coaches. I kind of just shut everything else out.”

Although Sentes said the gymnasts didn’t distract him during competition, he joked that he didn’t know what to do when he was on the bench.

“I was kind of a deer caught in headlights, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “It was my own fault. (Borrelli) told Christian (Cullinan) what to do and I was supposed to pay attention and I didn’t pay too good attention to what he was telling us to do, and I guess it showed.”

Borrelli said he thought the potentially distracting atmosphere was helpful for his team for when it travels to the NCAA Championships in March.

“At the NCAA Tournament, the first two rounds, there’s eight mats going. So there’s a lot of stuff going on in the arena,” he said. “There’s a lot of noise, a lot of things that were going on today. Our guys have to learn how to focus in that situation if they want to be successful.”

The simultaneous meet was the first of it’s kind for CMU athletics, and both coaches agreed that they they’d enjoy doing it again.

“Anytime you have a big crowd, it’s great for both sports,” he said. “Hopefully we created some more fans in the community. Anytime we can have that environment, it’s good for our whole athletic department.”

Sophomore guards Finis Craddock and John Morris came off the bench and played extended minutes for the Chippewas. Craddock scored seven points, all in the first half, and played 22 minutes.

Morris, who had played only four minutes all season, played 10 minutes, tallying two steals and a rebound.

“Coach told us we all need to step up since we’re a man down,” Craddock said. “We all just had to come in and play some good (defense), come in and bring a lot of energy.”

Despite the young guy’s efforts, CMU lost 68-58, falling to 5-14 overall and 2-4 in the Mid-American Conference.

True freshman guard Derek Jackson started in place of Rashid, also playing more minutes than usual, with 31.

CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler said he was pleased with the play of the inexperienced guards.

“I thought we did a pretty good job offensively,” he said. “ I thought John Morris came in and gave us some really good minutes. (You play) the hand that you’re dealt and just keep pushing forward.”

Senior forward Jalin Thomas, who returned to the lineup for the first time in three games since suffering an ankle injury, said there was an unfamiliar feeling being on the floor without Rashid.

“His senior leadership, I think we missed that,” he said. “(We missed) his tenacity and the way he always gets up in the ball. Not having him there on the court tonight was different, but it is what it is.”

Craddock said despite the absence of Rashid, the Chippewas game plan remained the same. He said the team focused on coming out and play hard, and sticking to the same defensive strategy.

Rashid’s experience will be sorely missed. He was the point guard and floor general for the Chippewas. He led the team in assists and was third in minutes. Zeigler said the replacement’s roles will dramatically increase as the season progresses.

“Derek takes on that role of being our primary defender on the ball. That’s probably where we’ll miss Amir the most,” he said. “We need more energy coming off the bench and hopefully that’s something (Craddock) can improve upon.”

Zeigler said his team won’t be affected mentally moving forward without Rashid.

“I thought we came out with the right mindset,” he said. “In basketball, just like life, things happen. It’s a teaching point for our guys. The next guy gets an opportunity.”

Miller (3-3), who competed for the first time since Dec. 12 against Lehigh, is coming off knee and shoulder injuries that have sidelined him for most of the season.

The 165-pound senior won his match against Michigan’s Dan Yates 9-7 for the 12th ranked Chippewas in the only overtime match. He was awarded a two-point takedown about 30 seconds into the overtime period.

“I needed to wrestle. I’ve been riddled with injuries since last year,” Miller said. “It just felt good to be out there. There’s no better way than to come back out in front of 4,000 fans at home.”

A rusty Miller started slowly, facing an early 6-3 deficit, but Yates suffered an injury at the end of the first period, and was slow to get up after every whistle.

Miller, who exploited Yates’ fatigue, was one of only four CMU individual winners and said he got a big boost from the crowd in the third period.

“(The crowd) pumps you up. I was ready to go,” he said. “I had nothing to lose going out there.”

Head coach Tom Borelli said he was pleased with the veteran’s bounce-back performance.

“(He had a) very gutty performance. He showed a lot of guts, and found a way to win the match,” he said. “Mike has a lot of guts, a lot of heart. Those things are invaluable.”

Miller said because of his shoulder injury he’s had to change his wresting technique.

“I can’t do what I have done previously. I have to be smart about my wrestling,” he said. “I’ve had to change some things up, and that boosts my confidence knowing I can come back and win close matches.”

Borelli said Miller’s health is crucial to the team’s performance for the rest of the year.

“If he stays healthy he’ll help a lot,” he said. “He’s not been able to train consistently because of injuries.”

The No. 12 Chippewas will host a match for the first time in McGuirk Arena in front of an expected sellout crowd. Head coach Tom Borrelli said he expects the atmosphere to be electric.

“Our guys are going to be excited to be at home, its the first match in the new arena,” he said. “I think its going to be a really good crowd.”

Borelli said having the comforts of being at home go beyond having fan support.

“It’s just easier to wrestle at home. Making weight is a little easier, you’re sleeping in your own bed,” he said. “There’s just a different comfort level.”

The Chippewas lost two of three matches at the National Duals last weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa. CMU fell to nationally ranked Missouri and Virginia Tech, but was able to defeat Purdue to bring the team record to 3-6.

CMU hosts Michigan, which is coming off a loss against No. 2 Penn State last week. The Wolverines (4-2) host No. 21 Purdue today before traveling to Mount Pleasant for Sunday’s match.

CMU defeated Michigan in each of the team’s last three matches dating back to the 2006-2007 season. The Chippewas were expected to face Michigan again last season, but the match was taken off the schedule. Speculation was that the Wolverines didn’t want to face CMU after losing three years in a row.

Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice said he can’t wait to face Michigan.

“It’s going to be crazy. There’s going to be a lot of people there and it’s a big rival because Michigan was scared to wrestle us last year,” Trice said. “So hopefully they come in and we wrestle tough and walk away with a ‘W’.”

Borelli said Michigan is a team on the rise and said his team will have to perform well to be successful.

“They’ve improved almost every time they’ve competed this year,” he said. “They just took second at the Virginia Duals and moved up in the rankings because of that. It’s going to be a good challenge.”

Trice and junior 133-pounder Scotti Sentes both lost to Michigan wrestlers at the Cliff Keen Invitational in December in Las Vegas. Borelli said he’s looking for them to avenge those losses and set an example for the rest of the team.

The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The 6-foot, 9-inch forward came to Mount Pleasant from Northeastern Oklahoma A & M by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler said he gives most of the credit of landing Coimbra to assistant coaches Darren Kohne, Terrance Chatman and Keith Noftz.

“We talked about identifying a need, needing an athletic rebounder who can score,” he said. “Coach (Darren) Kohne did an excellent job of finding Andre, and once we found him, I did a heck of a job of closing.”

Coimbra has only been in the U.S. for two years and said he is still working on transitioning to American life.

“My first six months, I didn’t speak English at all. My classes were super hard, and I had a tutor 24 hours a day,” he said. “I still work at it and I still have a tutor, and my teammates help me.”

With an 85-inch wingspan, Coimbra brings size and length to the Chippewas frontcourt. But he can also stretch the defense with his shooting ability.

Coimbra has started the season 4-7 from three-point range and said his outside game is a work in progress.

“I really like to shoot,” he said, joking. “Coach says hold and follow through. If I hold and follow through, I would make some shots.”

Zeigler said Coimbra’s versatility is a big boost for he team. With the departure of former forward Chris Kellermann, Zeigler said Coimbra, an athletic big man who can lock down in the post defensively, fits in well into CMU’s system.

“We just have to get him touches,” Zeigler said. “He’s our leading shooter, percentage wise, and he has the least amount of shots, so something has to change.”

Coimbra has started the last two games for the Chippewas (1-3) after coming off the bench in the first two contests.

His minutes increased in each of the first three games, but Zeigler said Coimbra’s skills are still raw and he is still adapting to Division I college basketball.

“On a scale of one to 10, he’s probably at a five in terms of dealing with his transition,” he said. “He’s shown flashes of his ability. Now we just have to get him to have some consistent performances while he‘s still trying to learn the nuances of what we’re doing.”

The Chippewas frontcourt has been somewhat depleted as of late.

Zeigler and his staff decided to redshirt freshman forward Jevon Harden and freshman center Nate VanArendonk didn’t make the trip to face South Alabama, forcing the Brazilian to play forward and center.

Coimbra said he likes having an opportunity to step outside, so he prefers playing forward, but said he has no problem playing center if it helps the team win.

He returns to action at 8 p.m. Wednesday when the Chippewas travel to Chicago to take on the University of Illinois-Chicago.

That won’t be the case today when the CMU wrestling team travels to Ithaca, N.Y., to face the nation’s No. 1 seed Cornell.

The Chippewas go into their first dual meet of the season ranked fifth nationally on InterMat’s team ranking and ninth on the NWCA/USA Today Coaches’ Poll.

Although CMU has competed three times this season, this will be the first scoring match and the first time the Chippewas will feature most of their primary starters.

Head coach Tom Borrelli, now in his 20th season, said he is excited to see what his team can do this weekend.

“It should be a good way to start the season,” he said. “Our goal is to go in there and compete really hard and see how good they are, and how good we are.”

Last weekend, Cornell competed in the Binghamton Open, and Borrelli said because the Big Red wrestled most of their starters, they will have a slight advantage.

“Most of our starters haven’t competed yet,” he said. “We still have some things we’re trying to figure out in a few weight classes.”

CMU boasts the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the nation in Jarod Trice. Trice was an All-American selection a year ago and will make his season debut Friday.

Although the Chippewas feature veterans like Trice, Borelli said he is looking forward to the performances of three inexperienced wrestlers.

“I’m looking for big things out of Chad Friend, Donnie Corby and Adam Miller,” he said. “I think those guys are in some pretty important matches.”

Friend is a junior who can wrestle in either the 184- or 197-pound weight class. Corby is a sophomore in the 149-pound class, and Miller is a redshirt freshman seeing his first true action in the 157-pound class.

Another wrestler that will see his first real action this weekend is redshirt freshman Craig Kelliher. Kelliher will compete this season in the 197-weight class after competing unattached twice last year in the 184-pound class. He said he is looking forward to facing Cornell.

“(There will be) a big crowd and anytime you get a lot of people in an event it’s nice,” he said. “With wrestling, anytime you get a lot of people to come to an event, you can feel the energy.”

Body Bar Invite

After the meet against Cornell, CMU will stay in Ithaca to compete in the Body Bar Invitational. Among the 11 teams competing in the invitational, CMU will face MAC opponents Buffalo and No. 18 ranked Kent State.

Borrelli said the invitational will be a good way for CMU to see a lot of other teams early in the season.

“I think our guys will get some good quality competition, even the guys who don’t wrestle in the dual meet,” he said. “We’ll have some extra guys that will get some matches in and we’ll be able to evaluate them. We’re trying to take those evaluations and decide who our starters will be.”

Borrelli said he doesn’t think anyone on his team will be intimidated by facing the No. 1 team in the country.

“I don’t think we have anything to lose. There’s no pressure on us,” he said. “We’re underdogs in the match and we should just go out there and make it happen.”
Kelliher agreed, saying that there isn’t a whole lot of pressure on the team.

“(Their ranking) doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “It’s a number. If you look back, how many times does the guy ranked first end up winning at the end of the season? Things are going to change.”