Wrestling begins important stretch Sunday against Buffalo
You can talk about a straight forward fact, such as the Central Michigan wrestling team’s 15-0 all-time record against Buffalo.
Such a forthright might suggest CMU has a strong chance of winning this weekend, but previous weeks would prove that the program isn’t exactly mirroring the dominance of recent years.
CMU (5-8, 1-1 MAC) hit the mat to take on OU a week ago, looking to repeat a 40-0 performance from the 2009-10 season. Instead, two Chippewas were pinned as the team fell to Ohio 21-17.
Head coach Tom Borrelli laughed when asked about the OU match, saying “We got some tough calls, I’ll put it that way.”
Frustrated with the referee’s judgment, Borrelli lost a point for his team and said he expected it to fire up the mafter after losing a close match.
Sitting in fifth place in the conference, the team has big shoes to fill as a program looking for its 10th consecutive MAC title.
Buffalo (8-7, 1-2 MAC) is coming off its first conference win of the season, knocking off Eastern Michigan 20-12 Wednesday. Though UB’s conference record isn’t worth bragging about, both of its conference losses were to Ohio and Kent State, ranked one and two in the MAC, respectively.
The Bulls are led by 149-pounder Desi Green (No. 14), whose 26-4 season record includes three wins against MAC opponents. His 40 takedowns on the season leads his team – 15 more than the second highest, 133-pounder Kevin Smith (30-10).
“They’re having a good year, though they’re a little deceiving as far as their MAC record,” Borrelli said. “They have some guys on their team who’ve had success in our league.”
Sophomore Donnie Corby is coming off back-to-back wins against Ohio and Old Dominion, posting a 19-13 record, including 2-0 in the MAC.
CMU came out on top of Buffalo by a 35-3 score when they met on Valentine’s Day 2010, though only the Chippewas’ big three wrestled in that match.
Junior Scotti Sentes picked up a 4-1 decision against Smith, while Ben Bennett and Jarod Trice each picked up bonus points in their respective matches.
The Chippewas will look to bounce back from a disappointing finish at Ohio when they host the Bulls at 2 p.m. Sunday at McGuirk Arena. The meet is the first of three at home over the span of a week. They currently sit in third place in the MAC, behind Ohio (9-4, 3-0 MAC) and Kent State (12-5, 2-0 MAC).
“We’re improving right now, and the good thing is we’ve got some time (at home),” Borrelli said. “According to our record and on paper, maybe we should be fifth (place), but I don’t think we’ll end up there.”
