Courtesy of buffalobulls.com

MT. PLEASANT, MI – The Buffalo wrestling team opened its dual and Mid-American Conference season Saturday afternoon, taking to the road to face #11 Central Michigan. The Bulls (0-1, 0-1 MAC) were stymied in a loss, with a final score deceptive of the dual itself. Six matches were decided by two points or less, with the Bulls losing five of the six, and neither the Chippewas or the Bulls would score more than four points in a single bout until the final three matches of the day.

Central Michigan came out to a 21-0 lead after taking the first six matches. Mike Soria lost 2-0 to eighth-ranked Christian Cullinan at 125 pounds, Erik Galloway was pinned at 133 by third-ranked Scott Sentes, and Andrew Schuttlost 4-2 at 141. Blake Roulo lost by an even closer margin at 149, dropping a 3-2 decision to Donnie Corby. Wally Maziarz then lost 3-1 at 157 to Luke Smith, and Mark Lewandowski lost a rematch of last year’s 165 MAC championship bout, falling 2-1 to Mike Ottinger.

The close margins finally fell in UB’s favor in the 174-pound match, as John-Martin Cannon returned after a handful of early season injuries and earned his first win of the season with a 4-3 win over Anthony Bill. Following a major decision loss by Anthony Lock to fourth-ranked Ben Bennett, Angelo Malvestuto earned the team’s most impressive performance with a 14-1 win over Jackson Lewis to bring the overall score to 25-7. Justin Heisermanwould lost 10-3 in the heavyweight bout to Jarod Trice to give the Chips the final margin of 28-7.

This early-season dual schedule gets even harder for UB, as next up will be fifth-ranked Iowa on Monday, Dec. 17. It will be the first meeting ever between the two programs, and it will also be Buffalo’s fourth-annual Takedown Cancer Fundraiser. The dual will be held at 7 pm, but the Alumni Arena doors will open early for numerous raffles and silent auctions to help the Bulls raise money to Takedown Cancer.

More information on the event can be found on BuffaloBulls.com in the coming week.