"I thought we made a lot of mistakes and we still won today," said UB Wrestling Head Coach Jim Beichner candidly of Buffalo's 23-20 victory over Lock Haven at Alumni Arena Thursday night. Buffalo, ranked fifth out of six in the MAC pre-season poll, defeated LHU, who are ranked at No. 20 by Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat Wrestling, in an exciting comeback.
LHU pitted reigning All-American Mike Maney in the 141-pound weight class, as well as five returning starters from a team that ended the 2001-02 season with a 17-4 (6-1 Eastern Wrestling League) record.
Buffalo struck early as upstart Mike Sebaaly pinned Leslie Morrow for a 6-0 Buffalo lead in the 125-pound match-up. The sophomore is somewhat of a surprise to some but is quickly establishing himself as one of UB's premiere wrestlers, with a third place finish in last week's prestigious Oklahoma Gold tournament.
"Mike Sebaaly is on a roll, he's got confidence and he's wrestling very well," said Beichner.
LHU's senior Justin Owens matched Sebaaly with a pin on junior Mike Trotta within seconds of the start of the 133-pound match. Buffalo lost the next two matches and found themselves in a hole early and were desperately looking for a turn of momentum.
"We took a downward spiral with the lightweights that we did not expect ... it seemed like the team was in a little bit of decline mentally," Beichner recalled. "I think Gary Cooper was the catalyst for the rest of the team."
Indeed, Cooper's electrifying pin over LHU's Mike Greenberg in the 174-pound class revived the Bulls as the pin brought the score to 15-17. Captain Garrett Bontempo followed up with a dominant performance over Morgan Horner in the 184-pound competition, and Buffalo found themselves on top. Kyle Cerminara proved why he is ranked No. 1 in the MAC's 197-pound class as he won his match and scored five points for UB.
Freshman Tom Curl fell 3-2 in the heavyweight match but Bontempo's and Cerminara's victories had UB ahead by enough to score the win.
Critics might call Buffalo's victory against a No. 20 team a fluke, but Coach Beichner does not agree.
"I don't think it was in any way a fluke," Beichner said. "I think it was a full team effort. This is no disrespect to (Lock Haven), but I thought we made a lot of mistakes and still won."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
