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For the 100th time in his career UB Wrestling Coach John Stutzman has earned a dual meet victory; and the victory couldn't have came at a better time. After being blanked 41-0 by #9 Missouri, and dominated 41-3 by #14 Edinboro, the Bulls earned a much needed dual win against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville to help boost morale and build momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season and into the MAC Tournament in March.
Here are a few takeaways from today's action on the mat:
Soria Coming Back Strong: After battling through injuries and splitting time with twin brother Mike, redshirt-Junior Max Soria came out with a bang today and won by pinfall over Dakota Leach of SIUE in 1:56. Pinfall victories are a somewhat rare occurrence in the collegiate ranks and Soria's emphatic victory may be a sign of things to come if he can keep wrestling with such a torrid pace.
Lock Continues to Dominate: Sophomore Tony Lock has been the Bulls' most consistent wrestler on the mat, and he showed no signs of slowing down. He picked up his team-leading 17th victory with a 5-2 decision over Deshaun White. Lock will be dangerous in the postseason, and has a chance to earn a berth in the NCAA championships if he continues to wrestle the way he has today, and all season long.
Malvestuto Struggling; Maziarz snaps streak: Redshirt Juniors Angelo Malvestuto and Wally Maziarz extended and broke losing streaks respectively today. Maziarz, the Tonawanda native, snapped a 5 match skid with his victory by fall over Lucas Volpe of SIUE. Malvestuto, who is behind only Tony Lock on the team in victories with 16, fell to Josh Wood of SIUE by a decision of 7-4, extending his streak to 3 losses, his longest streak of the season. The Niagara Falls product will need to step up in the Bulls' last 3 dual meets and earn a few victories before the MAC Championships, because a cold streak going into a major tournament could mean trouble for Malvestuto if he wants to earn a bid to the NCAA's.
After a 4 day break the Bulls return to the mat on Friday, February 14th to face in-state rival Binghamton; before closing out the regular season with visits to MAC rivals Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.