The Boston University men’s wrestling team started the weekend in grand style Friday night, recording its first shutout of the season, before falling to the East Stroudsburg University Warriors, 24-13, on Sunday afternoon.
The Terriers trounced the Wagner College Seahawks, 56-0, Friday night at The Roof. Backed by strong performances from sophomores Mike Roberts and Mike Cubillos, no Terrier lost a grapple all night.
BU set the pace against its CAA opponent early, as freshman Abbie Rush pinned Seahawk sophomore Nicholas Keshecki just 5:13 past the opening whistle. Following two consecutive takedowns and a reversal, Rush caught Keshecki off balance and pinned the 125-pounder on his back.
“Rush really dominated him right away,” said BU coach Carl Adams. “He had a couple takedowns and reversals that really let him control the match. He finally turned the kid around and got him on his back for the pin, but he wrestled well throughout the round.”
Freshman Joey Whitaker followed Rush’s example in the second bout, racking up seven points on two takedowns and two reversals before pinning his opponent at the 2:53 mark.
The Terriers went on to capture the final eight matches with ease, as three wins came from forfeits and all but one of the other victories came via technical falls and pins.
“Overall, everyone wrestled pretty well, but there is still room to improve,” Adams said. “I think the big thing is that we are starting freshman, and they do wrestle well. But there are times when they wrestle juniors and seniors with more experience.”
The final match of the night was the closest, as sophomore Orey Hall went the distance against Seahawk heavyweight Angelo D’Amico. Despite falling behind early in the match, Hall put together a strong two-minute stretch that saw the 235-pound Terrier record an escape and a takedown to clinch the bout, 6-5.
The Terriers’ sweep gave them their largest margin of victory over the past two seasons.
“You can’t put a lot of stock in [the shutout],” Adams said. “We need to keep focus and understand that the key is to work hard in believe in what we are able to do.”
BU’s domination at The Roof came to a halt Sunday afternoon, as ESU outmaneuvered the Terriers en route to a 24-13 victory.
The Terriers fell behind early when East Stroudsburg captured three of the duel’s first four matches. Sophomore Jim Connors was the lone BU heavyweight to post a victory, earning a forfeit in the 197-pound weight class.
The forfeit closed the Warriors’ lead to just three points, 9-6, but senior Charles Deighton’s overtime win over Hall in the fourth bout erased the six-point swing.
Rush earned BU’s second set of points in the fifth bout by defeating sophomore Steve Gambino. Rush’s 15-6 decision pushed the Terriers to within two, but dominating performances from juniors John Stout and Sean Carr extended the Warriors’ lead to an insurmountable eight point margin.
Sophomore Mike Roberts provided BU’s final push with his 4-3 decision over junior Scott Heckman.
“I think one of the big things is that we are starting freshman and it’s really tough,” Adams said. “There are times when they wrestle juniors and seniors with more experience and they are overmatched. But that comes with time. They all have talent. They just need to show it consistently in matches like this.
“We didn’t wrestle as well as we could have against East Stroudsburg,” Adams continued. “We lost a few matches in overtime that could have gone either way, but I think overall we need to be more consistent. We work very hard, but we need to push ourselves to make sure we put together back to back wins.”
The loss to ESU drops BU 6-6 in head-to-head competition this year. The Terriers travel to Springfield tonight, as they take on Springfield College at 7:30 p.m. The Pride, who are coming off a two-win performance last weekend, sits at 8-12 on the year.
“Our goal is to win and dominate,” Adams said. “Typically, we have had decent matches against Springfield, but we expect to go down there tonight and win.”