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COLUMBUS, OH - The University at Buffalo wrestling team suffered its first losses of the season against outstanding competition Saturday at the Buckeye Duals at Ohio State University.

The Bulls defeated Eastern Illinois, 25-14, but dropped a 32-6 decision to No. 3 Lehigh and also lost to Indiana, 27-8, to fall to 9-2 overall. Lehigh was the only team to go unbeaten in the event, while the host Buckeyes went 2-1. Junior Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter), senior Mike Trotta (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) and Cliff Smith (Merrick, NY/Calhoun) each won a pair of matches for Buffalo.

Mike Trotta

Buffalo fell to national powerhouse Lehigh by a 32-6 score to open the day. Lehigh jumped to a 19-0 lead by winning the first four matches before Cerminara defeated Matt Cassidy by a 4-3 score at 197 pounds. The only other winner for the Bulls was Trotta, who defeated Taylor Graham by an 8-1 score.

Buffalo posted a 25-14 win over Eastern Illinois in the second match of the day, rebounding from an early 10-0 deficit. The Bulls got things going when Cerminara posted a 13-6 win over Jim Kassner after a forfeit was awarded at 184 pounds to UB's Garrett Hicks (Chautauqua, NY/Chautauqua Lake). Buffalo, trailing 14-9 after the heavyweight bout, took the final four matches to win 25-14. At 125 pounds, freshman Mark McKnight (McDonald, PA/South Fayette) claimed a 13-5 win, Smith won by forfeit at 133 pounds, Trotta claimed a 10-5 win at 141 pounds and freshman Patrick Lloyd (Middletown, NY/Valley Central) closed the match with an 11-5 win at 149 pounds.

In the final match of the day, the Hoosiers of Indiana beat the Bulls, 27-8, although six matches were decided by four points or less. The only winners for UB were junior Nick Rausenberg (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free) at 165 pounds and Smith at 133 pounds. Rausenberg beat Nathan McMillian, 5-0, while Smith scored a technical fall (16-1) win over Pat Barth. Cerminara suffered a fall at the hands of #18 Pat DeGain (by The Wrestling Mall), the same wrestler who eliminated him from the NCAA Championships as a freshman, while Trotta lost 6-2 to No. 6 Coyte Cooper.

Two of Buffalo's top wrestlers - freshman McKnight at 125 pounds and senior Ed Pawlak (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern) at 174 pounds - had tough days against nationally-ranked competition. McKnight dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 14 Mario Stuart of Lehigh. Pawlak, meanwhile, dropped a 6-2 decision to No. 1 Brad Dillon of Lehigh and also lost to nationally-ranked Brady Richardson of Indiana by a narrow 3-2 decision.

Cerminara improved to 24-3 overall on the day while Trotta is now 21-12 on the season with his two wins.

The match-by-match results:

No. 3 Lehigh 32, Buffalo 6

Wgt. Winner School Result Loser Score/Time Match Score

157 Derrick Zink LU F Casey Burchfield 2:22 LU, 6-0

165 Troy Letters LU F Nick Rausenberger 4:21 LU, 12-0

174 Brad Dillon LU D Ed Pawlak 6-2 LU, 15-0

184 Travis Frick LU MD Garrett Hicks 14-6 LU, 19-0

197 Kyle Cerminara UB D Matt Cassidy 4-3 LU, 19-3

Hwt Paul Weibel LU MD Greg Thomas 15-3 LU, 23-3

125 Mario Stuart LU D Mark McKnight 3-2 LU, 26-3

133 Matt Cissuli LU D Cliff Smith 8-5 LU, 29-3

141 Mike Trotta UB D Taylor Graham 8-1 LU, 29-6

149 Matt Anderson LU D Patrick Lloyd 8-1 LU, 32-6

Buffalo 25, Eastern Illinois 14

157 Clay French EIU D Casey Burchfield 7-2 EIU, 3-0

165 Matt Veach EIU MD Nick Rausenberger 13-5 EIU, 7-0

174 A. Mangiaguerra EIU D Ed Pawlak 8-5 EIU, 10-0

184 Garrett Hicks UB Forfeit EIU, 10-6

197 Kyle Cerminara UB D Jim Kassner 13-6 EIU, 10-9

Hwt Peter Ziminski EIU D Greg Thomas 8-0 EIU, 14-9

125 Mark McKnight UB MD Kevin McNichols 13-5 EIU, 14-13

133 Cliff Smith UB Forfeit UB, 19-14

141 Mike Trotta UB D Kevin Fangerow 10-5 UB, 22-14

149 Patrick Lloyd UB D Kevin Jordan 11-5 UB, 25-14

Indiana 27, Buffalo 8

157 Matt Cooper IU D Casey Burchfield 15-13 IU, 3-0

165 Nick Rausenberger UB D Nathan McMillian 5-0 Tied, 3-3

174 Brady Richardson IU D Ed Pawlak 3-2 IU, 6-3

184 Andy Rios IU D Garrett Hicks 15-11 IU, 9-3

197 Pat DeGain IU F Kyle Cerminara 6:07 IU, 15-3

Hwt Joel Powers IU D Greg Thomas 7-2 IU, 18-3

125 Joe Dubuque IU D Mark McKnight 3-1 21-3

133 Cliff Smith UB TF Pat Barth 16-1 21-8

141 Coyte Cooper IU D Mike Trotta 6-2 24-8

149 Cameron Sakon IU D Patrick Lloyd 4-2 27-8