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Rock Prove Sturdy in Face of Adversity, Beat Bulls, 21-17

Kyle Cerminara

The win gives the 2004 All-American 51 career dual meet wins, passing Bruce Hadsell's mark of 50 set from 1973-78.

Matt Burkholder clinched the win for Slippery Rock (14-9 overall) with a 3-1 sudden-victory win against 14th-ranked Harold Sherrell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) in the heavyweight match.

Mark Budd

After dropping a decision at 125 pounds, the Bulls (9-6 overall) got on the board with a 13-4 major decision from junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) against Sal Lascari. Budd had five takedowns, including one with 10 seconds left to secure the four team points.

After a pin put “The Rock” ahead 9-4, sophomore Dana Gingerich (Spring Grove, PA/DeLone Catholic) won his first match since Dec. 20, as the 149-pounder posted an 8-4 win against Shawn Baglio. Two escapes, a riding time and a penalty point lifted junior John Cummings (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) to a 4-3 sudden victory win against Gerald Christian, putting the Bulls back in the lead, 10-9.

Mickey Moran

Sophomore Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Pittsburgh) picked up a close 3-2 win against 30-match winner Jason Cardillo. A first-period takedown and a second-period escape was enough to withstand the pressure from the Rock's 100-win senior. Cardillo almost earned a takedown in the third period, but a potentially dangerous call before Moran hit the mat kept the points off the board.

Slippery Rock proved it wouldn't go away in the next meet, though, as Jeremiah Frederick posted the second pin of the meet, boosting Slippery Rock back into a 15-13 lead. A 1-0 decision by Charlie Pienaar helped Slippery Rock to an 18-13 lead heading into the final two matches.

The Bulls went into the meet already knowing it was the last in their 19-year rivalry with “The Rock,” the longest continuing rivalry for the Bulls, as Slippery Rock announced that wrestling was one of eight sports that was being discontinued at the end of the academic year in late January. The Rock won 10 of the 19 matches in the rivalry, winning the rubber meet Thursday night.

However, the program was also hit with the sad news that Robert E. Rich, founder of the UB wrestling program and the team's first captain and coach, had passed away this morning.

The Bulls now have two weeks to prepare for their first postseason tournament when they travel to Northern Illinois University for the Mid-American Conference Championships, which begin on Friday, March 3 at 11:00 am.

Slippery Rock 21, Buffalo 17
125: Chris Clarke (SRU) dec. Eric Piedimonte, 5-4
133: Mark Budd (UB) maj. dec. Sal Lascari, 13-4
141: David Pienaar (SRU) by fall Cliff Smith, 2:26
149: Dana Gingerich (UB) dec. Shawn Baglio, 8-4
157: John Cummings (UB) dec. SV Gerald Christian, 4-3
165: Mickey Moran (UB) dec. Jason Cardillo, 3-2
174: Jeremiah Frederick (SRU) by fall Mike Ragusa, 3:28
184: Charlie Pienaar (SRU) dec. Garrett Hicks, 1-0
197: Kyle Cerminara (UB) maj. dec. Andrew Joseph, 14-2
HWT: Matt Burkholder (SRU) dec. SV Harold Sherrell, 3-1