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Buffalo To Host 2007 MAC Wrestling Championships

The major tournament is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the first round of action. With being seeded at the coaches meeting on Friday night, the first day will conclude with the Semi-finals and Wrestle-backs at 4 p.m. On Sunday, the Finals and Consolation Finals will start at 11 a.m., with the true second place final round beginning immediately after the finals.

This year's tournament field will feature 26 grapplers who have earned national recognition in variation by the four major national rankings (WrestlingReport.com, NWCA/InterMat/NWMA, W.I.N. Magazine, and Amateur Wrestling News). Central Michigan and Kent State each come into the weekend's events being ranked in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, ranked fifth and 25th respectively.

The aforementioned CMU Chippewas have contested their way to a ninth straight regular season MAC title with a perfect 5-0 conference record, and will actively seek a sixth consecutive MAC Championship title. The team set a new school record for wins with 17, in part thanks to its 10 nationally-ranked wrestlers. 125-pounder Luke Smith and 197-pounder Wynn Michalak will each look to secure their third consecutive conference titles. Heavyweight Bubba Gritter comes into this weekend ranked second in the nation according to InterMat.

Kent State was denied the best record in the conference following a 34-3 loss to Central Michigan on Feb. 18. At 15-3 and 4-1 in conference play, the Golden Flashes are poised to make a run at their first championship title since 1990. 2006 MAC Champion Kurt Gross comes into this weekend ranked third in the conference at 157 lbs., while heavyweight Jermail Porter will look to redeem himself after finishing runner-up to Buffalo's Harold Sherrell last year as a freshman.

After receiving votes in the national polls throughout the season, the Northern Illinois Huskies look to play spoiler with four nationally-ranked grapplers each eyeing individual championships. The Huskies are coming off a 3-0 weekend in which the team upped their regular season record to 6-4-1. Pat Castillo (125 lbs.), Mike Grimes (149 lbs.), and Johnny Galloway (165 lbs.) are each ranked first in the conference. Grimes leads the team with 24 wins, while Galloway is 17-2, his only two losses coming against nationally fifth-ranked Nick Maima of Northern Iowa.

At 16-8, the Ohio Bobcats enjoyed their best dual meet season under nine-year head coach Joel Greenlee. The only team last season to not qualify anyone for the NCAA Championships, the Bobcats have two grapplers ranked by WrestlingReport.com (Jacob Ison - 165 pounds, Marcus Adelman - 285 pounds). Ison led the team with 29 wins in his first collegiate campaign, while sophomore Albert Madsen went 5-0 in the conference, earning the top-ranking at 141 lbs.

Eastern Michigan ended the 2006-07 season with its first winning campaign since 1990-91 after having won five of their last six dual meets. The Eagles have finished last or tied for last in the MAC Championships in each of the last 10 seasons after having won the school's only conference tournament title in 1996. 149-pounder Jermain Thompson, ranked second in the conference, will look to win the school's first individual title since 2004 after posting 20 wins on the year.

Buffalo plays host to the MAC Championships for the second time since joining the conference in 1999. The Bulls will look to avenge its 0-5 conference record with a strong showing this weekend. Buffalo was led to a third-place finish last year thanks in part to a UB record-tying seven place winners and two champions. Senior captain Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville), ranked 15th according to InterMat, will look to repeat as MAC Champion at 133 pounds. Budd went 32-4 on the year, and was undefeated in dual meet (15-0) and conference action (5-0).

The University at Buffalo is also proud to offer live video streaming of the 2007 MAC Wrestling Championships on Sunday. For more information, visit www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/wrestling/mac07.

- UB -