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SAINT LOUIS, MO - With a 2-1 overtime victory over 11th-seeded Pat DeGain of Indiana during Friday evening's session at the NCAA Championships, junior Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) became the first-ever male Division I All-American in University at Buffalo history.

All-American Kyle Cerminara

Cerminara and DeGain's match in the All-America Round went into overtime tied at one. No points were scored during the opening one-minute sudden victory period, so it then moved into a pair of 30-second tiebreaker periods. Cerminara rode out DeGain in the first one, and then scored a one-point escape in the second session to earn the win.

With that victory, Cerminara clinched a spot in the top eight within the 197-pound weight class, which qualified him as an All-American. He then lost a 6-0 decision to second-seeded Chris Skretkowicz of Hofstra, meaning he will face Cornell's Matt Greenburg in the seventh-place match on Saturday.

"Kyle has worked very hard over a long period of time to achieve this," said UB head coach Jim Beichner. "I can't begin to express how proud I am of him accomplishing what he has. He absolutely deserves what he was worked so hard for."

Cerminara currently stands at 41-5 this season, a mark which has shattered UB's previous single-season wins record of 37 set by Gary Cooper during the 1999-2000 season.

Buffalo's two other wrestlers who advanced to the All-America Round, freshman 125-pounder Mark McKnight (McDonald, PA/South Fayette) and senior 174-pounder Ed Pawlak (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern), both suffered losses and were eliminated from the tournament on Friday night.

McKnight lost a 6-4 decision to eighth-seeded Joe Dubuque of Indiana. McKnight finished the season with a record of 34-8.

"Mark had a phenomenal showing at the NCAA Championships," Beichner said. "He came away with great experience and that leaves the door wide open for a lot of success in the future."

Pawlak lost a 10-8 overtime match to third-seeded Brad Dillon of Lehigh in the All-America Round. Pawlak finished the season with a record of 39-9.

"Ed's match was absolutely one of the hardest fought matches I have ever watched," said Beichner. "Unfortunately he wound up on the short end, but I am extremely proud of the way he was able to compete."

Following the round of National Semifinals in the winner's bracket and the All-America Round in the consolation bracket, UB's team point total of 11.5 had Buffalo ranked 32nd in the competition. Oklahoma State was leading with 97.5 points.

"The three guys we had wrestle at the NCAA Championships showed more heart and determination than any wrestlers I have ever coached," said Beichner.

Visit http://www.ncaasports.com/wrestling/mens/brackets for a complete look at the NCAA Championships brackets.