Green Captures Individual Crown at UB Open

BUFFALO, NY – Wrestling unattached, University at Buffalo sophomore and 16th nationally-ranked wrestler Desi Green captured the individual crown in the 149-pound weight class at the seventh annual UB Open at Alumni Arena on Sunday, November 1. Sophomore Kevin Smith and 20th nationally-ranked junior Jimmy Hamel finished in second place at 133 and 197, respectively. The Bulls finished with nine total wrestlers in the top six, all wrestling unattached at the non-scoring event.

Desi Green

Following Green's sixth-place finish at 157 in last year's UB Open, he was determined to finish in the top spot. Green rattled off five straight victories to capture his first UB Open crown at 149. In his first match, Green earned a 26-10 technical fall versus Pittsburgh's Ian Heist. Moving on, Green pinned Jordan Powell of #12 Edinboro in 2:36. Green responded with another technical fall in his quarterfinals bout over two-time Division II national qualifier Kayne Melko of #16 West Liberty State University. In his semifinal match, Green captured a 10-3 decision over unattached wrestler Craig Efert to move onto the championship match. In the final match for the 149-pound crown, Green faced the 2009 Edinboro Open champion Jon Kohler of #10 Maryland. Green led early in the match with Kohler fighting back to make it a close bout. In the end, Green walked away the 149-pound UB Open champion.

"We are proud of Desi and his accomplishments today. Desi also knows there are improvements to be made. He needs to be upset at the mistakes he made, which will allow him to reach his goal of becoming an All-American," said head coach Jim Beichner.

Jimmy Hamel

Hamel strung together three victories to earn his spot in the championship round for the crown at 197. In the championship bout, Hamel battled with unattached wrestler Matt Wilps of Pittsburgh with no decision at the end of three periods. With neither wrestler scoring in the extra period, the two continued to fight with Wilps picking up an escape in the first 30-second overtime to hold on for the win, 2-1. Hamel finished the event a spot ahead of last year's third-place finish.

"Jimmy did not do enough and he knows it. A couple more offensive shots and he walks away as champion," stated Beichner.

In the 133-pound bracket, Smith collected four straight victories to reach the final round. In order for Smith to reach the finals,he had to get through the 14th nationally-ranked wrestler in the nation Jimmy Conroy of Pittsburgh. With a 5-3 decision over Conroy, Smith was on his way to the championship bout. After finishing second last year, Smith was looking to capture his first UB Open title. His opponent, Division I All-American and eighth nationally-ranked Steve Bell of Maryland was also looking to capture his first title at the event. Bell attacked aggressively off the start, taking a 4-1 lead following the first period. In the end, Smith fell to Bell in a 7-2 decision.

Kevin Smith

"This was a great character match for Kevin. In order for him to reach his goal of becoming an All-American, he has to have a taste of what it takes. He faced someone who has reached that level," explained Beichner.

Dylan Dabolt, Justin Farmer and Sean Walton each placed in the top six of the 125-pound weight class. Dabolt reached the semifinals before falling to two-time Eastern Wrestling League place-finisher Jason Guffey of Bloomsburg in a close 2-1 decision. Dabolt defeated Walton for fifth place with a 5-2 decision. In his first collegiate competition, Farmer reached the bout for third place by defeating Walton but was unable to get by Chris Kochinsky of Pittsburgh.

At 141, freshman Andrew Schutt finished in fourth place. He captured victories in his first two matches before falling to unattached wrestler Mike Nevinger. In his bout for third place, Schutt fell to the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference champion.

Josh Peters

After not placing last year, redshirt freshman Josh Peters' second time around was successful as he finished in third place at 184, defeating Bradley Nielsen of Maryland in a 6-4 decision. Matt Bogardus placed sixth at 174, collecting four victories along the way.

Heavyweight Jason Weber captured three opening round victories before being sent to wrestlebacks where he took home sixth place.

"Well, we certainly need to sit down and add up our wins and losses. We are definitely not at our peak in terms of our performance but we were very competitive out there today, placing in eight weight classes. As a team, we are going to find ways to build off of our first competition of the year," added Beichner.

Of the 10 individual titles on the line, Maryland walked away with three titles while Pittsburgh earned two titles. Edinboro and Mercyhurst took home a title each and three unattached wrestlers captured titles, including Green.

The Bulls open their 2009 dual meet season at home as they face Ashland on Saturday, November 7 at 12:00 pm at Alumni Arena.