Central Michigan University Athletics
Wrestling Looks To Wrap Up MAC Title Against Kent State
2/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 12, 2001
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THE TEAM--The 25th-ranked Central Michigan University wrestling team returns to Rose Arena again this weekend to wrap up the Mid-American Conference regular season schedule when it hosts Kent State University on Sunday, Feb. 18. The match is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
With a victory, the Chippewas will capture sole possession of the MAC regular season crown. The Chippewas look to improve on a, 14-18, series mark against Kent State. Last season, the Chippewas posted a, 27-9, victory over the Golden Flashes. The Chippewas head into the weekend after beating the University at Buffalo Bulls, 19-12, in a crucial first-place matchup in the MAC. The win improved the Chippewas to 4-0 in the MAC and kept their MAC unbeaten streak alive at 18 matches. The winning streak dates back to Jan. 25, 1998 when they lost to Ohio, 22-17.
THE COACH--Tom Borrelli is in his 10th season as head coach of the Chippewas. CMU is 106-60-5 overall and 38-11 in the MAC under Borrelli. The veteran coach has been named MAC "Coach of the Year" four times and was tabbed "National Coach of the Year" by two organizations in 1998. He has coached 27 MAC champions and 11 All-Americans. Central has finished in the top 10 nationally in two of the last three seasons.
WEEKEND REVIEW--The Central Michigan Chippewas defeated the University at Buffalo, 19-12, on Saturday night in Rose Arena. With the victory, the Chippewas take over sole possession of first place in the MAC.
The dual started with three straight wins for the Chippewas. Jordan Webster (Washington, Ill./So.) set the tone with a 6-0 decision over No. 16-ranked Shawn Kegel at 133. No. 12-ranked Jason Mester (Mineral Point, Wis./Fr.) followed by winning his 11th consecutive match with a 15-2 major decision at 141. Ty Morgan (New Carlisle, Ohio/Fr.) finished the run with a 6-1 decision at 149.
After two wins by the Bulls, Kevin Carr (Milford, Ind./Fr.) scored a 7-4 decision at 174. The Chippewas took two of the last four matches by posting wins from Brett Faustman (Mason/So.) with a 11-6 decision at 197 and No. 16-ranked Ahmad Sanders (Flint/Sr.) who picked up a 6-1 decision at the 125 weight class.
VALIANT EFFORT-"I can't say enough about Jordan Webster and Jason Mester coming out the way they did," said head coach Tom Borrelli on the Buffalo match. "I think they were excited where the dual meet was starting and they took it to both of those guys. You could see some of the fight come out of their team sitting over on the bench. Those two matches were huge. Morgan fought through some tough things. He was sick with the flu this week and fought through it nicely. Brett Faustman came through again for us. Ahmad Sanders also looked good tonight. He's tough to beat when he knows he just has to win."
ALL OR NOTHING-"We don't want to share the conference championship, we want to win it outright," said Borrelli referring to next weekend's match against Kent State. "I think if we continue to improve and continue to work like we have been working, on paper we should be fine. Kent is a veteran team like Buffalo, so we're going to have to do things right. I felt like Buffalo stole a couple of matches from us and Kent is capable of doing the same thing."
NOTES-All five Chippewa losses this season have come against schools ranked in the top 20. These schools include: Iowa State (fourth), Michigan (fifth), Edinboro (10th), Lock Haven (11th) and Michigan State (12th).
