Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, November 30
Las Vegas, Nev.
Central Michigan University
vs
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Photo by: Monica Bradburn
Stencel, Atienza Bow At Las Vegas Invitational
12/1/2018 4:55:00 PM | Wrestling
Chippewas return to duals next weekend
LAS VEGAS – Two Central Michigan wrestlers, Jordan Atienza and Matt Stencel, lost in their respective Saturday-morning consolation bouts and as a result were eliminated from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Atienza, a senior wrestling at 184 pounds, dropped a 13-3 major decision to seventh-seeded Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh to finish the tournament 4-2.
Stencel, who was seeded seventh at 285, was pinned by Demetrius Thomas of Pittsburgh in 2:04 to finish his tournament 3-2.
Stencel and Atienza were the lone two Chippewas to advance to the second day of the tournament, which featured 10 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. The Chippewas were 26th in the 43-team field as of Saturday morning.
Of the 10 Chippewas who competed in the tournament, just two – Atienza and junior Logan Parks – are upperclassmen. CMU dropped its dual-meet opener to Michigan, which was, and still is, ranked fifth in the nation.
"We know we have a long ways to go and a lot of work to do," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "This tournament is a real good place to start. Our competition has been a top-five team and probably the best pre-season tournament that you can go to.
"I think our guys know what they have to do now and it's just a matter of doing the work and using those experience to grow."
Stencel opened on Friday with two victories, the first on a first-period pin, the second on an 11-3 major decision. He was pinned in the first period in his quarterfinal match on Friday evening.
"He's still working on some of the things that were problems for him last year," Borrelli said of Stencel, who is 6-3 with five pins on the season. "Just being consistent and learning how to pace himself. He's got to get to where he can wrestle a seven-minute match and be composed and be consistent with what he's doing. We're working on that."
Atienza, the lone senior on the Chippewa roster, dropped his first match of the tournament on Friday and then won four consecutive matches to make it to Saturday. Atienza is returning from offseason shoulder surgery and is not yet 100 percent, Borrelli said.
"He's coming back," Borrelli said of Atienza, who is 6-4 on the season. "It's just going to take a little while. Might be another month before he's fully healthy. He wrestled pretty good. It still takes a pretty good guy to beat him, which is good."
The Chippewas head east next weekend for nonconference duals with Virginia (Friday, Dec. 7) and Maryland (Sunday, Dec. 9).
Atienza, a senior wrestling at 184 pounds, dropped a 13-3 major decision to seventh-seeded Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh to finish the tournament 4-2.
Stencel, who was seeded seventh at 285, was pinned by Demetrius Thomas of Pittsburgh in 2:04 to finish his tournament 3-2.
Stencel and Atienza were the lone two Chippewas to advance to the second day of the tournament, which featured 10 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. The Chippewas were 26th in the 43-team field as of Saturday morning.
Of the 10 Chippewas who competed in the tournament, just two – Atienza and junior Logan Parks – are upperclassmen. CMU dropped its dual-meet opener to Michigan, which was, and still is, ranked fifth in the nation.
"We know we have a long ways to go and a lot of work to do," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "This tournament is a real good place to start. Our competition has been a top-five team and probably the best pre-season tournament that you can go to.
"I think our guys know what they have to do now and it's just a matter of doing the work and using those experience to grow."
Stencel opened on Friday with two victories, the first on a first-period pin, the second on an 11-3 major decision. He was pinned in the first period in his quarterfinal match on Friday evening.
"He's still working on some of the things that were problems for him last year," Borrelli said of Stencel, who is 6-3 with five pins on the season. "Just being consistent and learning how to pace himself. He's got to get to where he can wrestle a seven-minute match and be composed and be consistent with what he's doing. We're working on that."
Atienza, the lone senior on the Chippewa roster, dropped his first match of the tournament on Friday and then won four consecutive matches to make it to Saturday. Atienza is returning from offseason shoulder surgery and is not yet 100 percent, Borrelli said.
"He's coming back," Borrelli said of Atienza, who is 6-4 on the season. "It's just going to take a little while. Might be another month before he's fully healthy. He wrestled pretty good. It still takes a pretty good guy to beat him, which is good."
The Chippewas head east next weekend for nonconference duals with Virginia (Friday, Dec. 7) and Maryland (Sunday, Dec. 9).
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