Wrestling Suffers Tough Loss at Home to Cleveland State

Postmatch Highlights.

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In a dual that came down to the final bout of the night, the Eastern Michigan University wrestling team was unable to pull of the victory, falling to Cleveland State University, 20-15, Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Convocation Center.

EMU (7-5) captured four of the 10 bouts with one extra-point victory, while CSU (3-2) had six victories and back-to-back major decisions.

Starting the night in the 197 lb. weight class, redshirt-junior Anthony Abro continued to be a leader for the Green and White with a last second takedown on the edge of the mat to earn a 4-3 decision over Nick Corba, which would give Eastern the early 3-0 lead over CSU.

Following the decision, the Vikings responded with two-straight major decisions from their nationally-ranked wrestlers to take an 8-3 advantage heading into the 133 lb. weight class. In his 2014-15 dual debut, Alexander Calandrino got out to an early lead over Alfredo Gray, but was unable to hold on falling 11-5 and allowing CSU to extend its lead to 11-3 over the Eagles.

A fourth-straight bout victory for Cleveland State extended the Viking lead to 14-3 before Nicholas Barber notched a last second takedown in his bout, earning him a 7-6 decision over Nick Montgomery at 149 lbs and bringing the Eagles within eight of Cleveland State. Barber's win set the tone for Brandon Zeerip at 157 lbs. as the redshirt-senior pinned Latrell Davis with just one minute remaining in the third period to bring EMU within two of Cleveland State with three bouts remaining in the dual. The pin marked just the second of the season for Zeerip and the lone extra-point victory of the day for the Green and White.

Eastern Michigan's Devan Marry got out to a dominating start over Matt Donohoe before amassing almost five minutes of riding time to garner the 7-3 decision at 165 lbs. The decision from Marry allowed Eastern to take its first lead since the first bout of the night as EMU held a slight 15-14 advantage with two matches remaining. Despite a hard-fought battle from Derek Davison, Gabe Spark notched a narrow 7-6 decision to swing the dual back into the hands of Cleveland State, 17-15.

With the fate of the dual on the line, Mike Curby battled back to knot the score at 3-3 heading into the final period of the night. In the remaining two minutes, Xavier Dye garnered the riding time point and used one last takedown to earn the slight 6-4 decision and the CSU's first victory over the Eagles in eight duals.

The Eagles will remain at the Convocation Center Sunday, Jan. 18 for their second Mid-American Conference dual of the 2014-15 season when they go up against Ohio University. First bout is slated for 2 p.m. For fans that are unable to make it out to the dual, the match will be broadcast on Eastern's live webstreaming service Eagle All-Access. Fans will be able to watch the dual as well as get play-by-play from former EMU wrestlers J.J. Johnson and Drew Lesko. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch.

Results
197: Anthony Abro (EMU) dec. Nick Corba (CSU), 4-3 (EMU, 3-0)
HWT: No. 14 Riley Shaw maj. dec. Gage Hutchison (EMU), (CSU, 4-3)
125: No. 14 Ben Willeford (CSU) maj. dec. Blake Caudill (EMU), 10-2 (CSU, 8-3)
133: Alfredo Gray (CSU) dec. Alexander Calandrino (EMU), 11-5 (CSU, 11-3)
141: Mike Carlone (CSU) dec. Michael Shaw (EMU), 4-3 (CSU, 14-3)
149: Nicholas Barber (EMU) dec. Nick Montgomery (CSU), 7-6 (CSU, 14-6)
157: Brandon Zeerip (EMU) pins Latrell Davis (CSU), 5:54 (CSU, 14-12)
165: Devan Marry (EMU) dec. Matt Donohoe (CSU), 7-3 (EMU, 15-14)
174: Gabe Stark (CSU) dec. Derek Davison (EMU), 7-6 (CSU, 17-15)
184: Xavier Dye (CSU) dec. Mike Curby (EMU), 6-4 (CSU, 20-15)

Bout-by-Bout

197: Abro dec. Corba, 4-3
Corba notched a quick takedown to start the bout before Abro responded with an escape in the first period to trail by one point heading into the second period. Abro knotted the score at 2-2 early in the second with an escape which would prove to be the only point of the period, while Corba held the slight riding time advantage. Corba took a 3-2 advantage to start the final period of the bout, but a last second takedown from Abro secured the 4-3 decision and his fifth-straight victory.

HWT: Shaw maj. dec. Hutchison , 13-5
Shaw used two takedowns in the first and allowed Hutchison just one escape to take a 4-1 advantage into the second period of action. In the second period, Shaw grabbed his third takedown of the match and attempted to stay on top of Hutchison to amass his riding time advantage. Hutchison got Shaw into position for a takedown, but was unable to complete the move gaining just one point for an escape as he trailed 6-2 heading into the final two minutes of action. Three final takedowns from Shaw in the third period and 3:28 of riding time allowed the nationally-ranked heavyweight to secure a 13-5 major decision over Hutchison.

125: Willeford maj. dec. Caudill, 10-2
After what seemed to be a quick start in the 125 lb. weight class, Willeford notched the only points of the first period with a takedown and take a narrow 2-0- lead as he chose to start down to start the second to extend his lead to 3-0 with an escape point. With riding time on his side, Willeford used a takedown on the edge of the mat to take a 5-0 lead into the final period of action. Starting down in the third period, Caudill grabbed his first point of the bout with an escape point, but a takedown from Willeford brought the lead back to five for the nationally-ranked grappler. Caudill was able to notch one final escape point before Willeford added his fourth takedown to get a second-straight major decision for the Vikings with the 10-2 victory

133: Gray dec. Calandrino, 11-5
For the first time on the day the Eagles took the first lead of the bout with a takedown on the edge of the mat. A reversal from Gray knotted the score at 2-2 as he tried to work down the riding time that Calandrino had amassed at the beginning of the period. Again, Calandrino earned the first points of the period with an escape but Gray responded with a takedown to take his first lead of the bout. An escape, a takedown, and a stalling point allowed Gray to extend his lead to 8-3 before Calandrino notched an escape in the final minute of action. Gray earned one final takedown before Calandrino was able to get a final escape to avoid the major decision as Gray racked up 2:32 of riding time to take the 11-5 decision.

141: Carlone dec. Shaw, 4-3
Carlone earned the only points of the first period with the takedown of Shaw before deferring to start the second period. With Shaw on top to start the second, a stalemate was called as neither grappler could get an edge over the other. After a scoreless second, Carlone used his second takedown to extend his lead to 4-0, but Shaw answered back with a takedown of his own to cut Carlone's lead to just two. Despite gaining 1:13 of riding time, Carlone took the 4-3 decision to extend the Cleveland State lead to 14-3.

149: Barber dec. Montgomery, 7-6
Barber was the first to strike with a takedown, while Montgomery responded with an escape with just over a minute remaining in the first period. Montgomery knotted the score at 2-2 with an escape to start the second period and added a takedown to take his first lead of the bout. With less than 10 seconds in the second, Barber cut the lead to one with an escape heading into the final two minutes of action. Again, Montgomery earned a takedown and Barber responded with an escape to stay within one of the Viking grappler. With five seconds remaining Barber got the takedown he needed to earn to 7-6 decision for the Green and White.

157: Zeerip pins Davis, 5:54
After a scoreless first period, Zeerip chose to start on bottom to earn the first point of the match with an escape before Davis immediately grabbed a takedown. Following the takedown from Davis, Zeerip earned his second escape point to knot the score at 2-2. Again, Davis earned a takedown before Zeerip escaped in just two seconds to come within one with 40 seconds remaining in the second period. Starting down in the third period, Davis notched his first escape of the bout to extend his lead to 5-3. With one minute remaining in the third period, Zeerip notched the pin to bring the Eagles within just two points of the Vikings with three bouts remaining.

165: Marry dec. Donohoe, 7-3
Marry worked the mat in the first period of action with one takedown and getting his riding time up for 2:10. The redshirt-sophomore extended his lead to 4-0 with a second period takedown and continued to rack up the riding time minutes. Choosing down to start the third period, Donohoe escaped the shut out with a an escape point and a takedown before Marry grabbed one final takedown and 4:45 of riding time to take the 7-3 decision that would allow Eastern to get back on top of the Vikings.

174: Stark dec. Davison, 7-6
For the third-straight bout, the Eagles grabbed the first lead of the bout with a takedown from Davison, but Stark responded with an escape and a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead into the second period. Stark extended his advantage to 4-2 with an escape after starting down to start the second. Davison grabbed an escape to start the third, but Stark quickly grabbed two points on a takedown to take the three-point advantage. An escape and a takedown knotted the score at 6-6 before Davison allowed Stark the escape point with 30 seconds left in the bout. Davison was unable to get the final takedown he needed to win the bout as Stark earned the 7-6 win to put control back into the hands of the Vikings.

184: Dye dec. Curby, 6-4
With the dual on the line, Dye took the first lead with a takedown, while Curby used an escape and a takedown to take a 3-2 lead heading into the second period. Having the choice to start the period, Dye chose down to knot the score at 3-3 with an escape point. With the score still knotted at 3-3, Dye secured the riding time point before Curby notched an escape to knot the score at 4-4. With one final takedown, Dye earned the 6-4 victory and secured the win for the Vikings.

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Abro

Nick Barber

Alexander Calandrino

Blake Caudill

Mike Curby

Derek Davison

Gage Hutchison

Devan Marry

Michael Shaw

Brandon Zeerip

Eastern Michigan Athletics