Conference Dual Slate Opens Sunday Against Buffalo

Sunday, December 10

Kent, Ohio

2:00 p.m.

Kent State University

University at Buffalo

Conference Dual Slate Opens Sunday Against Buffalo

12/8/2017 11:09:00 AM | Wrestling

Kent State (6-1) opens up Mid-American Conference competition Sunday (Dec. 10) at the M.A.C. Center at 2 p.m., hosting Buffalo (2-2, 1-0 MAC). The Golden Flashes look to improve to 3-0 in home duals this season.

A free video stream can be seen on Boxcast. Live audio with Matt Miller can be heard on the Golden Flashes channel on iHeartRadio. Live scoring updates can be seen on TrackWrestling

Tentative Matchups
125: Will Bardezbain (12-6) vs. Kyle Akins (3-1) or Justin Patrick (4-3)
133: Anthony Tutolo (14-6) vs. No. 17 Bryan Lantry (2-2)
141: Tim Rooney (15-5) or Chance Driscoll (5-6) vs. Blake Retell (0-2)
149: Nick Monico (15-6) vs. Jason Estevez (2-2) or Nick Palumbo (1-2)
157: Casey Sparkman (14-7) vs. Kobe Garrehy (1-1) or Eric Fasanct (2-3)
165: Isaac Bast (8-9) vs. Noah Grover (2-2) or Derek Holcomb (2-2)
174: Dylan Barreiro (14-9) vs. Ryan Kromer (0-0) or Austin Weigel (6-4)
184: Colin McCracken (6-9) vs. Brett Perry (3-3)
197: No. 19 Kyle Conel (8-2) vs. Joe Ariola (4-4)
285: Devin Nye (14-10) vs. Jake Gunning (3-1)
*The Open Mat Rankings

The Opponent
Four Bulls are in the December MAC rankings. Junior heavyweight and defending MAC champion Jake Gunning is No. 1. Senior 197-pounder Joe Ariola and junior 133-pounder Bryan Lantry are both NCAA qualifiers and ranked No. 3 in the MAC. Junior 184-pounder Brett Perry is No. 4. Buffalo won 7-of-10 matches in a 27-9 victory over Ohio on Nov. 25. The Bulls' weekend begins with a Friday night home dual against Michigan State.

History vs. Buffalo
Kent State leads the all-time series with Buffalo 25-8 and has won 12 of the last 13 meetings. The Golden Flashes have won the last six meetings in Kent and defeated the Bulls 28-3 the last time the teams met at the M.A.C. Center (Dec. 13, 2015).
Last season, The Bulls snapped the Flashes' series winning streak with 23-12 victory in Buffalo. Returning winners for the Flashes include Devin Nye and Chance Driscoll. Kyle Akins and Bryan Lantry both won for the Bulls last year at 125 and 133.

Quick Shots

Junior Kyle Conel is 18-0 in career dual meets. He will be making his first M.A.C. Center appearances in two seasons.
Freshman Colin McCracken is expected to make his M.A.C. Center debut at 184.
The NWCA honored Kent State for having the fourth highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.423.
Since the 2005-06 season, Kent State is 151-82-1 in dual meets and 48-23-1 in MAC duals.
The Golden Flashes are off to a 6-1 start in duals for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Five of the Flashes' six dual wins this year have been by 11 or more points.
Casey Sparkman leads the Flashes with 10 bonus-point victories (5 tech falls, 5 major decisions). He is also the Flashes' active leader in career victories with 93.
Sophomore Tim Rooney was named Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 15, after going 5-0 at the Journeymen Duals and Journeymen Classic.
Devin Nye leads the team with five pins on the season and his 31 career pins rank fifth among Kent State's career leaders.

MAC Rankings
Four Golden Flashes are in the latest December MAC rankings
No. 4 Anthony Tutolo, 133
No. 4 Nick Monico, 149
No. 3 Casey Sparkman, 157
No. 2 Stephen Suglio, 197

Navy Classic
Last month, four Golden Flashes placed in the top five spots at the Navy Classic:
133- Anthony Tutolo-5^th
149- Nick Monico-5^th
157- Casey Sparkman- 4^th
197- Kyle Conel- 4^th

Up Next
Following finals week, the Golden Flashes will compete in the Cleveland State Open on Saturday, Dec. 16, beginning at 9 a.m. inside Woodling Gym.