Jan. 10, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 18 Arizona State University wrestling team entered the day with one win on the season and closed up the 2005 Sun Devil Duals with victories two, three and four after the Sun Devils swept their way through the annual event inside Wells Fargo Arena. ASU (4-3-1, 1-0-0 Pac-10) downed Utah Valley State (0-7-0), 36-3, to open the festivities before defeating intrastate rival Embry-Riddle (9-6-0), 27-16. In the finale, the Sun Devils scored their first conference victory of the season after handing Cal State Bakersfield (7-2-0, 3-1-0 Pac-10) a 20-19 setback.
A trio of Sun Devils posted perfect 3-0 records on the day while two others also went undefeated on the day to pace ASU. No. 8 C.B. Dollaway (Jr., Mt. Gilead, Ohio) at 184, No. 6 Ryan Bader (Jr., Reno, Nev.) at 197 and No. 3 Cain Velasquez (Jr., Yuma, Ariz.) each went 3-0 and combined for two decisions, two falls, two decisions, four majors and one forfeit to help the Sun Devils while No. 13 Brian Stith (So., Hampton, Va.) at 157 and Alex Contreras (Fr., Tolleson, Ariz.) went 2-0 and 1-0, respectively.
In the opening dual, the Sun Devils won the first eight bouts to stake themselves to a 32-0 lead before finally winning, 36-3. Patrick Pitsch (Fr., Spanaway, Wash.) at 165, Rick Renzi (Fr., Flagstaff, Ariz.) at 174, Dollaway, Bader, Velasquez, No. 9 Jeremy Mendoza (Jr., Temecula, Calif.) at 125, John Espinoza (So., Phoenix) at 133 and Chris Frieje (Fr., Mesa, Ariz.) at 141 each were victorious before Adam Hickey (Fr., Mayfield, Ohio) dropped a tough 6-0 decision at 141. Stith closed out the dual with a victory.
In the battle for Arizona, Pitsch opened with a win for a 3-0 lead over the Eagles from Prescott, Ariz., before Renzi suffered a 3-2 loss to tie the score at three. From there, Dollaway, Bader and Velasquez rolled to bring the advantage to 15-3 in favor of the hosts before Contreras added six team points by pinning the No. 7 ranked wrestler in the NAIA, Richard Byrd, at 2:59. Espinoza picked up the team's last win at 133 with a forfeit before Curtis Ray (So., Mesa, Ariz.) fell in a major decision, Williams lost in a 7-5, double overtime, bout to the NAIA's No. 1 wrestler, Tyler Moran, and ASU forfeiting the bout at 157.
The nightcap saw plenty of excitement, starting with Pitsch almost upsetting No. 16 Christian Arellano at 165, instead falling, 4-3. Trailing 3-0, the Sun Devils got wins from Renzi, Dollaway, Bader and Velasquez to take over the lead at 16-3. But the Roadrunners made a dual out of it by winning the next four bouts. At 125, No. 8 Efren Ceballos used a late takedown with defeat No. 9 Mendoza in a Top 10 battle, 7-5, before No. 7 Matt Sanchez downed Espinoza with a major decision. Matt Schumm added a 4-2 decision over Frieje before Anthony Baza picked up six team points at 149 when Williams could not continue because of an injury sustained in the bout. With CSUB leading, 19-16, and one bout remaining, the balance of the dual rested in the hands of Stith. With his 12-4 major decision, Stith picked up four team points to edge the visitors, 20-19.
After a one day break from competition, the Sun Devils return to the mats as they play host to No. 10 Oklahoma Wednesday night in a 7 p.m. dual with the Sooners inside Wells Fargo Arena.