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The nationally 16th-ranked SF State Gators finished strong in their final two home duals of the 2013-2014 season.
The first dual against NCAA Division I Cal State Bakersfield finished with a 24-12 loss, but the Gators were not discouraged.
“Division I Bakersfield is tough and we got hustled by them a little bit, but we are going to keep working on conditioning,” said head coach Lars Jensen. “We’re battling three injuries at the moment, so we’re frustrated with that.”
This was the second straight dual against a Division I opponent for SF State, as they lost to Stanford last week.
SF State’s Dylan Phillipy holds Simon Fraser’s Dillon Hume as SF State faced Simon Fraser University Friday Jan. 31, 2014. Phillipy won the match 18-0. Photo by Mike Hendrickson / Special to Xpress
The second dual against Simon Fraser ended in a significant 31-16 Gator victory.
“(That’s a) Division II dual we should have dominated,” Jensen said. “And we did.”
Seven graduating SF State senior wrestlers were honored on Senior Day between duals. Senior Isaiah Hurtado celebrated by defeating his opponent in both matches by pin, giving him a total of four wins by fall this season.
“I thought it was going to be harder wrestling two duals back to back,” Hurtado said. “But I’ve been more disciplined about my weight and kept my same weight class so I didn’t come up short.”
Fellow senior Dylan Phillipy lost his first match of the day to Cal State Bakersfield’s Ian Nickell by a 7-5 decision, but Phillipy was not discouraged by the loss.
“That guy is a stud from (Cal State) Bakersfield, so I knew it was going to happen,” Phillipy said. “But I was able to follow close behind and that is what I wanted from today.”
Phillipy dominated his second match with 18-0 against Simon Fraser’s Dillon Hume to end his day.
“I treat everyday like my last match, since it is my last year wrestling here,” Phillipy said. “I took today very seriously and prepared for it strategically, and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
The Gators now set their sights on the 38th Annual California Collegiate Open tournament hosted by SF State tomorrow, Feb. 1, at 9 a.m.
