SF State’s Andrew Reggi wrestles Oregon State’s Nate Keeve at the California Collegiate Open, which was held in SF State’s Main Gymnasium, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014. Reggi won the match 8-3 but wouldn’t advance any further due to an injury. Photo by Gavin McIntyre / Xpress
After three consecutive blowout wins to reach the championship match, SF State senior Dylan Phillipy was confident he could do it once more. That confidence, Phillipy said, cost him a first-place finish Saturday night.
“I definitely underestimated my opponent,” Phillipy said. “I kind of just thought I already had the tournament won, which was foolish of me.”
Phillipy lost to Simpson’s Anthony Vega by a 5-2 decision to finish in second place at 141. Phillipy defeated Western Washington’s Michael Baumgarden by a 16-0 decision, Cal Baptist’s Dakota Thayer by an 18-2 decision and Oregon State-UNA’s Joey Delgado by a 15-6 decision to reach the championship match.
“I didn’t have a problem with anybody and honestly I thought I wrestled (Delgado) who I thought was the toughest in the tournament in my semi-finals,” Phillipy said. “I beat him easily so I just thought I was untouchable and that was my mistake.”
Phillipy was the only Gator in the California Collegiate Open to place.
“I really had a false sense of confidence and thought I had it done,” Phillipy said. “(Vega) was in the finals for a reason. Lesson learned: don’t take anybody for granted.”
Freshman Jordan Gurrola and seniors Isaiah Hurtado and Alex Williams all finished the night with 4-2 records but were unable to place at the Open. Senior Zach Jimenez, the top seed at 184, lost to Stanford-UNA’s Ryan Davies by a 12-0 decision for a spot in the championship match. Jimenez had a chance to take third place but lost to Southern Oregon’s Jacob Abrams in a 2-1 decision that went to overtime, giving him a 2-2 record for the night.
The Gators dealt with a series of injuries prior to and during the Open. Red-shirt junior Andrew Reggi finished with a 3-2 record but lost his last match to CSUB’s Reuben Franklin after suffering an injury. A win would have given him a chance to take third place in the 197.
“We had a lot of people injured, like three starters out. I got a concussion yesterday against Simon Fraser so I was out too,” said freshmen Hildelv Manzur, who did not participate at the Open Saturday night. “Regionals is right around the corner and I don’t want to get myself further hurt than I already am.”
Sophomore Calvin Nicholls was also out due to an injury and did not compete at the Collegiate Open. In addition to injuries, Manzur said other wrestlers couldn’t compete because they missed weight. No Gators competed in the 125, 165, 174 or 285 weight classes.
Assistant coach Jeff Silveira said he expected the team to perform better despite all the injuries.
“We didn’t perform very well as a team. We only had one placer (Phillipy) so we have some things to work on,” Silveira said. “Everybody is banged up; all schools are banged up right now so we’re not using that as an excuse. Everyone’s tired, we just got to work through it. We’re ranked 16th in the country for a reason.”
The Gators will travel to Atherton, Calif. Thursday to compete in a dual meet against the Menlo College Oaks.
