SF State’s wrestling team started off their tournament-packed weekend with a pair of matches hosting Cal Baptist University Lancers, Simon Fraser University Clans and Minnesota State Moorhead Friday afternoon at The Swamp. The Gators fell short to Cal Baptist 25-12 but ended the day with a 43-6 win against Simon Fraser, while Minnesota State Moorhead took a 49-0 win over Simon Fraser.
The Gators opened up the series with a tough, but very close match up against Cal Baptist. SF State’s Dylan Furtado started the dual up against Cal Baptist’s Matt Hickman in the 149 weight class. Hickman won by a 4-1 decision to give the Lancers a 3-0 lead.
“I knew it was going to be tough against Cal Baptist,” said head coach Lars Jensen. “We only won three matches, but we did ok. I thought we wrestled ok, but we could have done better.”
In the 165 weight class, SF State’s Vicente Aboytes, defeated the Lancers’ Alec Smith with a 5-3 decision, and helped cut the Lancers’ lead 9-3.
“I wrestled this kid before last year at the Regionals Tournament, was beating him and ended up losing by one,” Aboytes said. “I really wanted to go out and control it. I felt like I did that.”
Andrew Reggie, who is ranked eighth in the Nation according to the Division II Wrestling Coaches Association, and Jordan Gurrola were able to pull victories over Cal Baptist. Reggie earned a 10-5 decision while Gurrola won with a fall.
As the afternoon continued, SF State dominated matches up against Simon Fraser. Furtado opened things up with a 13-1 decision over the Clans’ Kenji Yamashita to help give SF State a 4-0 lead.
The Gators’ proved their dominance when Reggie stepped onto the mat to face off against the Clans’ Ben Smyth. Within 31 seconds of the match, Reggie pinned down Smyth, resulting in his third win by fall. Even with two wins for the day, Reggie said there were still a few things he needed to improve on.
“I could have done a lot better,” Reggie said. “Getting off bottom is a big thing for me, pushing my cardio and hand fighting.”
There were a lot of easy wins the team could have pulled during the matches, but overall, the Gators were satisfied with the results, Jensen said.
“We lost some close matches we could have won easily,” Jensen said. “We have to go back to the drawing board, get better and improve.”
The Gators prepared for Saturday’s 39th Annual California Collegiate Open at The Swamp, where teams including Oregon State, Boise State, and Cal Baptist participated.
