Jan. 30, 2009
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior Nexi Delgado earned a major decision and sophomore Abe Otrambo won by fall to help lead UC Davis to a 22-12 victory over Oregon State in a Pacific-10 Conference wrestling dual at The Pavilion Friday night.
The win is the Aggies' second against the Beavers in the last three seasons and improves their record to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in conference. Oregon State, who defeated Princeton and Stanford earlier in the day, falls to 8-7 and 4-2. The victory also marked the second for Aggie head coach Lennie Zalesky in the fifth instalment of the Zaleskey vs. Zalesky sibling rivalry with his younger brother Jim.
"We knew coming in that it would be a very close dual," said Lennie Zalesky. "We just had a great performance. I'd say it's the best performance we've had all season."
UC Davis won six of the 10 matches with bonus-point decisions at 141 and 197 pounds. Delgado earned a 15-5 major decision over Garrett Drucker during the 141-pound match, while Otrambo pinned Chad Hanke at 1:30 during the 197 match.
Half of the 10 matches were decided by three points or less with three of those decisions coming in sudden victory and overtime. Senior Dustin Noack battled through an injury during the 165-pound match to gain a 6-5 victory in overtime. Oregon State won two matches in sudden victory.
Senior Marcos Orozco, who entered the night ranked 18th nationally, opened the team scoring with his one-point decision (2-1) at 125 pounds over Jake Gonzales. Sophomore Brandon Low returned from a month-long layoff to win his match at 133 pounds by a score of 10-5. Delgado's major decision at 141 pounds put the Aggies ahead 10-0.
Sophomore Barrett Abel battled the 14th-ranked Heinrich Barnes throughout the 149-pound match before giving up a late three-point nearfall to drop the match, 7-4. Jon Brascetta won at 157 pounds with a takedown in sudden victory to cut the Aggie lead to 10-6.
Noack's 6-5 victory in overtime put the Aggies ahead 13-6. Senior Tyler Bernacchi then lost a tough decision in sudden victory to 11th-ranked Kyle Bressler to make the score 13-9.
Senior Jon Clark scored a 10-5 victory at 184 to increase the Aggie lead. Clark scored a takedown and a three-point nearfall in the second period to take control of the match. Otrambo's pin at 197 pounds sealed the Aggie victory.
Clayton Jack earned a 10-3 decision in the heavyweight finale to make the final score 22-12.
The Aggies return to action Sunday as they travel down to Cal State Fullerton for a noon dual with the Titans. The dual is part of the annual "Beauty and the Beast" promotion, which features a wrestling and gymnastics meet running concurrently.
UC Davis 22, Oregon State 12
125: Marcos Orzoco (U) dec. Jake Gonzalez (O), 2-1
133: Brandon Low (U) dec. Kelly Kubec, (O), 10-5
141: Nexi Delgado (U) maj. dec. Garrett Drucker (O), 15-5
149: No. 14 Heinrich Barnes (O) dec. Barrett Abel (U), 7-4
157: Jon Brascetta (O) dec. Joey Wilson (U), 6-4 SV
165: Dustin Noack (U) dec. Keegan Davis (O), 6-5 OT
174: No. 11 Kyle Bressler (O) dec. Tyler Bernacchi (U), 3-1 SV
184: Jon Clark (U) dec. Brice Arand (O), 10-5
197: Abe Otrambo (U) pin Chad Hanke (O), 1:30
285: Clayton Jack (O) dec. John Thurston (U), 10-3
