Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Iowa
Wrestling Defeated by No. 3 Iowa 38-7
1/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 4, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State's top-ranked Stephen Abas dominated second-ranked Jody Strittmatter of Iowa in the 125 division, but the win was not enough to overcome Iowa, who won eight out of 10 matches en route to a 38-7 victory over the Bulldogs before 1,312 at Clovis High School. The win improves UI's record to 5-1 while FS drops to 1-2.
The Hawkeyes dominated the Bulldogs at the lighter weights. No. 1 Eric Juergens set the tone for the evening in the opening match at 133 pounds when he pinned FS's 14th-ranked Derrick Hayes at 4:48 to give Iowa a 6-0 lead. In the following match at 141, top-ranked Doug Schwab took only 2:33 to pin No. 15 Ralph Lopez.
At 149, the Hawkeyes' sixth-ranked Mike Zadick picked up a major decision victory over Jim Medeiros 19-8, making the score 16-0, Iowa. No. 1 T.J. Williams of Iowa followed that up with a major decision win of his own, handling 13th-ranked Nathan Vasquez 12-4.
Things didn't get much better for Fresno State at 165, 174 or 184. Ben Shirk pinned Eddie Gifford in 5:27 to make it 26-0. No. 4 Gabe McMahan was sharp against Darrick Duran, picking up a fall in 1:54. Next up was No. 9 Jessman Smith, who won a 9-4 decision over Jason Rossotti at 184. One of the closer matches of the evening followed. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they came up on the short end of the stick yet again. With just under 30 seconds remaining in the third period, Ryan Fulsas picked up a takedown to grab a 5-4 lead, which he held on to for the decision.
Down 38-0 with two matches to go, Fresno State's heavyweight Billy Blunt took to the mat to challenge Randy Fulsas. Blunt fired the first shot and kept the lead, beating Fulsas 7-4 for Fresno State's first win of the meet
In the feature match of the evening, Abas thoroughly dominated the second-ranked Strittmatter, scoring three takedowns and two three-point near falls for a 13-1major decision victory. The win moves Abas to 8-0 (3-0 dual) on the season while Strittmatter suffered his first loss and is now 9-1 (5-1 dual).
The Bulldogs will travel to Dallas for the Lone Star Duals on Sat., Jan. 6. Fresno State's next home meet will be Sun., Jan 14 when they host No. 6 Oklahoma.
Final Score
No. 3 Iowa - 38
No. 21 Fresno State - 7
Individual Scores
133 - No. 1 Eric Juergens (Iowa) pinned No. 14 Derrick Hayes (FS) 4:48
141 - No. 1 Doug Schwab (Iowa) pinned No. 15 Ralph Lopez (FS) 2:33
149 - No. 6 Mike Zadick (Iowa) maj. dec. Jim Medeiros (FS) 19-8
157 - No. 1 T.J. Williams (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 13 Nathan Vasquez (FS) 12-4
165 - Ben Shirk (Iowa) pinned Eddie Gifford (FS) 5:27
174 - No. 4 Gabe McMahan (Iowa) pinned Darrick Duran (FS) 1:54
184 - No. 9 Jessman Smith (Iowa) dec. Jason Rossotti (FS) 9-4
197 - Ryan Fulsas (Iowa) dec. Tom Gohde (FS) 5-4
HWT - No. 2 Billy Blunt (FS) dec. Randy Fulsas (Iowa) 7-4
125 - No. 1 Stephen Abas (FS) maj. dec. No. 2 Jody Strittmatter (Iowa) 13-1
