Fresno State Athletics
Wrestling to Face No. 16 Arizona State
2/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 9, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - BULLDOGS MATCH UP AGAINST NO. 16 ARIZONA STATE
Fresno State travels to Tempe, Ariz., to wrestle 16th-ranked Arizona State on Friday. The Sun Devils (10-7, 6-1 Pac-10) boast eight nationally ranked wrestlers in their line up. At 125s, Christian Staylor is ranked No. 11. In the 133 division, Mike Simpson is ranked ninth. At 149s, Patrick Williams is 11th and will face Fresno State's 14th ranked Casey Olson (Clovis, Calif.), who has a history of upsets this season. Brian Stith is No. 19 in the 157 division and Ron Renzi is No. 18 in the 174 division. At 184s Nick Frost is No. 6. Arizona State's top-ranked wrestler is Ryan Bader, who is No. 2 in the 197 division. At heavyweights, No. 9 Clint Walbeck (Clovis, Calif.) will challenge seventh ranked Cain Velasquez. In their last meet, Arizona State was upended by No. 22 Cal State Bakersfield 20-17. The Bulldogs and Sun Devils have wrestled each other every year for the past 18 years, with Arizona State ahead in the all-time record 16-6.
FRESNO STATE GOES 1-2 IN TRIPLE HEADER
The Bulldogs dropped to 6-10 on the season with a 1-2 showing on Sunday. Fresno State lost to No. 22 Cal State Bakersfield 30-11 on the road, then traveled back home to wrestle Menlo College and Stanford. The Bulldogs beat Menlo College 22-13, but lost to Stanford 28-9. Fresno State had two wrestlers that went 3-0 for the day, sophomore Greg Gifford (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Walbeck. Gifford (21-9) now has seven consecutive wins and Walbeck (24-3) has 11. Walbeck has the best record on the team and the most pins with nine. He and Olson are the only remaining Bulldog wrestlers in the national rankings. Walbeck is No. 9 in the heavyweight division and Olson is No. 14 in the 149 division.
LOSING SEASON
Fresno State (6-10) has not had a loss column in the double digits since 1989 when the team went 9-11. The last time the Bulldogs had a losing record was in 1999 when they went 6-7-1. Under head coach Dennis DeLiddo, Fresno State has had only two seasons with six or less wins.
BULLDOGS FALTER AGAINST CAL POLY
Fresno State lost to No. 23 Cal Poly 22-16 at home on Thursday night. The Bulldogs won only four matches in the meet, while the Mustangs capitalized on a hole in Fresno State's line up and won six matches for the victory. Fresno State's ninth-ranked Marcio Botelho (Lemoore, Calif.) did not wrestle in the 197 division, due to an injury, and Cal Poly's Ralph Garcia beat his replacement, Jatinder Singh (San Jose, Calif.), 3-2 to win six of 10 matches. The Bulldogs lost the first three divisions and fell behind by 10 points early in the meet. After wins from 14th-ranked Olson in the 149 division and Shane Seibert (Madera, Calif.) in the 157 division, Fresno State got into another funk, losing three of the last five divisions. Although Walbeck got a pin in the heavyweight division, it was not enough to make up for Fresno State's 22-10 defecit. It was the Bulldogs first loss to the Mustangs in five years.
