Stanford wrestling (11-2, 4-1 Pac-12) celebrated its Senior Day with a convincing 35-7 win over San Francisco State (8-5, 4-3 RMAC) on Sunday afternoon. It was the final match at Burnham Pavilion for graduating seniors Jordan Bryan, Josh Lauderdale, Alex Manley and Garrett Schaner. Head coach Jason Borrelli tweaked the regular lineup to give Bryan and Lauderdale bouts along with regular starter Schaner.
The match started out at 141 pounds, where Bryan lost by a 19-7 major decision to the Gators’ Jerry de la Rosa. Bryan got off to a slow start, with de la Rosa recording three first-period takedowns and recording several seconds of riding time in the second period.
The Cardinal erased the early 0-4 deficit with a dominating performance by captain Schaner at 149 pounds. After taking down Dylan Furtado, Schaner put Furtado’s right shoulder to the ground by turning off a strong arm-bar, recording the fall with only a second left in the first period.
“I came out pretty comfortable, rolling under and doing the funky stuff that I like to do, ended up on top and just tried to chip away. After that I just tried to stayed patient,” Schaner noted.
Schaner tried to stay focused on his match, but was finally able to take in the moment after recording the victory.
At 149 lbs., Schaner(STAN) defeats Furtado(SFSU) by fall at 2:59 (2:17:39 PM). Team #takedownapp #cardinalcaliber @takedownradio #gostanford
— Stanford Wrestling (@CardWrestling) February 8, 2015
“I was a little nervous, there’s so much going on with all the parents out here. When I was done a little bit of the emotion got to me. I saw some of my friends and my family out there, got to say hi and wave to them. It was a great way to go out.”
The seniors’ day ended with Lauderdale’s bout at 157 pounds. The senior struggled early against Alex Abono, conceding a first-period takedown and 3-point near fall as part of a 6-0 decision for San Francisco State.
“Of course we had two seniors that didn’t get the result they wanted,” Borrelli noted after the match, “but I thought everyone stepped up so we could get them out there.”
The rest of the team also stepped up to make the Cardinal seniors’ last home match a happy one. After a forfeit victory for Stanford at 165 pounds, junior Dylan Morris and redshirt sophomore Zach Nevills changed the match with two commanding victories. Morris racked up over 2 minutes of riding time, conceding only one point after a third-period escape en route to an 8-1 decision. Nevills recorded two near falls to get an 8-0 first period over Johnny Costa. A late takedown earned Nevills a 14-4 major decision and 4 points for Stanford.
“You really feed off of that momentum, especially in dual matches,” Borrelli noted. “You get a couple of good wins, and that really gives our guys the energy to go out on a roll.”
Redshirt freshman Garrett Krohn built on the Cardinal’s lead with a 6-point injury win over the Gators’ Andrew Reggi, the 8th-ranked Division II wrestler at 197 pounds. After a tight first period, Krohn started to push ahead with an early takedown in the second period. Reggi was clearly shaken up, calling timeout after hitting the mat hard. Another strong takedown by Krohn proved too much for Reggi, ending the match by default.
The heavyweight fight saw Stanford redshirt sophomore Josh Marchok win over Sam Alnassiri in a clear contrast of styles. The more technically skilled Marchok tried several times to throw Alnassiri, but Alnassiri used his massive frame to stay up. Marchok used an array of leg grabs and complex throws to finally bring Alnassiri to the ground, finishing with a 7-2 decision.
With the match essentially wrapped up, redshirt junior Evan Silver and freshman Mason Pingelly ended the afternoon with two more solid victories for Stanford. The 125-pound Silver’s takedown and 30-second ride-out of Brandon Vu closed the bout and secured a 14-5 major decision for the Cardinal. Pengilly ended the match by outmaneuvering Jordan Gurrola with another late takedown, winning a 5-3 decision.
Stanford sets out on the road this week for matches against Nebraska and South Dakota State before coming back west for the Pac-12 Championships in Corvallis, Oregon.
“We’re expecting to face some adversity going on the road and playing two strong teams on back-to-back nights,” Borrelli said. “Win or lose, we’re going to come out of that really well for the conference championship.”
Contact Sanjay Srinivas at ssri16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.