Redshirt senior Anthony Robles finished out his perfect regular season over the weekend while the rest of the ASU wrestling team continued to struggle in what was another tough road trip in the Pac-10.
ASU (5-13, 1-4 Pac-10) lost to No. 21 Oregon State (10-5-2, 3-2) 33-11 on Thursday night in Corvallis before suffering a 28-11 defeat at Stanford (9-9-1, 4-2) on Sunday.“I think there were some mixed emotions,” Robles said. “Some guys wrestled tough, and some guys didn’t.”
Wrestling short-handed for the last time before the return of senior captain Bubba Jenkins (157-pound weight class) and junior Eric Starks (174) from knee injuries next week, ASU pulled off several individual upsets over the weekend despite the lopsided losses.
“Obviously, it’s never fun to lose two duals on the road,” redshirt sophomore Levi Cooper said. “Everyone wrestled pretty decently, though, and we had two heartbreaking losses against OSU.”
On Friday, both Cooper (285) and junior Jake Meredith (184) upset their ranked Beaver opponent, No. 15 junior Clayton Jack and No. 19 senior Brice Arand, in addition to Robles’ 16-0 drubbing of freshman Christian Strahl.
Other matches were close, as junior Te Edwards and redshirt freshman Luke Macchiaroli both lost their match by one point.
“I think every guy individually has something they’ve been doing wrong all season long,” Cooper said. “For me, I need to get better at riding. Everyone will be working on these little things over the next few weeks, and hopefully that moves us from losing one-point matches to winning them.”
Cooper triumphed again with a 2-1 tiebreaker win on Sunday over senior Dylan Rush. Then Robles (125) topped his success from Friday with a 17-point margin of victory against redshirt sophomore Matt Sencenbaugh and Edwards avenged his loss to OSU with a 6-2 decision over senior Lucas Espericueta.
The continued success of No. 1 Robles, who finished the regular season with a 28-0 mark, and Cooper, who has won 15 out of his last 18 matches, has both wrestlers feeling confident heading into the Feb. 27 Pac-10 tournament held in Corvallis.
“I’m as excited as I can be for the Pac-10 tournament,” Cooper said. “I’m very excited to be the guy that everyone’s gunning for.”
Robles remained humble in light of his spotless season thus far and stressed the focus necessary for he and his teammates to succeed down the stretch.
“For me, I’m really excited for Pac-10s and nationals,” Robles said. “Some other guys are just excited for the season to be over and for spring break. Really, it’s all about being in the right mindset.”
The Sun Devils will have two weeks to rest and work on their mistakes, as well as their mental outlook, in preparation for the competition in Corvallis.
“We have a few things to iron out,” Cooper said. “But I think as a team, we might be a little overlooked. With two of our better guys coming back, I think we have the ability to surprise the people who think ASU is having a down year.”
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
