Jan. 5, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. - Bolstered by pins from sophomore Rocky Smart and redshirt freshman Andy Swanson, the 10th-ranked Arizona State wrestling squad defeated Cal Poly 27-14 in the Pac-10 opener for both teams at Wells Fargo Arena Friday night.
ASU maintains a perfect 4-0 dual record on the season and opens the new year with a 1-0 conference record, while Cal Poly drops to 0-2 overall, 0-1 in the Pac-10.
Smart, ranked 17th nationally at 157 pounds, set the tone for the night with a pin over Cal Poly's Dusty Mauck in 3:57. Then it was All-American Steve Blackford, ranked fourth at 165 pounds, that furthered the momentum in the following match with an exciting 13-3 major decision over Brody Barrios, 13-3.
Putting the exclamation on the night was Swanson (197 pounds), pinning David Schenk in just 1:42, much to the delight of the Sun Devil bench and the 566 fans in attendance. Swanson's fall extended ASU's lead to 20-4 after five matches.
Also picking up big wins for ASU were No. 19 R.D. Pursell (184) with a 25-11 major decision victory over Charles Sandlin, No. 16 David Douglas (133) with a 14-5 major decision over Nate Ybarra, and No. 9 Kellan Fluckiger (HWT) with a 5-2 decision over Dan Leahy.
The Mustangs took the last two matches of the night, as Andrew Gharst notched a major decision over Dan Hyman (142) and No. 12 Cedric Haymon defeated Dana Holland (149) 5-1.
ASU will look to continue its four-match winning streak as the Sun Devils play host to No. 6 Oklahoma Friday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena.
#10 Arizona State (3-0, 1-0 Pac-10) 27, Cal Poly (14 (0-2, 0-1 Pac-10)
Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
157: #17 Rocky Smart (ASU) pinned Dusty Mauck (Cal Poly), 3:57
165: #4 Steve Blackford (ASU) major dec. Brody Barrios (Cal Poly), 13-3
174: Steve Strange (Cal Poly) major dec. Curtis Owen (ASU), 15-7
184: #19 R.D. Pursell (ASU) major dec. Charles Sandlin (Cal Poly), 25-11
197: Andy Swanson (ASU) pinned David Schenk (Cal Poly), 1:42
HWT: #9 Kellan Fluckiger (ASU) dec. Dan Leahy (Cal Poly), 5-2
125: Jaime Garza (Cal Poly) dec. Chris Knox (ASU), 7-6
133: #16 David Douglas (ASU) major dec. Nate Ybarra (Cal Poly), 14-5
141: Andrew Gharst (Cal Poly) major dec. Dan Hyman (ASU), 8-0
149: #12 Cedric Haymon (Cal Poly) dec. Dana Holland (ASU), 5-1
Attendance: 566