Coming off a disappointing loss at No. 13 Oklahoma State, the Aggies got back on track at Stanford, beating Drexel, Columbia and then host Stanford at Burnham Pavilion on Saturday.
The long day for UC Davis was a concern for head coach Lennie Zalesky before the duals.
“I’m a little concerned with the length of the day because it’s hard on your body,” Zalesky said. “All three teams always have one or two ranked wrestlers and should be tough.“
One ranked wrestler the Aggies didn’t have to worry about facing was their own senior, Marcos Orozco, who is currently ranked No. 16 in the country at the 125-pound weight class.
Orozco led the Aggies by going undefeated on the day with a 3-2 decision against Columbia, a 16-0 technical fall against Drexel and a 9-0 major decision against Stanford.
Fellow senior Tyler Bernacchi and sophomore Barrett Abel also went undefeated on the day, moving the Aggies to a 6-2 overall dual record, but more importantly, helped UC Davis improve to 2-1 in Pacific-10 Conference action by trouncing Stanford on their home mat.
The Aggies showed their head coach their resiliency and toughness by battling through the long day.
UC Davis started the day off by avenging a 2007 loss to Columbia with a convincing 24-15 win. Next, the Aggies took on Drexel, and thanks to Orozco’s technical fall, they were able to hang on in a close 21-19 match.
UC Davis then faced the host of the duals and their conference rival Stanford. The Aggies dominated the Cardinal and closed out their day with a 3-0 record.
Everybody seemed to be contributing to the wins for the Aggies. The biggest win from the Stanford dual was from sophomore Abe Otrambo, who defeated NCAA qualifier Luke Feist in the 197-pound contest.
UC Davis now goes into its weeklong break with a three-dual winning streak. They return to action on Jan. 23 and 24 with duals at Cal State Bakersfield on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday.
KYLE HYLAND can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.XXX
