Fresno State Tops UCSB in Home Dual; Gonzalez Battles in Final Bout
FRESNO, Calif. – November 12, 2016
Fresno State 26, UC Santa Barbara 13
The Fresno State Wrestling Club returned to dual action, defeating UC Santa Barbara 26–13 at the Fresno State South Gym. The Bulldogs claimed five of seven contested matches, using a mix of grit, experience, and firepower to secure their first dual win of the season in front of their home crowd.
The dual opened at 125 lbs with freshman Christian Aguilar making his official club debut. Aguilar wrestled tough but ultimately dropped his bout to give UCSB an early lead. Fresno State quickly rebounded, rattling off a string of wins in the middle and upper weights to take control of the dual.
A major storyline of the evening came at 149 lbs, where club founder and senior captain Jovany Gonzalez took the mat for what may be his final collegiate match. Returning from a shoulder surgery and nagging knee injuries, Gonzalez jumped out to a lead with a takedown before getting reversed and landing out of bounds, resetting in the center.
“Being on the bottom referee’s position is where most of my offense comes from,” said Gonzalez. “I knew I was going to hit something big.”
And big it was—Gonzalez executed a reversal and locked in a tight cradle, rolling through for what appeared to be a match-ending sequence.
“I had my cradle locked in, hit the roll through to his back. I thought it was a wrap,” he said. But in the middle of the scramble, disaster struck. “He fought it hard, and my lock loosened—and it didn’t loosen because my grip gave way. My shoulder definitely gave way.”
With an audible yell, Gonzalez tried to fight through the pain, but his opponent capitalized on the opening, quickly making up the deficit. Still, Gonzalez dug deep, scrapping to stay in it despite the obvious physical toll. In the end the shoulder issue was just too much to overcome.
“I think this is it for me. My body is just telling me I can’t do this anymore,” Gonzalez admitted after the dual. “I have a lot to be proud of. I started the club three years ago, and it’s grown to what it is now. I think my role now is to support the team from the sidelines. Aside from me, the team did great.”
And he was right. Bulldogs picked up victories from Marcus Marquez (157 lbs), Davit Gevorgyan (174 lbs), Dwayne Heller (184 lbs), Jesus Izazaga (197 lbs) and Isaac Romero (235 lbs).
