Bears Fall Against Wyoming

Friday, January 26

Greeley, Colo.

6 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

Wyoming

1/26/2024 10:38:00 PM | Wrestling

By: Michael High, Assistant Director for Strategic Communications

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado (8-5, 1-4 Big 12) suffered a setback against Wyoming in front of a near sellout crowd at Bank of Colorado Friday.

In a top-five matchup at 125 pounds, No. 5 Stevo Poulin earned a 3-1 decision over Jore Volk. After a scoreless first period, Poulin elected to start the middle round on the bottom and carried a 1-0 advantage into the final two minutes with an escape. He earned a 2-point near fall before Volk escaped to cut the deficit to 3-1.

No. 14 Dominick Serrano pushed the team lead up to 7-0 with a 14-6 major decision over Garrett Ricks. Serrano jumped out to a 6-2 edge with a pair of takedowns in the first three minutes. Following a third escape of the match trimmed the deficit to 6-3, Serrano notched another takedown before the middle round concluded. He doubled up his foe with an escape and takedown in the final stanza.

No. 32 Travis Mastrogiovanni stopped a four-bout winless streak for the Bears, with a 4-2 victory over Quayin Short. Heading to the final round, Mastrogiovanni held a thin margin at 3-2, before tacking on an insurance tally for the final margin.

At 285, Andrew Blackburn-Forst trailed 7-0, before escaping from the down position. He went to work and closed the gap to 7-4 with a takedown. He worked to expose Bradley Moore to the potential back points before earning the fall with 1:43 remaining on the clock in the opening period. He recorded six of his seven wins this season by pinfall.

QUOTE FROM COACH
"It was a tightly contested match and we did not win enough of the close matches," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "We get a little time off to train and get healthy as a team before we compete again. I am excited to get back to work and get healthy."

WYOMING 23, UNC 16
January 26, 2024 | Greeley, Colo. | Bank of Colorado Arena
                                                                                                                                    UNC      WYO
125: No. 5 Stevo Poulin (UNC) over No. 4 Jore Volk (WYO) (Dec 3-1)                      3          0
133: No. 14 Dominick Serrano (UNC) over Garrett Ricks (WYO) (MD 14-6)              7          0
141: No. 31 Cole Brooks (WYO) over Rudy Lopez (UNC) (MD 11-2)                         7          4
149: No. 14 Gabe Willochell (WYO) over Benji Alanis (UNC) (MD 10-1)                    7            8
157: Sloan Swan (WYO) over Roman Cruz (UNC) (Dec 2-0)                                     7          11
165: Cooper Voorhees (WYO) over Derek Matthews (UNC) (Dec 6-2)                      7            14
174: No. 32 Travis Mastrogiovanni (UNC) over Quayin Short (WYO) (Dec 4-2)        10        14
184: Ethan Ducca (WYO) over Damen Pape (UNC) (Dec 8-3)                                  10        17
197: No. 19 Joseph Novak (WYO) over Xavier Vasquez (UNC) (Fall 4:52)               10          23
285: Andrew Blackburn-Forst (UNC) over Bradley Moore (WYO) (Fall 1:17)            16        23

NEXT HOME MATCH
The Bears return to The Bank for the final time during the 2023-24 campaign when they host Utah Valley Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit uncbears.com/tickets or call 970-351-4849. Tickets can also be purchased at the Campus Commons Ticket Office, Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.