Mendes stays unbeaten, Pami also wins

The Cal Poly wrestling team returned to action against UC Davis at Mott Gym on Friday night after a 12-day break. Ultimately, the Mustangs overcame the Aggies with a 28-15 win in the Pac-10 dual.

They won seven of the 10 matches, which included two forfeits by UC Davis.

“It’s always good to get a win,” said Cal Poly head coach John Azevedo. “I think we met most of the expectations. There were a couple of them we thought we’d win that we didn’t. It was good overall.”

UC Davis was able to get an early win by fall at 125 pounds, but lost the subsequent seven matches.

The Aggies were also able to earn another fall at 197 and a decision at heavyweight.

UC Davis’ style of wrestling is comparable to that of Boise State, which defeated the Mustangs (5-4, 4-2 Pac-10) on Jan. 13, 26-5.

“(UC) Davis is similar to Boise (State); they like to get heavy on the head and get really physical,” Azevedo said.

Though Azevedo said the Mustangs were “a little sluggish” during the match, he made it clear that it was due to how intensely they had been training during the period that no matches were scheduled.

“We trained really hard and I think their bodies are a little worn out, but we’ve been training for the future, not for this match,” he said.

Cal Poly’s Chase Pami bounced back from a loss in his last match to earn a 6-1 decision over UC Davis’ Drew Maraglia at 157. Pami, ranked No. 13 in the nation, improved to 19-4 on the season.

“I’m satisfied with where I’m at, but I still have a little ways to go before the end of the year, but it’s going to come,” Pami said. He added he wants to improve his consistency for the rest of the year.

At 141, Chad Mendes, the first Mustang to hold a No. 1 ranking in the nation since Scott Heaton and Rick Worel both did in 1980, defended his position against Nexi Delgado.

Mendes earned a 10-2 major decision to improve to 19-0 on the season. He’s held down the top spot for two consecutive weeks in the InterMatWrestle.com poll.

The Mustangs will host Stanford in their penultimate Pac-10 match, at 7 p.m. Feb. 8.