A weekend that was clouded by gray skies and an upset defeat saw the No. 6 Sun Devils escape the Oregon schools with one win in two dual meets.
Beginning their weekend in Corvallis to face Oregon State on Friday, ASU would get shell-shocked by a squad of underachieving Beavers, as they were upset 18-16. The meet began with the big men wrestling first, as fourth-ranked senior heavyweight Kellan Fluckiger wrestled a hard-fought match against OSU's ninth-ranked senior Andy Bowlby. Fluckiger scored two points in the second period, which proved to be all he would need, as he won the match 2-1.
ASU would go on to win four more matches, including top-ranked 149-pound senior Eric Larkin's 12-1 major decision. But a costly loss by eighth-ranked 174-pound senior Curtis Owen put a halt to his 5-match winning streak, as well as the team's three-year domination of the Pac-10.
The last time ASU fell to a Pac-10 opponent was Feb. 6, 1999 to none other than OSU.
Owen found himself the owner of an early 7-2 lead over OSU senior Jake Huffman. Huffman was able to score a takedown, but time was running out and it looked as if Owen might be able to ride out the remainder of the match, until Huffman saw daylight, and with one second left pinned Owen at 4:59.
"Huffman was in a close match with (Owen)," OSU head coach Joe Wells said after Owen, the Pac-10's best 174-pouind wrestler fell, "but it looked like he was getting tired. Huff saw something that might work, and he just went for it."
Two matches later, 197-pound freshman Ryan Bader found himself wrestling a match he had won 8-1 earlier in the season against senior Jason Lovell. Bader was never in control of the match, and lost 7-4.
"I wanted revenge bad," said Lovell, "I just thought I had nothing else to lose."
The OSU win marked their first dual win over a ranked opponent in more than two years.
Up next for ASU was Oregon who was coming off an impressive win over Boise State, but an angry and refocused Sun Devil squad left the stadium with a 21-20 win, improving their season record to 10-6, and 3-1 in the Pac-10.
The Ducks came sprinting out of the blocks and took an early 10-0 lead, but the remainder of the match was all ASU as the Sun Devils went on to win the next six of eight matches.
Fresh off the upset loss at OSU, Owen showed the experience and resiliency of an experienced senior as he battled to a 10-4 decision, upping his season record to 15-7 and 4-1 in the conference.
Fourth-ranked 141-pound senior Dana Holland nearly saw his 10-match winning streak come to an end against Oregon senior Casey Hunt. The two exchanged near takedowns but in the end Holland prevailed with a 4-3 decision.
Again Larkin made short work of his opponent, pinning freshman Skyler Woods at 2:17. The Sun Devils would win the next three matches, including a rare performance by 149-pound freshman Chris Smith, wrestling up a weight in the 157-match and winning, impressively, 3-1.
ASU will return home for their final dual meet at Wells Fargo Arena on February 9, hosting Cal State Bakersfield.
Reach the reporter at damien.tippett@asu.edu.
