Don't Mess With The Champs

For the second straight year UCF wrestling on top
By Andy Vasquez

Five years ago there was no such thing as wrestling at UCF. Today the program holds back-to-back national titles for wrestling.

A dynasty may have been born earlier this month when the UCF wrestling team won its second consecutive National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) National Championship.

Considering that the program was founded four years ago, wrestling at UCF has come a long way.

UCF wrestling in its current form originated four years ago, when it was founded as a student run club. The team joined the NCWA, a league created to fill the gap created by gender equity and funding problems that colleges face. The Knights have been dominating ever since.

"The schools in our league are mostly sponsored by either student government or a sports club organization," Coach Johnny Rouse said. "Although about a dozen of them are sponsored by their varsity athletic department."

From 1970 to 1986 there was a varsity-wrestling program at UCF, which received funding from the university's athletic department. But that program was dropped in mid '80s because of gender equity problems created by Title IX.

Rouse, who has been the coach since the inception of the club, also has a storied place in the history of UCF wrestling. As a student-athlete at UCF, Rouse was a heavyweight on the wrestling team in the late 1970s. After graduating, Rouse stayed on as an assistant for four years, and even was the coach of the team for a year. Wrestling at UCF is recognized only as a club by the university, but this hard working group is just as much a team as any of the varsity sports at UCF.

Team captain and club president Jason Balma, who also wrestles in the 149-pound weight class, says that the team had an identity crises in its first few years of existence.

Balma, a senior, said that when the club was founded many of the wrestlers were unsure of how to refer to themselves as a group.

"We were really careful, guys would say 'remember we're not a team, we're the wrestling club at UCF.'"

That mentality has since undergone a complete overhaul.

"To me there is a definite negative connotation that comes with the word club," Balma said. "People think of the Hacky Sack club, or whatever club. So we started referring to ourselves as a team. Regardless of how the university views us, we need to view ourselves as a team. We're doing the same thing that every other college wrestling team is doing."

Not only are the Knights doing those things, but they are doing them extremely well.

Senior captains Tom Lawlor and Todd Hauser led the Knights' most recent triumph when they traveled to Arlington, Texas, for the NCWA National Championship.

The Knights captured their championship in dramatic fashion. They trailed in the points late, but with individual championships in the last three weight classes UCF clinched the National Championship.

The victory was really a team effort, as the Knights placed in 9 of 11 possible weight classes.

Freshman Jarren Williams, dominated the 285-pound weight class in his first trip to the competition and won his first-ever National Championship.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to win," Williams said. "But these guys told me I would, and I didn't let it go to my head. I'm very satisfied that I won."

The solid team performance was important, but the story of the week belonged to the continuing solid performances of the UCF seniors.

Lawlor, a senior in the 235-pound weight class, won his third consecutive National Championship, and Hauser, also a senior, won his second consecutive national crown in the 197-pound weight class. Balma finished fourth in his 149-pound weight class.

Repeating as a champion is widely regarded as the hardest thing to do in sports, after winning his second consecutive title last year, Lawlor was taxed by the journey to his third straight victory.

"I felt that this year, was more challenging on me mentally than anything else," Lawlor said. "Especially when I got toward the end of the year. People around the league knew that I was the one to beat in my weight class.

"It started to get into my head a little bit, with everyone gunning for me. The last couple weeks of the season I was really stressed out, which is not really like me. I was getting headaches, staying up at night, I couldn't sleep ... I went ahead and did everything I knew I could do in the finals. That was a big release for me, to finally get that monkey off my back."

Hauser also knows how the pressure of trying to repeat feels.

"If you don't repeat, everybody thinks that you're a scrub," Hauser said. "Or that you got lucky one year. So it is a lot of pressure because you can't go and do better then you did, you can only match it. "

Over the coming years, wrestlers at UCF will have a hard time living up to the legacy this senior class of seven has left behind. Along with the two National Championships and 5 individual championships between them, the group has also been strong in the classroom.

The seniors on the team hold an average GPA of 3.7.

"All the seniors on this squad chose this school for academic reasons, or some other factor," Rouse said. "They chose this school for the reason a student should choose a college anywhere, anytime. They chose this school not expecting to have the opportunity to wrestle, which all of them love to do."

While the program is not NCAA Division I, and it most likely won't be anytime soon, UCF's image is still enhanced by the recent domination of UCF wrestling.

"During the season I get 10 e-mails a day with coaches or students either congratulating us or expressing interest in attending UCF," Rouse said. "Our program is giving UCF excellent national exposure."
 

CENTRAL FLORIDA REPEATS AS NCWA CHAMPIONS

RICHARDSON, TEXAS – Depth proves to be the big edge for the University of Central Florida as they won individual championships in the last three weight classes to repeat as National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) national champions on Saturday night at the University of Texas-Dallas.

The Golden Knights scored 171 points to register a 12-point victory over two-time runner-up Grand Valley State University.  The Apprentice School took third with 111.5 points while Blair Academy (62) and Newberry College (58.5) rounded out the top five.

For UCF, Todd Hauser repeated as national champion at 197 pounds with a 6-3 decision over Robert Aikens from Grand Valley.  Tom Lawlor finished his stellar career with a three-peat at 235 pounds defeating Jon Stolle from Grand Valley 9-4.  Freshman Jarren Williams started his trail of championships for UCF with a 7-4 victory at heavyweight over Craig Penzien of Grand Valley.

Blair Academy took home one individual title with Brendan Byrne winning at 133 pounds over Zach Thone of New Hampshire 11-8, while Newberry’s Quinn Tolbert edged conference rival Eric Lybarger of The Apprentice School 3-2 at 174 for their first ever national champion.

Central Florida placed in the top six in nine of the 11 weight classes and recorded ten All-American honors to match Grand Valley with the most All-American honors in the tournament.

By Brian Honea

Lawlor Becomes NCWA's First Three-Time Champion

 

RICHARDSON, Texas – Tom Lawlor has been down this road before.

Lawlor, a senior wrestler at the University of Central Florida, won the national title at 235 pounds Saturday at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) championships at the University of Texas at Dallas.

 

He has done this sort of thing before – Saturday’s gold medal was Lawlor’s third in as many years – but he also ventured into uncharted territory by becoming the first three-time champion in the eight-year history of the NCWA.

 

“I’ve put in a lot of hard work these last four years,” Lawlor said.  “I’ve had to play catch-up both talent-wise and technique-wise.  A lot of NCWA wrestlers had better high school careers than me.  I’ve always tried my hardest to keep improving.”

 

Lawlor defeated John Stolle of Grand Valley State University, 9-4, to win the title at 235 pounds Saturday.  Lawlor’s victory not only one him an individual title but it also helped seal the team title for UCF, which won over Grand Valley (171 to 159) for the second year in a row.  The win was the second of three for UCF in the final three weight classes, and all three victories came over Grand Valley wrestlers.

 

“We had to have those last three matches,” UCF head coach Johnny Rouse said.  “That was real big for us.  The biggest one was for Tom Lawlor, who is now a three-time national champion.”

 

In 2004, Lawlor won a 10-4 decision over Zachary Hammond of Blair Academy for the title at 235 pounds. Lawlor won his first NCWA title as a sophomore in 2003.  Lawlor also placed third as a freshmen, making him a four-time All-American.

 

“I figured after I won that first one (as a sophomore), there was no turning back,” Lawlor said.  “We have great coaches, and they push me pretty hard.  My team is like a family, and I didn’t want to let my family down.”

 

On wrestling a member of Grand Valley – which has become sort of a friendly rival of UCF the last couple of years at NCWA nationals – Lawlor said he was just happy to beat someone from a proven team.  But one of the most memorable matches in his college career was last year’s quarterfinal.

 

“Winning that one made me a three-time All-American,” he said. “But they’re all memorable – especially the last one here (against Rolle).”

 

Bad Hair Days Lead to Good Days on the Mat

By Brian Honea 

RICHARDSON – The Barber of Seville is in the house for the University of Central Florida wrestling team.

Senior education major Jayson Patino, the Southeast Conference champion in the 165-pound weight class, cuts hair in his spare time.  He simply applied his shears when the members of the UCF wrestling team decided they would use haircuts as a way to symbolize their camaraderie and team unity.

UCF is competing this weekend at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Championships at the University of Texas at Dallas, trying to defend their national championship.

“Bad haircuts were the theme last year,” Patino said.  “We had kids with mullets, kids with Mr. T haircuts and it was pretty bad.  This year we decided we’d go with Mohawks and moustaches.  Most of the kids got Mohawks but couldn’t get a moustache.  A few of us got the moustache. Some people got the Mohawk and the moustache.  The Mohawk seems to be the popular item.”

Patino said the most unusual haircut went to sophomore Paul Rothenberg, who donned the “old man” look by shaving just the top of his head to give the appearance of a receding hairline.

“That was the weirdest haircut we’d ever seen,” Patino said.

The “bad haircuts” theme did not originate as such.  According to Head Coach Johnny Rouse, the wrestlers agreed at the beginning of the season to let their hair grow and not cut it all season long.

“Some of the guys chickened out, because their hair looked really bad,” Rouse said.  “And then they came up with this (bad haircuts theme) at the hotel last night.  A couple of guys did it before we left Orlando, then last night, Jayson Patino whipped out the shears.  What they have here is what they ended up with.”

If the UCF wrestlers believe sharing bad haircuts (or no haircuts at all) leads to greater camaraderie which in turn leads to greater success when competing on the mat, it showed last year at the NCWA Championships.  UCF won the team national title and produced three gold medalists and three runners-up.  At this year’s Southeast Conference Championships, UCF boasted eight champions and three second-place finishers.

They are not just successful on the mat, however.  The seven seniors on UCF’s team have an average GPA of 3.7.

“I think it definitely has to do with team unity,” Patino said.  “They’re all willing to volunteer to let us do this to their hair.  It’s hilarious.  They like it. They feel like a team, because it’s something different.”

The haircutting tradition began some three years ago, right after student interest in wrestling had led to the revival of the long-since-done-away with wrestling program at UCF.  Rouse came out of retirement to voluntarily coach the team and promised his kids he would bleach his hair if he won the NCWA’s Coach of the Year award.

He did not win the award for the 2001-02 season, but he proceeded to win it in each of the next two years.  Despite not winning the award that first season, Rouse bleached his hair blonde, but got more than he bargained for.

“We bleached his hair, but for some reason he ended up with ‘UCF’ shaved in the back,” said Patino, who was a freshman at the time.  “And he’s done that every year since then.”

Rouse explained the shaved initials as the most practical way for him to be “part of the group.”

“I would really look stupid with a Mohawk or something like that,” he said.  “This will grow out.  It’s a temporary thing.  It’s all about team unity.  I told them if they win the tournament, then can have my head and do whatever they want with it.”

No doubt a plan is formulating somewhere.

2005 Southeast Conference

On Saturday February 26th, the UCF Wrestling Knights traveled to Milledgeville, GA to compete in the NCWA Southeastern Conference National Qualifier. The UCF squad went into the tournament as two-time defending conference champions, and looked to continue the trend of taking home hardware at the conference level. When all was said and done, the Knights accomplished their goal and brought home a third straight team title while having eight champions and eleven finalists in eleven weightclasses.

David Miller, Paul Rothenberg, and Matt Bohren led off the winning ways in the finals, as the triumvirate scored successive victories in the 125, 133, and 141 weightclasses to claim individual titles. "Boo-Boo" Miller electrified the crowd with his performance throughout the day, defeating two potential All-Americans en route to a last second finals victory. Jayson Patino and Zack Sanford also brought home gold medals in the 165 and 174 lbs. weightclasses, with Patino winning by decision and Sanford achieving his victory by pin. Defending National Champions Todd Hauser (197) and Tom Lawlor (235) each stomped through the competition, looking dominant while marching towards potential successive national titles. With his win Lawlor also becomes the first four-time conference champion in UCF Wrestling history. Jarren Williams at Heavyweight locked up the successful evening for the Knights with his win in the finals.

Silver medals were claimed by Rob McCarty (141), Jason Balma (149), and Danny Fernandez (184) with each wrestler leaving everything they had on the mat. Team Captain Jason Balma made the finals for the fourth straight year, only to fall short to PCC's Steve McGettrick (who claimed the Oustanding Wrestler award). Balma now looks ahead to the National Championships where he placed fifth place last year, and hopes to come away with a title this year. A returning National Runner-Up at 197 lbs., Fernandez faced fellow returning runner-up Eric Bendler of Santa Fe in the 184 lbs. finals. Fernandez lost a heartbreaking decision in overtime, but showed the tenacity and skill that will hopefully send him home with a gold medal in two weeks at the Nationals.

Finishing behind the Knights 206 points were Pensacola Christian College with 140.5 points and the University of Georgia with 95 points. With this win the Knights cement themselves as something that the NCWA has realized since the beginning of the season; UCF is going to Nationals to claim their second straight team title. With 14 wrestlers competing on March 11 and 12th in Dallas, TX UCF will attempt to bring another National title home to Orlando, FL.

Clemson Open

    UCF Wrestling continued its season on November 13, 2004 by participating at the First Annual Clemson Open. Teams from ten schools competed, with the Knights winning by a sixty-two-point margin over second place Limestone College. Other notable colleges such as Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, and Marion Military Institute rounded out the field of competitors.

    The Knights captured 7 championships out of the 10 contested weight classes. Paul Rothenberg  (141 lbs.) jump-started the Knights in the finals, claiming a pin over his Limestone College opponent.  Jason Balma (149), Bryan Guider (157) and Jayson Patino (165) continued the winning ways for the Knights, as each claimed the title at their respective weight classes. James Myers, defending NCWA National Champions Todd Hauser, and Tom Lawlor clinched the team title for the Knights with their championship performances at 184 lbs., 197 lbs., and 235 lbs. Other Knights competing in the finals but coming up short were "Boo-Boo" Miller, Chris Featherstone, and Scott Lawson. 235 lbs.'er Jesse Pinson and heavyweight Jarren Williams also claimed 3rd place trophies for UCF.

    The Knights look toward their toughest competition of the season thus far, traveling to Chattanooga, Tennessee to compete in duals on Friday November 26 and the accompanying Southern Open tournament on Saturday. The Knights will do battle on the mat with a plethora of NCAA Division 1 squads, as they look to further make their mark on the collegiate wrestling scene. Once again, visit ucfwrestling.net or www.ncwa.net for all your UCF Wrestling needs.

- Tom Lawlor

Other News

    In a recent edition of their paper, The Orlando Sentinel featured a small blurb about Tom Lawlor and Jimmy Myers.

Briefly . . .

    Four players from last year's Dr. Phillip's boys basketball team, which went 14-0 in the Metro Conference, have landed at Division I schools: Brad Larson at Jacksonville University, Jack Berry at Florida, Jason Rich at Florida State and Trey Hopkins at Western Carolina. Larson and Berry, who made their teams as walk-ons, will face each other Monday night when the Dolphins host the Gators. . . . Georgia Southern quarterback Chaz Williams (Apopka) tied his Southern Conference record with 36 touchdowns this season, 23 rushing and 13 passing. . . . UCF wrestler Tom Lawlor won a gold medal and teammate James Myers won a silver at the 2004 U.S. Sombo Association Wrestling Championships.

    Send news about former Central Florida athletes now competing in college to Tom Wyrwich at tjw015@gmail.com.

UCF Open 2004

The UCF Wrestling Club kicked off its season this past weekend with a home opener held at University High School. The Wrestling Knights are the defending 2003-2004 NCWA National Champions and looked to continue the winning tradition at the UCF Open. Six individual champions set the pace for the Knights en route to a 128 point performance, outdistancing second place Pensacola Christian College and third place Santa Fe Community College.

            Returning 197 lbs. National Champion Todd Hauser defeated teammate Danny Fernandez in a rematch of last year’s national finals by a score of 3-0. Two-time defending national champion in the 235 lbs. weight class, Tom Lawlor, began his trek towards a record third title with a 11-6 win in the finals over University of South Florida’s Joel Toussaint. Three other returning All-Americans from UCF also went undefeated in capturing titles with “Boo-Boo”Miller winning at 133 lbs., Paul Rothenberg at 141 lbs., and Jayson Patino returning from injury to capture the 165 lbs. Crown. Newcomer Jarren Williams showcased himself in the Heavyweight finals, pinning teammate Carlos Anglero with an overhead throw at 3:38 to take home the title.

            Falling short in the finals were five other wrestlers from the Knights. Rob McCarty (141 lbs.), captain Jason Balma (149 lbs.), Brian “Sideshow” Guider (157 lbs.), Zach Sanford (174 lbs.), and Jimmy Myers (184 lbs.) all took home second place finishes in the tournament. The Knights look to build upon the experience of this past weekend, as they travel to two tournaments this week. Both situated in the Carolinas, the Clemson Open and the Braves Classic will play host to the Knights this weekend. More information about UCF Wrestling can be found at www.ucfwrestling.net or at www.ncwa.net.

UCF 2004-2005 Season Outlook

10/04/2004 -
Following a riveting NCWA Championship performance in 2004, the Golden Knights look to repeat as the top team in 2005. Two-time "NCWA Coach of the Year" Johnny Rouse, along with Scott Sherman and Jason Snow, look to guide the Knights following the departure of assistant coach Bob Wargo. The Knights have improved every year in the NCWA, grabbing an eighth place finish in 2002, followed by a fourth in 2003, and finally a championship in 2004.

With proven leadership on the bench, the Knights also have wrestlers capable of leading on the mats. Returning National Champions Todd Hauser (1st 2004-197 lbs.) and Tom Lawlor (1st 2003, 1st 2004-235 lbs.) look to join an elite group as four-time NCWA All-Americans with Lawlor having the opportunity to become the NCWA's first three-time title winner.

Captaining the team, along with Hauser and Lawlor, is 2004 All-American Jason Balma (5th at 149 lbs.). Other returning All-Americans include David Miller (3rd 2003, 2nd 2004- 125 lbs.), Paul Rothenberg (3rd 2004-133 lbs.), Brian Guider (6th 2004-157 lbs.), Jayson Patino (5th 2004-157 lbs.), and Danny Fernandez (2nd 2004-197 lbs.)

The knights return with five NCWA National qualifiers who have not placed in the national championships, and fifteen freshmen that are hoping to make their mark. UCF must fill holes left in the lineup by stars like Jeff Ruberg (165 lbs.), Raun Jessee (174 lbs.), and Jason Ruberg (184 lbs.).

The Knights are committed to becoming the standard for teams in the NCWA. Through a combination of hard work, dedication, and toughness the Knights will try to continue the winning traditions set the past three years and remain on top of the NCWA world.