University of California, Davis Davis, CA

UC Davis Junior Otrambo Selected to Compete in NWCA All-Star Classic

Junior Abe Otrambo will wrestle in a featured bout at 197-pounds

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis junior Abe Otrambo has been selected to wrestle in the 44th Annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic Sunday, Nov. 22.

The NWCA All-Star Classic will be held at Titan Gym on the campus of Cal State Fullerton and begins at 2:00 p.m.  

Otrambo, a native of Anaheim, Calif., will be part of the featured bouts and will face Riley Orozco of Cal State Bakersfield at 197-pounds.  

Last year, Otrambo finished with an overall record of 12-11 and was second on the team with four pins. He finished fourth at the Pac-10 Championships at 197-pounds and had an 8-4 record in conference matches.  

Orozco, a junior from Fallon, Nev., earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships last season. As the No. 2 seed at the 2009 Pac-10 Championships, Orozco won twice before falling in the title match.

Live coverage of the NWCA All-Star Classic will be available at nwcaonline.com.
UC Davis Wrestling Falls to No. 17 Arizona State in Season Opener

Ricky Alcala and Rory McBryde each win by decision

DAVIS, Calif. - No. 17 Arizona State earned pins at 149 and 157 pounds and benefitted from a UC Davis forfeit at 133 pounds to take a 38-6 win over the Aggies in a Pacific-10 Conference wrestling dual at The Pavilion Friday night in Davis, Calif.  

It was the season-opening match for both teams.

Ricky Alcala started the night at 285-pounds with a win by decision against Erik Nye. With the score tied at one point apiece after three periods, Alcala and Nye found themselves equal after the sudden death overtime period and advanced to the first 30-second rideout. Both wrestlers picked up a point for an escape, bringing the score to 2-2. In the next 30-secound rideout, Alcala used a quick escape and then received two points for a takedown for the 4-3 decision.

At 197, Rory McBryde won by decision over Michael Hawkins for the Aggies' second win of the match. The match stayed even until McBryde earned an extra point for riding time at the end of the third period for the 3-2 decision.

Third-ranked Anthony Robles won by technical fall over redshirt freshman Mark Jay Acosta at 125 pounds. In the second period, Acosta earned a point on a technical violation and picked up two points on a reversal, but could not overcome Robles and fell 20-3.

Brandon Low, ranked 17th in the country by InterMatWrestle.com, forfeited at 133 pounds, giving Ben Ashmore and the Sun Devils six additional points. At 141 pounds, fifth-ranked Chris Drouin of Arizona State earned the Sun Devils' second technical fall of the night with a 17-1 win over Justin Arredondo. Arredondo's only point came on an escape in the second round.

Arizona State continued to increase their lead after Vicente Varela pinned UC Davis' Randall Watts at the 2:30 mark at 149. The Sun Devils picked up another six points at 157 when Te Edwards pinned Trevor Machado-Ching at the 4:42 mark.

At 165, David Watts held close to Arizona State's Kyle DeBerry after the first period and took a 4-2 advantage after the second period. DeBerry, however, used a reversal as well as a two-point near fall and a three-point near fall to take a 9-4 lead and then received an extra point for riding time for the 10-4 decision.

Joshua Esparza fell by major decision to Eric Starks at 174 while Jake Meredith won by decision over Stephan Hampton at 184.

The Aggies resume action Nov. 21 at the Fullerton Open in Fullerton, Calif.

#17 Arizona State 38, UC Davis 6

125: #3 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) wins tech. fall over Mark Jay Acosta (UC Davis), 20-3, time not available
133: Ben Ashmore (Arizona State) wins by forfeit over #17 Brandon Low (UC Davis)
141: #5 Chris Drouin (Arizona State) wins by tech. fall over Justin Arredondo (UC Davis), 17-1, time not available
149: Vicente Varela (Arizona State) pins Randall Watts (UC Davis), 2:30
157: Te Edwards (Arizona State) pins Trevor Machado-Ching (UC Davis), 4:42 
165: Kyle DeBerry (Arizona State) wins dec. over David Watts (UC Davis), 10-4
174: Eric Starks (Arizona State) wins maj. dec. over Joshua Esparza (UC Davis), 16-3
184: Jake Meredith (Arizona State) wins dec. over Stephan Hampton (UC Davis), 4-1
197: Rory McBryde (UC Davis) wins dec. over Michael Hawkins (Arizona State), 3-2
285: Ricky Alcala (UC Davis) wins dec. over Erik Nye (Arizona State), 4-3

Former UC-Davis Head Wrestling Coach Awarded $725,000 in Sex Discrimination Suit Settlement

Sacramento, CA - The American Association University Women Legal Advocacy Fund-supported plaintiff reached a final settlement agreement with the UC Regents on Jan. 19 after a nearly four-year struggle with the school system.

Michael Burch filed suit in 2003 for Title IX violations. The settlement awards him $725,000 for damages and attorney fees. Burch will not be reinstated as head wrestling coach at UC-Davis and is not permitted to pursue employment at any school in the University of California system.  

The UC Regents formally approved the settlement on Friday after reaching a tentative agreement in November 2006, just days before Burch's Dec. 5 trial date.

"AAUW is very pleased with Mike's settlement," said AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund Interim Director Lisa Maatz. "Mike stood up against discrimination - even when it cost him his job - and today, justice has been served."

Burch claims that UC-Davis barred female participation in the wrestling program and terminated his contract after he showed support for the female wrestlers in 2001. Burch's case is supported by the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund, the nation's largest legal fund focused solely on sex discrimination in higher education. AAUW also supports the female wrestlers in a separate Title IX suit against the school.

"Mike should be applauded for his courage in standing firm to the very end of this difficult saga," Maatz said. "It's regrettable that the university didn't do right by him - and the female wrestlers - from the very beginning."

In 2003, Burch sued the Regents of the University of California and four university administrators for retaliation in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, and other federal laws. Since 2001, no women have participated in varsity wrestling at UC-Davis, despite the fact that two former UC-Davis female wrestlers won world championship medals. 
During his six-year tenure at UC-Davis, Burch was twice named "Men's Coach of the Year," led his team to more dual meet victories than any other previous wrestling coach at the school, recorded the first winning season at UCD in at least 25 years, and qualified numerous wrestlers to NCAA championships. In addition, he was a popular lecturer in religious studies and sports and society courses, where he touched on gender equity and Title IX.

Over the years, interest in women's wrestling has grown tremendously, debuting as an Olympic Sport in 2004.

Burch is now the assistant wrestling coach at Brown University and a religious studies lecturer at Rhode Island College and the Rhode Island School of Design

Iowa Teams Send UC Davis Home Early From NWCA National Duals

Kelly claims major decision and fall to lead UC Davis

Cedar Falls, IA – Competing against two of the best teams in the country at the
NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals, the UC Davis wrestling team was eliminated on the first day of
competition with tough losses to No. 5 Iowa and No. 24 Northern Iowa on Saturday. Senior Eliot
Kelly had the best overall day for the Aggies as he claimed two victories and a total of nine
points in the 197-pound class.

The two losses bring the Aggies’ dual record to 2-5 on the season.

UC Davis opened the grueling day against the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes. Competing
without No. 2 Derek Moore at 141 and No. 4 Ken Cook at 174, UC Davis struggled to match up
with a healthy Hawkeye team. Kelly earned UC Davis its only points of the match as he earned
an impressive 12-4 major decision against Rick Loera at 197. Nexi Delgado put in a solid
performance against Alex Tsirtsis at 141 and fell by just three points.

As if competing against the one of the top teams in the country wasn’t difficult
enough, the Aggies jumped back into action a couple hours later in the consolation bracket
against host school and No. 24-ranked Northern Iowa. Kelly continued to shine for UC Davis
at 197, and capped an impressive day when he pinned Andrew Anderson in 6:58. Fellow senior
Marcos Orozco earned the other points as he earned a four-point major decision at 125
over as he shutout Grant Ruge, 8-0.

The Aggies are back at it again next weekend as they host their first dual meet
this season when they welcome Pac-10 foe Cal State Fullerton to Hickey Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. on
Friday.


University of Iowa (IA) 41 vs. UC - Davi s (Davis) 4

125 Charlie Falck (IA) fall Marcos Orozco (Davis) F 3:43
133 Mario Galanakis (IA) maj. dec. Kyle Bank (Davis) M 13-2
141 Alex Tsirtsis (IA) dec. Nexi Delgado (Davis) D 6-3
149 Alex Grunder (IA) maj. dec. Shawn Haratani (Davis) M 12-3
157 Ryan Morningstar (IA) dec. Jon Clark (Davis) D 5-3
165 Mark Perry (IA) fall Dustin Noack (Davis) F 0:38
174 Eric Luedke (IA) fall Kyle Dubs (Davis) F 2:16
184 Phillip Keddy (IA) FORFEIT
197 Eliot Kelly (Davis) maj. dec. Rick Loera (IA) M 12-4
285 Matt Fields (IA) dec. Broc Maffia (Davis) D 9-4


UC - Davis (Davis) 10 vs. University of Northern Iowa (UNI) 30

125 Marcos Orozco (Davis) maj. dec. Grant Ruge (UNI) M 8-0
133 Kyle Anson (UNI) mar. dec. Kyle Bank (Davis) M 15-7
141 CJ Ettelson (UNI) maj. dec. Nexi Delgado (Davis) M 13-1
149 Charlie Ettelson (UNI) dec. Shawn Haratani (Davis) D 11-6
157 Moza Fay (UNI) maj. dec. Jon Clark (Davis) M 9-0
165 Nick Baima (UNI) dec. Dustin Noack (Davis) D 4-1
174 Curt Zinnel (UNI) dec. Kyle Dubs (Davis) D 16-9
184 Dan Dunning (UNI) FORFEIT
197 Eliot Kelly (Davis) fall Andrew Anderson (UNI) F 6:58
285 Tyler Rhodes (UNI) dec. Broc Maffia (Davis) D 6-3