Stanford wrestling went into this weekend’s pair of road duals in Oregon riding a four-meet winning streak that had propelled the team to a remarkable 10-2 start and a chance to match its best win total in Stanford history. But while this year’s Cardinal squad clinched the second-best record in program history with its win over Oregon on Friday, a disappointing loss to Oregon State on Sunday dashed any hopes that Stanford might tie its all-time mark.

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Jeff Keacher

The Cardinal put together a strong effort against Oregon but came up short against Oregon State. Stanford has only beaten the Beavers, the defending Pac-10 champions, once in more than 50 years of competition. The team will have three more dual matches before taking on Oregon State again at the Pac-10 Championships in two weeks.

The Cardinal dominated against Oregon (9-11, 0-8 Pac-10) as it has all year. No. 6 senior Tanner Gardner at 125 pounds pinned his opponent, sophomore Zack Giesen notched a win by technical fall at 184 pounds, and No. 10 senior Josh Zupancic earned a major decision victory at 157 pounds. Freshman Max Rosefigura at 141 pounds, junior Luke Feist at 174 pounds and sophomore Jake Johnson at 197 pounds rounded out the Cardinal victors against the Ducks; Stanford (11-3, 4-2) went on to win the dual, 24-15.

However, coach Kerry McCoy’s squad did not fare nearly as well in Corvallis against Oregon State (9-6, 6-3) on Sunday. Over the years, the Beavers have proven to be a true Cardinal-killer, having lost just once to Stanford since the series began in 1953. That trend continued this season as the Cardinal fell, 24-15, losing six of 10 matches.

“We were disappointed with the Oregon State match,” McCoy said. “We felt like our guys kind of got caught up in the atmosphere of being there at Oregon State and got out-fought a little bit.

“I think Oregon State was ready for that with the attitude that [they’d] only lost to Stanford one other time, and this wasn’t going to be the second time that happened,” he added.

Stanford raced out to a fast start against the Beavers, as Gardner won by technical fall and freshman Porfirio Madrigal followed with a 6-1 victory at 133 pounds to give the Cardinal an 8-0 lead out of the gate. But the Beavers answered back with a technical fall victory and win by decision at 141 and 149 pounds to even the score.

Zupancic followed with a 14-5 major decision before the Beavers began building their lead with decisions at 165 and 174 pounds. In the Cardinal’s final win of the dual, a 13-4 major decision at 184 pounds, Giesen was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following the match. As a result, Stanford was docked a point from its team score.

The penalty could have proved costly, as it dropped Stanford’s lead to just one point with two matches remaining. But the Beavers finished the dual with a major decision victory at 197 pounds and a pin at heavyweight, wiping out any tangible effect the official’s decision could have had. As McCoy explained, the high tensions unique to Giesen’s match may help explain the sophomore’s uncharacteristic penalty.

“All it was is after the match he got hyped up a little bit and pointed at the crowd, and it was a hostile situation,” he said. “He’s from southern Oregon, right down the street from Oregon State, and fans were calling him ‘traitor’ and booing him and stuff like that.

“He really cares about the sport, and I think he really believed that it was a homecoming for him. So for it to be his home area and have people treat him that way, it was really disappointing for him. His emotions got the best of him, and he kind of overreacted a little bit,” he concluded.

Overall, if there was a positive to take away from the weekend, it was the continued dominance of Cardinal senior stalwarts Gardner and Zupancic, who, as McCoy said, would be key to Stanford’s late season hopes.

“As seniors, as captains, as returning All-Americans, they are the pillars of this program,” McCoy said. “They really set the bar high . . . and they’re really doing a great job of leading by example.”

Leading by example is exactly what the Cardinal will need in the coming weeks as its season begins to wind down. Stanford faces Cal Poly on Friday before hosting Cal State-Fullerton on Sunday. There will then be just one regular season dual remaining between Stanford and the Pac-10 Championships, a match against Arizona State on Feb. 17.

The conference tournament is set to open on Mar. 2 in Eugene, Ore.