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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 2-24-82 |
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Baza Defends Wrestling Title |
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by Mike Jones |
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| Ed Baza stands 5-foot-4 and weighs only 134 pounds, yet he is one of the best in the country at what he does. Baza is SJSU's senior All-American wrestler at 134 pounds. He has an incredible record of 32-4 so far this season, his last victory being a 25-6 decision last Friday night against Fresno State in the Spartans' 35-6 win. Baza is undefeated at 134 pounds this season, his four losses coming at 142 pounds. He currently ranks fifth in the nation at 134 and is the favorite to defend the PCAA crown he won a year ago in the PCAA championships this weekend at SJSU. When Baza came out of Sunnyvale High, no one really expected him to do as well as he is doing. In his senior year at Sunnyvale, he won his league title and place third in the CCS championships, but did not do well at the state championships. He wasn't heavily recruited out of high school but he came to SJSU much to the delight of Spartan wrestling coach T.J. Kerr. "Ed Baza is one of the most pleasurable experiences i've had in coaching," Kerr said. "He's really disciplined. I tell him to do something and he'll do it." Kerr also talked about the great progress Baza has shown in his four years at SJSU. "It's unbelievable how he has progressed," Kerr said. "He didn't come close to placing in state (in high school) and he places in the nationals here." As a freshman and sophomore, Baza wrestled at 126 pounds. Last year, he wrestled at 134 and won the PCAA championship. He also finished fifth in the NCAA championships. Coming back this year as the PCAA champion, Baza knew everyone would be trying hard to beat him. "There's pressure but i try not to think about it," Baza said. "i just let it take care of itself." Of all things Baza has in his favor, maybe the best one is his confidence. "I feel confident as long as i wrestle to my capabilities," he said. "If i give it all i've got i feel i can't be beat. If i do my best and get beat, i feel all right because i know i gave it my best." But even after four years of wrestling at SJSU, Baza said he still feels the butterflies in his stomach before every match. "I'm still nervous before a match," Baza said. "I try to be pretty warm before i go out there." Baza said his strength in wrestling is his takedown. He uses a lot of single and double leg tackles in his takedowns. Many times, as in the Fresno State match, Baza will take down his opponent for two points and then let his opponent escape for one point and then take him down again for another two points. One thing Baza does not do is pin his opponents. He has had only one pin this year. "I'm not a pinner," Baza said. "I'd like to get more pins so i could rest more for the finals." Now that he is near the end of his college wrestling career, Baza said he has no regrets at all since coming to SJSU. "It's been a plus from day one," he said. "I've grown up a lot and met a lot of good guys." After the season is over, Baza said he will try to continue to wrestle for a few years for the Spartan Wrestling Club. He also mentioned he will stay in the hunt for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. This weekend's PCAA championships at SJSU will be Baza's last performance in Spartan Gym. But there is one thing for sure, SJSU will certainly miss Ed Baza. |
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