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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 3-11-81 |
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Baza Shoots For NCAA Title |
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by Dave Meltzer |
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| Three years ago SJSU wrestling coach T.J. Kerr had to talk a young high school wrestler who didn't feel he was
ready for major college competition out of going to junior college. Three PCAA championships later, 20 year old Eddie Baza knows he's not only good enough for bigtime competition, but feels he can stay with anyone in what should be a brutal 134-pound field at the NCAA championships Thursday through Saturday in Princeton, NJ. Baza will be competing in one of the toughest divisions in the entire tournament, with eight grapplers who have already earned national reputations. "I think i'm in the top ten, but there is really one or two points separating you when you get to that level," Baza said. A junior from Sunnyvale High School, the human fireplug is a liberal studies major whose ambition to teach those with learning handicaps. "I'll be going to school for a long time, maybe i'll coach when my eligibility runs out. Coach (Kerr) has a way of keeping people around." In dual meets, Baza usually evokes more of a crowd reaction than any of his teammates. He's a never-say-die competitor who gives the fans an exciting match, whether he wins or loses. But actually it would take one with a good memory to remember his losses, as he's dropped only two bouts at Spartan Gym in three seasons. "Eddie carries the action with no stalling and no defense attitude at all," Kerr said. Standing 5'4", Baza appears practically wide as he is tall, even when cutting down to 134 pounds. He goes about 152 pounds during off season. During the season Baza usually carries six or seven pounds than the 134 limit until two days before competition. Although he finds it easier to make weight this season (he wrestled at 126 his first two seasons), he says that for him the end of the season is the toughest to making weight. "The last two days i'll dehydrate and run with plastics. I've noticed that i sweat more than most guys. I guess it's just metabolism." This will be Baza's third trip to nationals, and after a 33-4 season, he's looking forward to place for the first time. "The most important thing i've learned over the last two years that just knowing that anyone can win the thing if they put it together," he said. "The difference between the guys who place and the guys who don't is who quits last." It's going to take more than a little to make Eddie Baza quit. Last week in the PCAA tournament Baza and Cal State-Fullerton's Tony Urrea collided heads in a first-round match. Urrea was knocked silly for a while, but when the match resumed there was blood coming from over Baza's left eye. Going into his championship match owning three more stitches above his eye (I think it needed five") and nice-sized swelling, Baza handily won his third straight league crown and will attempted next season to become only the third wrestler in PCAA history to garner four championships. Although he's overwhelmed most of his collegiate competition these past three seasons enroute to a 86-22-2 record, he hasn't been so fortunate the past two seasons in the NCAA tourney. "In my freshman year i was still in high school compared to the rest of those guys," Baza said, as he won his first match but fell in the second round to the No. 5 seed. "Last year i was out before i was even awake." The fourth youngest in a family of 15 children, Baza claims he has a few older brothers that were better wrestlers than he is. He terms his father a strict disciplinarian, and he's been able to learn from that to organize time for training and studying without going cray. "He keeps everything in perspective, even though wrestling is very important to him," Kerr said. "He's not a super gifted student but he gets the job done. He makes time for his family, his friends, his studies, and his wrestling." |
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