BUFFALO -- The title defense is officially underway. On Sunday morning at the Buffalo Open, Notre Dame Wrestling hit the mats for the first time since winning the 2010 NAIA National Championship in March. And the Falcons picked up where they left off. (Results)

Notre Dame sent 11 grapplers to its season-opening event, an open tournament hosted by the University of Buffalo and featuring a talent-laden field. Seven NDC wrestlers earned Top-3 finishes at the tournament, with two Falcons, #Derek Foore# and #Orlando Scales#, winning titles.

Eighteen collegiate programs competed at the Buffalo Open, including eight NCAA Division I teams. Four of those squads -- Ohio State (No. 12), Pittsburgh (No. 14), Lehigh (No. 17) and Rutgers (No. 21) -- came into the early-season bracket event ranked in the Top-25 of the NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches' Poll.

Notre Dame arrived at UB's Alumni Area with a prestigious ranking of its own -- the Falcons are the NAIA's preseason No. 1 (NAIA Coaches' Poll). On Sunday, NDC looked the part.

Foore and Scales each went 3-0 en route to their titles, Foore at 197 and Scales as a heavyweight.

Derek Foore, one of three Falcon grapplers to win a national championship last March, picked up two pins on the day. He defeated nationally-ranked Cody Mangrum-Ohio State (No. 14, InterMat), 4-0, in the title bout at 197.

Scales decimated the competition at UB, collecting his three victories with a fall in 1:32 and then decisions of 14-4 and 12-5.

Foore and Scales were backed up by three runners-up -- #Jeffrey Pelton# (4-1 at 149 pounds), #Kevin Hardy# (3-1 at 165) and #Cody Butzer# (3-0 at 174). #Brian Dean# and #Jon Bittenger# carded third-place finishes in their brackets (125 and 174 pounds, respectively). They each went 5-1 on the day.

Pelton's second-place finish was by the slimmest of margins. The 2010 national champ won four bouts, including a 10-6 decision over Ohio State's Sean Nemec. Pelton was then ousted, 2-1, in the final against 11th-ranked (InterMat) Desi Green of Buffalo.

Pelton's win was one of four on the day with NDC grapplers defeating their Ohio State counterparts. Notre Dame, in fact, went a combined 4-0 against Buckeye foes on the day.

“I think if this had been a scored meet that we'd have won,” said Head Coach #Frank Romano#. “This was a terrific start for us and in a wonderful event -- I can't say enough about the job [UB head coach] Jim Beichner does with this tournament. Its first-class.”

The host Bulls placed wrestlers in eight of the tournament's 10 championship bouts.