The weekend begins with a top-20 matchup when No. 4 Minnesota travels to Mount Pleasant to face the No. 19 Chippewas Friday at 7:30 p.m. CMU welcomes Ohio to McGuirk Arena Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
"We're really excited about the opportunity to compete at home this weekend," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "Our home crowd has always been good to us. This is our first match in front of them this season, and we're really excited for that."
Minnesota will be the first top-five ranked team to visit Mount Pleasant since Nebraska in 2009. All 10 probable starters for the Golden Gophers are ranked in the top 20 nationally in their respective weight class.
Ohio handed the Chippewas their only Mid-American Conference loss a year ago, a 21-17 decision in Athens. CMU, Ohio and Kent State ended the 2010-11 season in a three-way tie atop the MAC standings.
Follow the Action: Fans can follow both of this weekend's duals on CMUChippewas.com. Both duals will be streamed live through the CMU Sports Zone on CMUChippewas.com, and live match updates will be provided on Facebook.com/CMUWrestling and on Twitter @CMUWrestling. Live match scoring also will be available through trackwrestling.com.
Twitter Reminder: You've already found the social media home for CMU Athletics at cmuchippewas.com/socialmedia, but you can now receive specific game updates during home CMU events by including event-specific hashtags in all tweets related to the event. Include the hashtag #CMUMINN to join the conversation between fans, media and CMU Athletics during Friday's dual, and #CMUOHIO for Saturday's dual.
iPad2 Giveaway: All fans in attendance at Friday's dual meet against Minnesota will be eligible to win an iPad2 courtesy of CMU Athletics. Fans will receive a raffle ticket as they enter McGuirk Arena, and CMU head coach Tom Borrelli will draw the winning ticket in a video posted on Facebook.com/CMUWrestling on Monday.
Pre-Match Tailgate at O'Kelly's: The CMU wrestling program is hosting a pre-match tailgate on Friday at O'Kelly's in Mount Pleasant. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public. Food and drink specials will be offered to those in attendance.
CMU vs. Minnesota: CMU is seeking their first win over the Golden Gophers, who lead the all-time series 11-0. Last season, victories at 184 and 197 pounds carried Minnesota to a 21-17 come-from-behind win over CMU at the Northern Quad. Friday's dual marks Minnesota's first trip to Mount Pleasant.
CMU vs. Ohio: The Chippewas lead the all-time series over Ohio, 22-17. CMU had won 12 straight in the series until the Bobcats used a pair of defensive falls to upset the Chippewas, 21-17, in Athens last season. The Chippewas shut out Ohio, 40-0, in the teams' last meeting in Mount Pleasant two years ago.
In the Rankings: Central Michigan is ranked No. 19 in this week's NWCA/USA Today poll. Minnesota is ranked No. 4 in the NWCA/USA Today poll and No. 3 in the InterMat tournament strength rankings. Ohio is not ranked in either poll.
The NWCA poll is voted on by a nationwide pool of head coaches and based on perceived dual meet strength, while the InterMat team rankings are based on individual weight class rankings. Individuals ranked in the top 20 nationally of their respective weight classes by InterMat:
Central Michigan
125: No. 19 Joe Roth
157: No. 19 Donnie Corby
184: No. 9 Ben Bennett
285: No. 9 Peter Sturgeon
Minnesota
125: No. 2 Zach Sanders
133: No. 6 David Thorn
141: No. 13 Nick Dardanes
149: No. 13 Dylan Ness
157: No. 9 Jake Deitchler
165: No. 8 Cody Yohn
174: No. 8 Logan Storley
184: No. 5 Kevin Steinhaus
197: No. 3 Sonny Yohn
285: No. 2 Tony Nelson
Ohio
174: No. 15 Nick Purdue
285 No. 12 Jeremy Johnson
CMU vs. the Top 5 in Mount Pleasant: CMU is 1-2-2 at home against top-five opponents since the start of the 2005-06 season:
Dec. 11, 2005: No. 2 Michigan, L, 22-14
Dec. 9, 2006: No. 2 Missouri, L, 31-9
Jan. 7, 2007: No. 3 Hofstra, T, 18-18
Jan. 20, 2008: No. 4 Michigan, W, 21-13
Jan. 25, 2009: No. 4 Nebraska, T, 17-17
CMU vs. the MAC: The Chippewas have won 66 of their last 69 conference duals dating back to the 1998-99 season. CMU has won at least a share of 12 of the last 13 MAC titles and 10 straight conference tournament championships.
Roth Enters the Rankings: Sophomore 125-pounder Joe Roth is now 15-2 overall and ranked No. 19 nationally at 125 pounds. Roth has won six straight matches and 12 of his last 13. He was the only Chippewa to post a perfect 4-0 mark at Northeast Duals last weekend.
Coming Up: CMU travels to Buffalo next Saturday, Dec. 10, for a Mid-American Conference dual match against the Bulls.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now