Profiles of college teams competing in Virginia Duals

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Jim Heath (Virginia Duals media director)
01/12/2005


National College Division Capsules    American  Dual Record: 0-6  Coach: Mark Cody  Top Wrestlers: So., HWT, Adam LoPiccolo; Jr., 157, Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov.  Outlook: LoPiccolo took first at the recent Wilkes Open, while Abdurakhmanov was sixth at the Midlands.    Cal State-Bakersfield  Dual Record: 7-2  Coach: T.J. Kerr  Top Wrestlers: Sr., Efren Ceballos, 125, 20-3; Jr., Christian Arellano, 165, 22-7.  Outlook: The Roadrunners come in off a 2-1 performance Monday night in the Sun Devil Duals.  They lost a 20-19 decision to the host Arizona State squad.    Edinboro  Dual Record: 4-1  Coach: Tim Flynn  Top Wrestlers: Jr., Shawn Bunch, 133, 21-1; Sr., Nate Yetzer, 165, 21-3.  Outlook: Bunch was just ranked number one in the country by NWCA/InterMat Coaches Poll and The Wrestling Mall.  Yetzer is currently seventh nationally.  The team is currently ranked 19th by the NWCA Coaches Poll.    Indiana  Dual Record: 5-0  Coach: Duane Goldman  Top Wrestlers: HWT, Pat DeGain, 18-3; 141, Mike Simpson, 17-3.  Outlook: The 19th ranked Hoosiers boast five ranked individual wrestlers with heavyweight DeGain jumping 12 spots to sixth in the recent rankings after winning the Midlands Championships.    Lock Haven  Dual Record: 2-0  Coach: Rocky Bonomo  Top Wrestlers: Jr., 157, Seth Martin; Sr., 184, Justin Johnson  Outlook: Martin and Johnson finished fifth and sixth respectively in the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C.    Old Dominion  Dual Record: 1-1  Coach: Steve Martin  Top Wrestlers: 125: Christian Staylor, RS-Soph. 16-4; 133: B.J. Compton, Freshman 23-8; 141: Shanon Slack, Junior 23-12.  Outlook: Monarchs took home three firsts last weekend from the Virginia Division I States.  Staylor is currently ranked 11th at 125 pounds by InterMat.    North Dakota State  Dual Record: 4-0  Coach: Bucky Maughan  Top Wrestlers: HWT, Tim Kraemer 23-6; 165, Andy Pickar, 17-5; 157, Collin Kelly, 17-6.  Outlook: Bison are in their first year of their transition period into Division I and are on a school-record 23-match winning streak.  They went 3-0 last weekend in the N.C. State Duals defeating the host Wolfpack, Duke and Appalachian State.      Rider  Dual Record: 2-2  Coach: Gary Taylor  Top Wrestlers: Don Fisch, So., 141, 13-4; Tim Harner, 133, Fr., 15-7; Ryan Smith, Fr., 125, 15-8  Outlook: Ryan Smith took sixth at the Southern Scuffle in December. They defeated CAA rival Drexel 27-6 on Tuesday night as they took eight of the ten bouts.    The Citadel  Dual Record: 0-0  Coach: Rob Hjerling  Top Wrestlers: Travis Piccard, 157, 15-4; Levi Duyn, 149, 12-8.  Outlook: Piccard has two first places in the Southern Scuffle and Cornell Open, while Duyn has two fourth places in the Beast of the East and Southern Scuffle.    University of Buffalo  Dual Record: 0-5  Coach:  Jim Beichner  Top Wrestlers: Mark McKnight, 125, 17-10; Scott Rendos, 157, 15-14.  Outlook:  The Bulls lost three matches last weekend at the Buckeye Duals and have a best tournament finish of fourth at the Beast of the East.    University of Missouri  Dual Record: 8-1  Coach: Brian Smith  Top Wrestlers: Ben Askren, 174, 19-0; Matt Pell, 184, 24-3; Tyron Woodley, 165, 22-2.  Outlook: Eight of ten wrestlers are currently ranked nationally, with Askren leading that pack as the top-ranked man at 174-pounds.  The team is 12th and wrestled lost on Tuesday night to eighth-ranked Lehigh 22-17.    University of Nebraska  Dual Record: 9-1-1  Coach: Mark Manning  Top Wrestlers:  Sr., Travis Pascoe, 184, 14-1; Fr., Marc Harwood, 174, 16-4; Sr., Matt Murray, 141, 13-2.  Outlook: The 2004 National Division winners return after a 1-1-1 performance in the Lone Start Duals last weekend.  Nine potential starters have double figures in wins and three are ranked in the top seven nationally in their weight.    University of North Carolina  Dual Record: 1-0  Coach: C.D. Mock  Top Wrestlers: Isaiah Britton, 141, 17-7; Spencer Nadolsky, HWT, 17-9.  Outlook: Tar Heels took nine of 10 matches in a 36-3 win over Maryland last Saturday.  Tied for second in Beast of the East Tournament for best finish.    University of Ohio  Dual Record: 3-5-1  Coach: Joel Greenlee  Top Wrestlers: Sr., Jake Percival, 157, 12-1.  Outlook: Team went 0-2-1 at Buckeye Duals last weekend.  Percival tied the school record for career wins by winning all three matches in the Duals.    University of Tennessee at Chattanooga  Dual Record: 6-6  Coach: Terry Brands  Top Wrestlers: So., Michael Keefe, 141, 21-7; Sr., Jon Sioredas, 165, 11-1.  Outlook: Split two matches at the Buckeye Duals last weekend losing to Illinois (#2) 27-9 and defeated fellow Virginia Duals participant University of Buffalo 29-6.  Senior Jon Sioredas returns to the area as he was a graduate of Great Bridge High School.    University of Virginia  Dual Record: 3-2  Coach: Lenny Bernstein  Top Wrestlers: Fr., Andrew DiPasquale, 149, 19-11; Fr., Rocco Caponi, 174, 16-5; Sr., Paul Bjorlo, 157, 16-9.  Outlook: Won the Virginia Division I State Tournament last weekend and had four individual champions.   Caponi was ACC Wrestler of the Week after winning his weight class at states.    American College Division Capsules    Brockport  Dual Record: 1-0  Coach: Don Murray  Top Wrestlers: Patrick Bennett, Jr., HWT, 15-5; Will Weiss, Jr., 197, 13-3; Dan Roberts, Sr., 141, 9-1  Perennial top 15 team in NCAA D-III, the Golden Eagles finished second at the Messiah Tournament prior to Christmas.  They were third in the Duals in 2004.    Davidson  Dual Record: 5-0  Coach: Bob Patnesky  Top Wrestlers: Fr., Benjamin Graham, 149, 18-7; Matt Pendle, 157, 17-6  Wildcats enter winning three dual matches last weekend at Gettysburg for first 5-0 start in 38 years.     Duquesne  Dual Record: 3-1  Coach: John Hartupee  Top Wrestlers: Sr., Marc Allemang, HWT, 18-6; Fr., Jonathan Bittinger, 125, 12-9  Outlook: Duquesne went 2-1 last weekend in a home tri-match.  Senior Marc Allemang has top five finishes in five tournaments for Duquesne with a win at Ashland and a second place at Penn State.    Franklin & Marshall  Dual Record: 2-3 (prior to Tuesday dual at JMU)  Coach: Pete Schuyler  Top Wrestlers: Jr., Mike Parziale, 157, 17-4  Outlook: Mike Parziale is currently ranked 19th at 157 pounds and is coming off a top 12 finish at the Midlands last month.  Diplomats won the 2004 Duals by defeating Millersville 22-12.    McDaniel  Dual Record: 6-7  Coach: Sam Gardner  Top Wrestlers: Eddie Labatch, Fr., 6-2, 141; Sr. Dan Patterson, 133, 14-2;   Dan Patterson took second in the Scranton Open and is leading the McDaniel squad.  They went 3-1 last weekend in the North/South Duals last weekend at Ursinus College.    Millersville  Dual Record: 0-2-1  Coach: Neil Barnes  Top Wrestlers: Sr., Shawn Blanchard, 149, 13-9  Curtis Yeager, 174, 12-6  Outlook: The Marauders finished second in this event last year to Franklin & Marshall.  Blanchard, Yeager and heavyweight Mike Davidowich are fourth in the PSAC in their respective weight classes.    Newport News Apprentice School  Dual Record: 3-1  Coach: Jeff Rusak  Top Wrestlers: Fr., Jon Glavin, 133, 12-6; Fr., Brad Glavin, 141, 10-5  Outlook: Builders come in off taking two fourth places in the Virginia Division I State Championships. Jon Glavin has earned a third place at the UNC Pembroke Classic and a fourth at the D-I states.  Brother Brad took third at the ODU Invitational.    South Dakota State  Dual Record: 3-2  Coach: Jason Liles  Top Wrestlers: So., Nathan Althoff, 165, 19-5; So., Travis Gottschalk, 165-174, 11-9.  Outlook: The Jackrabbits are making their first appearance in the Virginia Duals and are coming in off a 1-2 performance in the Oregon Classic Duals last weekend.  They are in the first year of their transition period to Division I.