Central Michigan University Athletics
Wrestling Opens 2000-01 Season
11/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 13, 2000
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THE TEAM-- The Central Michigan wrestlers open the season on the road this week when it travel to East Lansing to compete in the Michigan State Open on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 18 and 19. Action is slated to begin at 10 a.m. The tournament is open to all wrestlers.
THE COACH-- Tom Borrelli enters his tenth season as head coach of the Chippewas. CMU is 93-55-5 overall and 34-11 in the MAC under Borrelli. The veteran coach has been named MAC "Coach of the Year" four times and was tabbed "National Coach of the Year" by two organizations in 1998. He has coached 27 MAC champions and 11 All-Americans. Central has finished in the top 10 nationally in two of the last three seasons.
SEASON PREVIEW-- The Central Michigan wrestling team enters the 2000-01 season with a young group of wrestlers. Only four starters return from last season's squad. The lone senior on the team is Ahmad Sanders (Flint/Sr.) who returns at the 125 slot.
The remaining returnees are Jordan Webster (Washington, Ill./So.) who will compete at 133, Russell Clark (Holt/So.) at 157 and Jack Leffler (Morris, Ill./Jr.) at the heavyweight position. Other likely starters include: Jason Mester (Mineral Point ,Wis./Fr.) or Derek Phillips (Grosse Pointe/So.) at 141, Ty Morgan (New Carlisle,Ohio/Fr.) at 149, Dean Schuler (Delta, Ohio/Fr.) at 165, Kevin Carr (Warsaw, Ind./Fr.) at 174, Jeff Pangborn (Durand/Fr.) at 184 and Brett Faustman (Mason/So.) at the 197 slot.
READY OR NOT-- "We are not pushing to be ready yet," said head coach Tom Borrelli. "We still need to figure out what to work on, who our starters are and who to redshirt. The dual meets don't start until December, so we don't have to solidify our lineup until then. Physically, we are in shape and ready to go."
SELF IDENTITY TEST-- "The Michigan Open will be a real good starting point for us," said Borrelli. "We should be able to figure out where we are at and what we need to work on before the upcoming dual meets. It will be a competitive tournament. There will be a few Big Ten and MAC schools competing. Michigan and Michigan State, both in the top ten, will be there."
NOTES-- Four CMU wrestlers enter the 2000-2001 campaign ranked in the Mid-American Conference preseason rankings. The rankings are voted on by the coaches. Ahmad Sanders (Flint/Sr.) was selected third at 125, Jordan Webster (Washington, IL/So.) fourth at 133, Russell Clark (Holt/So.) third at 157 and Jack Leffler (Morris, IL/Jr.) second at the heavyweight slot.
