Central Michigan University Athletics
MAC Tournament Up Next For Chippewas
2/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 25, 2003
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- The Central Michigan University wrestling team (13-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference), ranked 21st in the NWCA coaches poll, won its final dual meet of the year to earn a share of the MAC conference title. Next up for the Chippewas will be the MAC tournament, which they hosts this year. The tournament will be held on March 8-9 in Rose Arena to determine the MAC tournament champion and which wrestlers will represent the MAC at the national championships in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 20-22.
KENT STATE RECAP: CMU earned a share of the conference title with a decisive victory over Kent State on Saturday evening, Feb. 22, 26-9. CMU's Ty Morgan (Huber Heights, Ohio/Jr.) got it off to a solid start at 149 with a win over Jason Bake, 5-2. Kent State's Mike Tolar, ranked 15th in the nation at 157, tied the team score at three with a victory over 13th-ranked David Bolyard (Akron, Ohio/So.), 7-2. The 165-pound dual was a battle between two wrestlers who were undefeated in MAC competition, and CMU's Kevin Carr (Warsaw, Ind/Jr.), ranked 8th in the nation, defeated 13th-ranked Nick Nemeth, 5-1. Kent State tied the score again with a win at 174 by Ken Clark, 6-3, but CMU again took the lead at 184 with a major decision by Russ Vanderheyden (Rockton, Ill./So.), 10-2. CMU pushed its lead to eight with another major decision by senior Brett Faustman (Mason/197), wrestling in his final dual, 15-3. Kent State charged back with a win at heavyweight by Tomas Rodriguez, 4-3. Kyle Stoffer (Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Fr.) won a huge match for the Chippewas at 125, upsetting defending MAC champion and 14th-ranked Jared Opfer in overtime, 3-1. CMU finished off the win with victories by Jason Borrelli (Mount Pleasant/So.) at 133, 12-11, and fifth-ranked Jason Mester (Mineral Point, Wis./Jr.) by pin in 1:37 at 141.
BORRELLI ON KENT STATE: "It was a good way to finish the regular season and give us some good momentum heading into the MAC tournament. I was impressed with how aggressive our wrestlers were in each match and we need to be that way in the MAC tournament if we want to each our goals. We had a great crowd that gave us a lot of energy during the match and, hopefully, the same thing happens when the tournament comes here."
MAC TOURNAMENT: With the regular season finished, the MAC tournament is right on the horizon. CMU will host the tournament this year in Rose Arena on March 8-9. The first session on Saturday, March 8, will begin with the first-round at 1 p.m. The second session on Saturday will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the semifinals in the championship matches, and first and second-round of consolation matches. On Sunday, March 9, the championship finals and consolation finals will take place at 1 p.m., and any true second place matches will occur at 3 p.m. CMU is the defending tournament champion. The tournament victory was CMU's fourth in the last five years. Seven wrestlers will try and defend their title from last year at the tournament. The seven are: junior Jared Opfer of Kent State at 125; sophomore Jake Percival of Ohio at 149; senior Scott Owen of Northern Illinois at 157; senior Nick Nemeth of Kent State at 165; senior Bill Lowney of Northern Illinois at 174; junior Ben Heizer of Northern Illinois at 184; and sophomore Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo at 197. Owen was both the MAC "Wrestler of the year" and "Outstanding Tournament Wrestler" last year, and Percival was named MAC "Freshman of the Year."
