Central Michigan University Athletics
Wrestling Faces A West Coast Opponent
12/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 16, 2004
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University wrestling team hosts its first home dual of the season this weekend against Oregon State.
The matchup will take place in Rose Arena on Sunday, December 19, at 1 p.m. The Chippewas enter with a 1-0 record after defeating Michigan State, 25-10, last week in East Lansing while Oregon State is 1-1.
Head Coach Tom Borrelli's comments - "I am excited to wrestle in front of our home fans and I know our wrestlers feel the same way. We had a great following down at Michigan State and, hopefully, we can get the same atmosphere here this weekend. Oregon State is a tough team that gave us all we could handle the last time we meet.
"It is important we stay aggressive this weekend and wrestle smart. Against Michigan State, we get an okay job to being the aggressor, but our guys need to push the pace of the match more. We work hard on our conditioning, so that needs to be a factor in the matches."
A Look At The Beavers - Oregon State travels to the state of Michigan for its first away meet of the season. The Beavers face a pair of Mid-American Conference schools on Sunday. They will head down to Ypsilanti for a dual with Eastern Michigan following the contest with CMU. The meeting with EMU starts at 7 p.m.
OSU's previous dual meets resulted in a 22-13 win over Oregon and a 36-3 loss against Nebraska. The Beavers also participated in the Las Vegas Open and Southern Oregon Open. Oregon State is led by heavyweight sophomore Ty Watterson, ranked 11th in the nation, and 184 pound junior Dan Pitsch, ranked 18th.
CMU leads the all-time series at 1-0. The one-and-only meeting resulted in a 19-12 win for the Chippewas in Corvallis, Oregon in January of 2003.
The Last Meeting - Two seasons ago the Chippewas ended their west coast trip with a solid 19-12 win.
The Chippewas were led by senior David Bolyard, who won 6-3 over OSU's Brian Duhrkoop at 157. In addition, the Chippewas got several other key victories: junior Kyle Stoffer defeated Michael Delaney, 7-3, at 125; junior Jason Borrelli at 133 beat senior Tim Norman, 4-2; and senior Russ Vanderheyden solidly beat junior Dan Pitsch, 6-2, at 184.
Home Mat Advantage - The Chippewas have won their last 14 duals at home dating back to 2001. CMU last loss at home came to Michigan State, 18-16, in the fall of 2001. The current home winning streak has included wins over No. 4 Michigan, 19-13, in January of 2003 and No. 21 Michigan State, 19-15, later that year. The Chippewas have not lost a home dual since 1998 when it fell to Ohio.
Record-Setting Victory - The victory over Michigan State was the fourth-straight win over the Spartans. The Chippewas won just three times in the first 16 meetings between the two squads. The 15-point margin of victory is the largest ever for CMU against Michigan State with the previous record being 12 points in 1998.
In the rankings - Eight Chippewas are currently ranked in the national rankings. Three seniors are ranked in the top ten: David Bolyard, second at 165; Mitch Hancock, eighth at 174, and Bill Stouffer, eighth at heavyweight. Also in the top ten is junior 149-pounder Mark DiSalvo ranked 10th. Also ranked are: freshman Luke Smith, 13th at 125; Jason Borrelli, 19th at 133; Adam Cunningham, 19th at 157; and Alex Lammers, 18th at 197.
