Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU Hosts Old Dominion in Royal Rumble and Tumble
1/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Watch: Wrestling Insider | Royal Rumble and Tumble Details
MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan hosts Old Dominion at 2 p.m. Sunday in the inaugural Royal Rumble and Tumble at McGuirk Arena.
While the No. 13 Chippewas and Monarchs meet on the mat, the CMU gymnastics program will simultaneously host its home opener against Northern Illinois.
"We've been involved in a few of these events on the road, and it's always a very entertaining event with a lot going on," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli . "We expect a great crowd and an exciting event on Sunday."
CMU enters the dual 4-7 overall after a 19-18 win at Michigan State last weekend, the Chippewas' 10th consecutive win over the Spartans. Old Dominion is 5-8-1 overall and is led by one of the top 125-pounders in the country, senior James Nicholson. He enters Sunday's dual 23-0 overall and ranked No. 4 nationally by InterMat.
A top-15 bout is on tap at 133 pounds, where No. 11 Scotti Sentes (CMU) is set to face No. 12 Kyle Hutter (ODU).
"We've wrestled Old Dominion the last couple of years, so we know they're well-coached and they're going to wrestle hard for seven minutes," Borrelli said. "They're pretty strong in their lighter weights, so we're going to have to be sharp and be on top of our game."The Series: The Chippewas are 3-0 all-time against Old Dominion, with all three meetings coming in the past three seasons. CMU defeated the Monarchs at the Virginia Duals, 24-12, and in Mount Pleasant, 19-14, during the 2008-09 season. Last year, the Chippewas posted a 23-14 victory at Old Dominion.
The Matchup: Probable lineups for Friday's dual (rankings according to InterMat):
| Weight | | No. 13 Central Michigan | | | | Old Dominion | |
| 125 | | Christian Cullinan (13-9) | | | | No. 4 James Nicholson (23-0) or Eric Dunnet (9-3) | |
| 133 | | No. 11 Scotti Sentes (22-6) | | | | No. 12 Kyle Hutter (25-5) | |
| 141 | | Scott Mattingly (13-20) | | | | Brennan Brumley (19-10) | |
| 149 | | Donnie Corby (17-13) | | | | Joey Metzler (16-14) or Scott Festejo (4-7) | |
| 157 | | Eric Cubberly (19-11) | | | | Chad Lowman (5-12) or Micah Blair (1-11) | |
| 165 | | No. 17 Mike Miller (4-3) or Ryan Cubberly (4-7) | | | | Dan Rivera (12-15) | |
| 174 | | No. 5 Ben Bennett (21-4) | | | | Tristan Warner (14-16) | |
| 184 | | Chad Friend (1-12) | | | | Joe Budi (13-10) | |
| 197 | | Craig Kelliher (11-19) | | | | Jacob Henderson (8-14) | |
| 285 | | No. 2 Jarod Trice (18-3) | | | | Grant Chapman (10-19) | |
In the Rankings: CMU is ranked 13th in the InterMat poll and 21st in the NWCA/USA Today poll this week. Old Dominion is not ranked in either poll. The InterMat team rankings are based on InterMat's individual weight class rankings, while the NWCA/USA Today poll is voted on by a nationwide pool of head coaches.
Four Chippewas and two Monarchs are ranked in the top 20 nationally in InterMat's weight class rankings.
| Central Michigan | | | | Old Dominion | | | |
| Scotti Sentes (11th, 133 pounds) | | | | James Nicholson (4th, 125 pounds) | | | |
| Mike Miller (17th, 165 pounds) | | | | Kyle Hutter (12th, 133 pounds) | | | |
| Ben Bennett (5th, 174 pounds) | | | | | | ||
| Jarod Trice (2nd, 285 pounds) | | | | | |
Fearsome Threesome: Scotti Sentes , Ben Bennett and Jarod Trice are a combined 26-5 in dual meets this season and have combined to score 103 dual meet points, 57.5 percent of CMU's total of 179 points in 11 duals. Sentes is 8-3 in duals with a team-leading 37 points, Bennett is 10-1 with 36 points and Trice is 8-1 with 30 points.
Chippewas Win 10th Straight Over Michigan State: CMU's 19-18 win at Michigan State last weekend was its 10th consecutive victory over the Spartans dating back to 2001. The victory evened the all-time series at 13-13. The Chippewas have won 13 of their last 14 duals against in-state opponents.
Bennett Continues Winning Streak: Sophomore Ben Bennett has won 11 of his last 12 matches overall to improve 21-4 on the season, including 10-1 in dual meets. Bennett leads the team in dual victories and is second in overall victories. All four of his losses this season have been to an opponent who has been ranked No. 1 nationally at 174 pounds.
Miller Makes His Return: Senior 165-pounder Mike Miller returned to the lineup against Michigan, his first action since suffering an injury at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 3. Miller trailed 6-2 in the second period against UM's Dan Yates before rallying for a 9-7 sudden-victory decision. He followed that with another victory at Michigan State last week to improve to 4-3 on the season.
Trice Evens Season Series with Apland: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice closed the Chippewas' dual with Michigan with a 5-3 decision over Ben Apland. Trice had been defeated by Apland by the same score in the semifinals at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Trice, ranked No. 2 nationally at heavyweight, is 4-4 against opponents in this week's InterMat top 10 following, including a 3-1 exhibition loss to No. 7 Ryan Flores (American) at the NWCA All-Star Classic.
Top of the Tournament: Scotti Sentes (133 pounds), Ben Bennett (174) and Jarod Trice (heavyweight) combined for seven top-three finishes at the Body Bar Invitational, Cliff Keen Invitational and Midlands Championships. Sentes won the Body Bar and was third at Midlands, Bennett finished runner-up at all three events and Trice was third at the Cliff Keen and runner-up at Midlands.
Pair Earns First MAC Wins: Sophomore Christian Cullinan and redshirt freshman Craig Kelliher both earned their first career MAC dual victories in the Chippewas' 21-13 win over Northern Illinois last week. Cullinan was a 5-4 winner over Nick Smith at 125 pounds, while Kelliher earned a 4-3 decision over Mike Lukowski at 197 pounds.
Trice Travels the World: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice has competed in a pair of events outside of CMU's schedule this season. In October, Trice placed eighth in Greco-Roman at the University World Championships in Italy. He was the highest placing American in Greco-Roman at the event. In November, Trice represented CMU at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Fresno, Calif. American's Ryan Flores scored a third-period takedown to defeat Trice, 3-1.
Chippewas Open New Practice Facility: CMU celebrated the new year by moving into its new practice facility at the CMU Events Center. Built as part of the Events Center construction project, the new practice room has space for three full mats and fitness equipment. The practice room is just steps away from the competition floor in McGuirk Arena. [View photos of the new practice room. ]
"During dual meets our guys will be able to warm up in the wrestling room and then run from the wrestling room, where they’re comfortable, right into the arena to wrestle a match," Borrelli said. "That is a perfect situation that not many other programs in the country have."
CMU Adds Four During Early Signing Period: Four high school student-athletes signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Chippewas for the 2011-12 season, including three of the top-60 ranked recruits in the country. Ty Davis (141 pounds), Zach Horan (133), Joey Kielbasa (157) and Devin Pommerenke (285) committed to CMU during the early signing period. Horan (No. 16), Kielbasa (No. 59) and Pommerenke (No. 42) are ranked among the top 60 recruits nationally by InterMat. The group was ranked as the No. 13 recruiting class in the country by W.I.N. Magazine. [Read Full Recruiting Class Release ]
Coming Up: The Chippewas travel to Ohio for a Mid-American Conference dual on Friday, Feb. 4, then close the regular season with three consecutive MAC duals at home: Buffalo (Feb. 13), Eastern Michigan (Feb. 17) and Kent State (Feb. 20).
