January 27, 1999
Columbia, Mo. - After getting their first dual wins of the season last Thursday night, the Missouri Tiger wrestling team heads to Warrensburg for a dual match with Central Missouri State Friday night. The Tigers, now 2-4, will face a tough group from CMSU. The Mules are 6-7-1 and ranked #10 in NCAA Division II in the latest InterMat magazine Top 20 poll (1/14/99).
As mentioned above, Missouri enters the match after winning two dual matches versus Lindenwood and Missouri Valley last Thursday. The Mules last wrestled this past weekend at the Division II Showdown Duals in Edmund, Oklahoma. CMSU went 1-2-1 in competition, winning over San Francisco State, but falling to Pittsburg-Johnstown and Nebraska-Kearney, before tying Augustana of South Dakota.
"CMSU is a tough team," head coach Brian Smith said. "We will need to go over there and wrestle tough. The guys have been working hard and getting the wins helped us out."
The Tiger's lineup will be shuffled around a bit for Friday's match. Despite begining the season at 149, senior Matt Webster has wrestled well at 157 and will stay there even as Jesse Jordan (157), returns from minor knee surgery for Friday's match. Jordan will also move up a weight and compete at 165, while freshman John Kopnisky will move into the 174 slot to fill out the Tigers starting lineup.
According to Coach Smith, the wrestlers made the decision to move weights for the team. "The guys came to me and said they were willing to move around to fill the lineup. That shows alot about the guys. Especially Jesse, coming back for the first time after his surgery. Its great to see."
The match with CMSU begins at 7 pm in Warrensburg. MU returns home next weekend for two dual meets. Friday, February 5 they take on Northern Iowa at 7 pm at the Hearnes Fieldhouse and Sunday the Tigers face Iowa St. in Big 12 conference action at 2 pm that match will also be held in the Hearnes Fieldhouse.
Jordan Returns to the Lineup
OK, so maybe you were thinking of a different Jordan when you read the title line, but Jesse Jordan is a very important part of the wrestling lineup. The freshman from Jefferson City, Missouri has recovered from minor surgery to repair a partially torn miniscus in his right knee and has been out of action since the begining of the month. He comes back with a 10-5 record at 157, but Friday night he will wrestle at 165 to allow the TIger lineup to be filled.
Urbans Streak Continues
Jeff Urban continues to prove himself as one of this years top Tigers. With his two wins Thursday night,the junior has now won five straight dual matches and is 16-7 overall. His only dual lose came in the seasons opening match versus Illinois. In his latest action, Jeff pinned his opponent from Lindenwood in 1:43 and earned a major decision win versus Jeremy Biddle of Missouri Valley, 12-4. Urbans stellar wrestling ties him with John Kopnisky for the team wins lead in dual matches (5) and overall (16).
Senior Steps Up for the Team
Two weeks ago, senior Matt Webster was asked to step in for then-injured Jesse Jordan at 157 lbs. That meant a step up in weight from 149, but it was a chance for the senior to get some mat time, and he has made the most of it. The Washington, Illinois native is now 3-0 in dual matches after two wins Thursday and he earned a third place showing at the Great Plains Open earlier this year. Despite Jordans return, Webster will remain at 157, as the freshman will move to 165 and John Kopnisky moves into the hole at 174. Websters numbers: 15-5 overall and 3-0 in duals, not bad for a guy just getting some mat time at a different weight class.
MU and CMSU Share Common Ground
The Tigers and Mules share two common opponents for the 1998-99 wrestling season. Both teams have taken on Illinois and Lindenwood in dual action. The teams have also shared the same record versus those oppo nents. To begin the season, Missouri lost to Illinois 33-3, on December 12, CMSU was upended by the Fighting Illini 42-0. Last Thursday the Tigers were 46-10 winners over Lindewood, while the men from Warrensburg took down the Lions of Lindenwood 34-10 December 10.
The Last Time They Met on the Mat
The last Tigers-Mules summitt came January 28, 1998 with MU winning 34-12. Senior Mike Harp and fresh man Jason got pin victories for Missouri, as the Tigers won seven of the ten matches. The win was the Tigers first of the 97-98 season and began a four match non-conference winning streak for MU as they finished the season by winning five of their final six non-conference matches.
Probable Starting Lineups
125 Jake Lapinski (7-11) versus Rob Bland (19-10)
133 Mark Bader (13-8) versus Ryan Hintz (25-9)
141 Cliff Sutcliffe (1-13) versus Luke Shaw (19-6)
149 Jeff Urban (16-7) versus Doug Yeager (16-8)
157 Matt Webster (15-5) versus Jake Crowley (4-11)
165 Jesse Jordan (10-5) versus Derek Bland (4-12)
174 John Kopnisky (16-7) versus #5 Matt Johnson (25-10)
184 Jason Moore (12-11) versus John Rolling (9-10)
197 Kevin Herron (8-9) versus Korak Simmons (9-5)
HWT Chad Hertzog (8-8) versus Jeremiah Rohl (10-7) or Dan Spencer (17-10)