Wrestling Opens 2000 Dual Schedule At Central Michigan.

Head Coach Brian Smith and the Tigers will face Findlay and Central Michigan this Sunday.

WrestlingJanuary 04, 2000

Wrestling Opens 2000 Dual Schedule At Central Michigan.

Jan. 5, 2000

COlumbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri wrestling team is back in action this Sunday, January 9 when they travel to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. for the Central Michigan/Hampton Inn ?Duels?. Missouri joins Findlay University (NAIA) as the guests of Central Michigan. The Tigers will wrestle Findlay at 2 p.m. and then battle the host school at 4 p.m. Central Michigan is currently the 21st-ranked team in the Intermat top-25 team poll.

MU brings a 2-5 dual mark to Central Michigan, after facing one of the toughest first semester schedules in collegiate wrestling. Tiger wins came over Lindenwood (Dec. 10) and Wyoming, in Missouri?s last outing (Dec. 19), while all five losses have come to teams who were ranked among the nation?s top-25 or received votes in the national polls at some point during the season. The second semester begins with two tough non-conference tests.

The two-time, defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan Chippewas return three All-Americans from last year?s squad that finished 7th at the NCAA Championships. The trio includes Ryan Cunningham (174), Chris Marshall (141), and Chris Vike (197). CMU also returns 10 letterwinners and five starters from a 1998-99 team which finished 14-5-1. A Tiger win would MU?s first over a ranked opponent since 1994, when Missouri defeated No. 9 Oklahoma, 20-19 at Hearnes Center.

Findlay University, located in Findlay, Ohio, is the No. 3 team in the nation according to the latest NAIA team poll. Seven Findlay wrestlers are among the top-eight in their weight class, headed by Ryan Dickson at 149, the No. 1-ranked NAIA wrestler in his division. Findlay is one of three NAIA schools Missouri will face in 1999-2000. Earlier this season MU defeated Lindenwood, 27-15, and on Jan. 20 the Tigers will face Missouri Valley in Marshall, Mo.

Making his MU debut his weekend will be JESSE WEST, a 125 lb., second semester sophomore who transferred to Missouri from Iowa State last month. West will fill a hole in the Tiger lineup where MU has had to forfeit in each of its seven duals. As a high school senior, West was the No. 1-ranked prep recruit in the nation out of Iowa City High School. His arrival solidifies MU?s starting ten for the rest of the season.

Missouri sophomore JOHN KOPNISKY has a big match on tap as he takes a 23-1 record to Central Michigan. Awaiting Missouri?s nationally ranked 174-pounder, is Ryan Cunningham of Central Michigan. A two-time All-American, Cunningham is ranked in the nation?s top-10 at 174 and is attempting to become the first three-time All-American in his school?s history. A win for Kopnisky would most likely propel him into the top-10 in his own rite. This week ?Kop? is ranked No. 13 by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 17 by Intermat Magazine.

Missouri?s top freshman, JEREMY SPATES, will also face a major test when he takes on CMU?s Chris Marshall, the eighth-ranked 141-pound wrestler. After Kopnisky, Spates has been MU?s most dominating wrestler. The Norman, Okla. native has won five straight dual matches, and nine straight overall. Spates travels to CMU with a 5-2 dual mark and 20-4 record in all matches. Last weekend, at the Great Plains Open, he avenged an earlier loss, when he defeated Oklahoma State?s Jarrad Saunders, 5-2 to advance to the championship match. The Tiger had lost a 6-5 bout to Saunders when the two school met on November 18. Spates later won the championship at 141 with an injury default win over Justin Flores of Nebraska.

Both JEFF URBAN and JESSE JORDAN are quietly putting together great seasons in the middle of Missouri?s lineup. Urban, who qualified for the NCAA Championships a year ago, is 16-8 this season as the team?s lone senior at 149 lbs. Jordan, a redshirt sophomore, is 16-11, and has wrestled nearly every opponent tough. Of his 11 losses, six have come by three points or less.

After the trip to Central Michigan, MU will be off until January 15 when they take part in the Brown Duals hosted by Brown University in Providence, R.I. Missouri will take Brown, Army, and Franklin & Marshall at the event. The Tigers? next home dual takes place on Thursday, January 27 when MU hosts Central Missouri State at 7 p.m.

PROBABLE MISSOURI STARTING LINEUP

125 Jesse West 0-0

133 Mark Bader 8-15

141 Jeremy Spates 20-4

149 Jeff Urban 16-8

157 Jesse Jordan 16-11

165 Mark Vollmar 8-12

David Neff 2-7

174 John Kopnisky 23-1

184 Josh Maze 12-13

197 Kevin Herron 12-8

HWT Chad Hertzog 9-10