Tiger Grapplers Dual Central Missouri State

Senior Jeff Urban has already tied his season high win total with six duals remaining. Urban is 25-8.

WrestlingJanuary 24, 2000

Tiger Grapplers Dual Central Missouri State

Jan. 25, 2000

Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri wrestling team goes for its tenth win of the season Thursday night when it hosts Central Missouri State at Hearnes Center beginning at 7 p.m. MU, which boasts a 9-7 mark, has won eight of its last ten after starting the season 1-5. CMSU is currently 7-4, though they will wrestle at home versus MacMurray College Tuesday night before traveling to Columbia for Thursday's dual.

Ranked No. 11 in Division II (AWN), the Mules of CMSU have three wrestlers with 20 wins or more on the season, led by redshirt-sophomore Luke Shaw. A Columbia, Mo. native, Shaw is 25-7 on the season while wrestling at 133. Teammates John Rolling (184) and Korak Simmons (197) also have put together 20 wins at 21-10 and 20-11, respectively. Rolling and Simmons are among the top-8 in the weight class according to the latest Division II individual polls (AWN), as is Matt Johnson (174) who is 17-11.

Missouri is coming off a 1-1 weekend which saw it trounce Marquette, 38-12 and then lose a disappointing match to Northwestern, 19-17. In that dual, Missouri lost four different bouts by three points or less, leaving the Tiger just short of an upset win. The loss to Northwestern also snapped MU's six-match winning streak, the longest winning streak since the Tigers won the last three matches of the 1991-92 season and the first three matches of the 1992-93 season.

Speaking of winning streaks, two MU wrestlers are in the midst of impressive winning streaks. Sophomore KEVIN HERRON (197) has won 11 matches in a row, pushing his record to 21-7. The Imperial, Mo. native has not lost a match since the Great Plains Open on January 2. Of his 11 straight wins, four have come by pin, while three others were major decision victories (matches won by eight or more points). Both his win total and winning streak thus far, are career-highs for the sophomore.

Not to be out down by his younger teammate, senior JEFF URBAN (149) has turned it on of late and has won nine consecutive bouts. Urban, the No. 17-ranked wrestler in the nation (AWN), stands at 25-8 entering this week's competition. His win total matches his season career-high, which he set as a sophomore, and he now has 94 wins during his Missouri career. Six more wins for the senior and he will become just the seventh wrestler at Missouri to reach 100 wins over a career.

JEREMY SPATES (141) and JOHN KOPNISKY (174) each remain among the nation's top-20 wrestlers at their respective weights this week. Both men lost matches to wrestlers ranked ahead of them over the weekend, Spates a 3-1 decision to No. 4 Scott Schatzman (Northwestern) and Kopnisky a 9-6 loss to No. 8 Mark Bybee (Northwestern). However, Spates (27-6) and Kopnisky (26-3) are very close to becoming the first 30-win duo at MU since Shaon Fry and Kenny Liddell each won 30 matches during the 1991-92 season. Kopnisky also is the only Tiger with a perfect record in Big 12 matches with wins over Nebraska's Ati Conner and Oklahoma State's Tony Gansen.

The Tigers will have ten days off following Thursday's match. They will next wrestle on Sunday, February 6 at Hearnes Center, beginning at 2 p.m.

PROBABLE MISSOURI STARTING LINEUP

125 Jesse West 7-2

133 Mark Bader 11-21

141 Jeremy Spates 27-6

149 Jeff Urban 25-8

157 Jesse Jordan 23-13

165 Tim Hawks 3-11

Mark Vollmar 9-18

174 John Kopnisky 26-3

184 Josh Maze 14-20

197 Kevin Herron 21-7