Feb. 25, 2002
The No. 9 Missouri Tigers close out the regular season Tuesday against the No. 6 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The Tigers are 18-2 on the season and 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference. The 18 wins tie a school record for victories in a season. With a win Tuesday, Missouri would pass the old record set by the 1967-68 team that went 18-0-1.
The Sooners are coming off a 38-6 victory of Arizona State last Thursday. The only two losses of the year have come to their in-state rival Oklahoma State. OU has wrestlers ranked in all ten weight classes, while Missouri has six ranked wrestlers.
There are several good match-ups on Tuesday's schedule. At 149 pounds, No. 12 Jeremy Spates will take on No. 8 Jared Frayer of OU. The 157-pound bout will feature No. 12 Doug Cieleski of Oklahoma against Missouri's No. 15 ranked Kenny Burleson.
At 174 pounds, MU senior John Kopnisky, ranked No. 11 in the 174-pound class, will face No. 20 Michael Barger. Kopnisky will be honored Tuesday as part of senior night for Mizzou. He is currently tied for fourth on the MU all-time wins list with 102 career victories.
MU sophomore Scott Barker will take his No. 7 ranking into battle with No. 12 Tom Grossman of OU in the 197-pound match.
The two teams will meet up again on March 9 at the Big 12 Championships, hosted by Oklahoma.
Missouri Outlook
The Tigers finish up their dual schedule Tuesday against No. 6 Oklahoma. MU is 18-2 on the year and ranked No. 9. Missouri held the No. 9 ranking for eight weeks now and have been in the top ten for 10 consecutive weeks.
On Saturday, MU picked up three victories at the Cornell Duals giving them 18 wins for the year. That ties a school record for wins in a season and the Tigers will be looking to set a new mark with a victory Tuesday.
Six MU wrestlers are ranked in the top 20. Sophomore Scott Barker has been the highest ranked Tiger all season. He is No. 7 in the 197-pound class with a 22-2 record.
Senior John Kopnisky is ranked eleventh at 174 pounds. He is 22-4 on the year and has moved into a tie for fourth place on the MU all-time wins list with 102 wins as a Tiger. Sophomore Jeremy Spates, the son of OU Head Coach Jack Spates, is No. 12 in the 149 pound class with a record of 23-5.
At 165 pounds, redshirt freshman Tyron Woodley is No. 15 and has a record of 18-7. Sophomore Kenny Burleson leads Missouri in wins with a record of 26-8. He is ranked No. 15 in the 157-pound class. Junior Dante Stone is 16-10 on the year and is ranked No. 20 at 184 pounds.
Scouting Oklahoma
No. 6 Oklahoma is 17-5 on the season and is coming off a 38-6 victory over Arizona State last Thursday. The Sooners have finished fourth in the NCAA Championship in each of the past two seasons and will look for another top five finish this season. OU finished second last year in the Big 12 Conference and is currently second in the league this season.
All ten of the Sooners in the starting lineup are ranked and four are past All-Americans. Witt Durden, Jared Frayer, Josh Lambrecht and Leonce Crump are each returning All-Americans. Durden is 26-4 on the season in the 133-pound weight class and is ranked No. 3. At 149 pounds, Frayer is ranked No. 8 and is 27-6 overall on the year. Lambrecht is ranked No. 7 in the 184-pound weight class and has a record of 26-4 on the season. In the heavyweight division, Crump is 21-3 and ranked No. 5.
Also ranked for Oklahoma are Matt Ridings (7th at 125), Nate Parker (10th at 141), Doug Cieleski (12th at 157), Robbie Waller (9th at 165), Michael Barger (20th at 174) and Tom Grossman (12th at 197).
The Sooners are 3-2 in the Big 12 with their only losses coming to No. 5 Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma has one more dual left on their schedule, against Michigan State on March 1, before the Big 12 Championships on March 9.
Missouri Projected Lineup (Overall record, Dual record, Big 12 Record)
125- Mark Bader-Jr. (17-13, 12-8, 1-2)
133- Chris McCormick-Fr. (13-13, 9-11, 0-3)
141- J.P. Reese-So. (21-8, 15-5, 2-1)
149- Jeremy Spates-So. (23-5, 15-22, 1-2)
157- Kenny Burleson- So. (26-8, 12-3, 0-3)
165- Tyron Woodley-RSFr. (18-7, 12-5, 1-2)
174- John Kopnisky-Sr. (22-4, 14-3, 3-0)
184- Dante Stone- Jr (16-10, 10-7, 1-2)
197- Scott Barker-So. (22-2, 17-2, 2-1)
HWT- Kevin Herron-Jr. (20-10, 14-6, 1-2)
Oklahoma Projected Lineup (Overall record)
125- Matt Ridings- Sr. (22-4)
or Bo Maynes- Jr. (18-3)
133- Witt Durden- Jr. (26-4)
141- Nate Parker- Jr. (19-10)
149- Jared Frayer- Sr. (27-6)
157- Doug Cieleski- Sr. (24-10)
165- Robbie Waller- Jr. (9-7)
174- Michael Barger- Sr. (26-9)
184- Josh Lambrecht- Sr. (26-4)
197- Tom Grossman- Jr. (16-10)
HWT- Leonce Crump- So. (21-3)
The MU vs. OU series
Oklahoma holds a 37-2 lead in the all-time series between the Sooners and Tigers. MU's lone victories are a 24-13 win in 1978 and a 20-19 victory in 1994. The series dates back to 1924 when OU defeated Mizzou by a 28-4 score.
Last season the Sooners picked up a 34-4 win over Missouri in Norman, Okla. MU's Jesse Jordan scored the only Tigers' only win as he recorded a major decision over Tony Moore 10-2 in the 157-pound bout.