Missouri Welcomes Michigan State to the Hearnes Center
2/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 8, 2002
On Sunday, the No. 9 ranked Missouri Tigers will take on another ranked opponent and another foe from the Big Ten Conference, as they host No. 20 Michigan State.
The Tigers have a 12-2 record heading into Sunday's dual. Michigan State enters the weekend with a record of 4-6. The Spartans face No. 4 Oklahoma on Saturday before coming to Columbia to face the Tigers.
Missouri, coming off a 26-16 defeat to No. 7 Iowa State on Thursday, will face its fifth Big Ten opponent tonight. MU is 4-0 against the Big Ten so far this season.
Missouri has five of its wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes, while the Spartans have wrestlers ranked in four classes. Two of the bouts, 149 pounds and 157 pounds, will feature ranked wrestlers going head-to-head.
The Tigers and Spartans have only met three previous times with MSU holding a 2-1 lead in the series. Last year Michigan State downed the Tigers 29-3 in Columbia.
Sunday's match will put Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith up against his alma mater. While wrestling at MSU, Smith was a four-year letterwinner and he was a Big Ten runner-up his senior year.
Missouri Outlook
The Tigers enter the dual against No. 20 Michigan State with a 12-2 record and a No. 9 ranking.
Mizzou won its first 11 duals of the year for the first time since the 1967-68 season when MU started 15-0.
The Tigers' first loss of the season came on Jan. 25 as No. 5 Oklahoma State defeated MU 26-7.
Missouri has wrestlers ranked in seven of the 10 weight classes. Senior John Kopnisky leads the Tigers with 19 wins on the year. With a win on Sunday, Kopnisky will record his 100th career win at Missouri.
Sophomore Scott Barker has been dominating this season, compiling a 16-2 record including nine pins. He won the 197-pound division at the Reno Tournament and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He currently is No. 6 in the 197-pound class
Redshirt freshman Tyron Woodley has become a strong force at 165 pounds for MU and has climbed into the top 15 of the polls.
Junior Kevin Herron (HWT), sophomore Kenny Burleson (157) and sophomore J.P. Reese (141) have also had success this season, climbing into the national rankings.
Scouting Michigan State
The Michigan State Spartans enter the weekend ranked No. 20 in the nation with a record of 4-6, 1-3 in the Big Ten Conference.
The Spartans have four wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes.
At 125 pounds, senior Chris Williams is the No. 14 ranked wrestler. He enters the weekend with a record of 15-11.
Sophomore Ryan L'Armoreaux is ranked No. 12 in the 133-pound class and will return to the lineup after missing time with an injury.
In the 149-pound class, junior Karl Nadolsky is ranked No. 12. He is 18-6 heading into this weekend's action.
Junior Gray Maynard is the highest ranked Spartan at No. 6 in the 157-pound class. He enters the weekend 13-8.
Williams, Maynard and Nadolsky each qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, and Williams and Maynard were All-Americans.
The last action for MSU prior to this weekend was a 21-16 victory over Big Ten opponent Indiana last Sunday.
Missouri Projected Lineup (Overall record, Dual record, Big 12 Record)
125- Mark Bader-Jr. (13-11, 8-6, 1-2)
133- Chris McCormick-Fr. (8-12, 4-10, 0-3)
141- J.P. Reese-So. (15-8, 9-5, 2-1)
149- Jeremy Spates-So. (17-5, 9-2, 1-2)
157- Kenny Burleson- So. (12-8, 9-2, 0-3)
165- Tyron Woodley-RSFr. (14-6, 8-4, 1-2)
174- John Kopnisky-Sr. (19-3, 11-2, 3-0)
184- Dante Stone- Jr (13-8, 7-5, 1-2)
197- Scott Barker-So. (16-2, 12-2, 2-1)
HWT- Kevin Herron-Jr. (14-10, 8-6, 1-2)
Michigan State Projected Lineup (Overall record, Dual record)
125- Chris Willimas- Sr. (15-11, 5-5)
133- Ryan L'Amoreaux- So. (14-5, 2-4)
141- Charles Sageman- Jr. (11-10, 4-4)
149- Karl Nadolsky- Jr. (18-6, 6-4)
157- Gray Maynard- Jr. (13-8, 6-4)
165- Anton Hall- Jr. (14-8, 5-5)
174- Rashad Evans- Jr. (14-9, 5-5)
184- Nathaniel Mesyn- So. (11-13, 2-7)
197- John Wechter- Jr. (13-12, 3-7)
HWT- Michael Keenan- So. (7-13, 3-7)
The MU vs. MSU series
Sunday's meeting will mark only be the fourth time the Tigers and Spartans have faced off. MSU holds a 2-1 series lead.
The first meeting was in 1977 when Missouri defeated Michigan State 19-16. The Spartans evened the series with a 30-7 win over the Tigers in 1987.
Last year, Michigan State downed Missouri 29-3 in East Lansing, Mich. MU's lone victory in the match came from John Kopnisky over Nate Mesyn in the 174-pound bout.
Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith
Brian Smith is in his fourth year as Missouri's head coach. He has compiled a record of 34-32-1 while at the helm of the Tigers.
He is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. where he was a two-time high school state champion. He was a four-year letterwinner at Michigan State and was a Big Ten runner-up his senior year.
Smith started his coaching career at Westran High School in Florida. His collegiate coaching career began at Cornell as an assistant. He then held the head coaching job at Syracuse in 1997 where he helped to stabilize the program and coach a wrestler to All-American honors. He took over at Missouri in 1998 and has seen the Tigers improve each year he has been the MU coach.
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Minkel
Tom Minkel is in his eleventh year as the Spartan's head coach. He has compiled a 111-105-2 career record and has led MSU to seven straight top 25 finishes.
In 1995, Minkel led Michigan State to a third place finish at the NCAA Championships, the best finish since 1972.
During his time at MSU, he has had 25 wrestlers named All-American, seven Big Ten Champions and one NCAA Champion.
He served on the staff of the1996 United States Olympic team in Atlanta
As a wrestler, Minkel was a four-time National Greco-Roman Champion at 149 pounds. He was part of seven U.S. teams that competed internationally, including the 1980 Olympic team.
He attended Central Michigan where he was a three-time All-American and finished his career undefeated in dual meets (35-0-1). His overall record was 73-13-1.
He coached at Central Michigan for two season before taking over at Michigan State.
Rankings
Missouri is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Intermat. That is the highest ever ranking for a MU wrestling team. Mizzou has been in the top 10 for six consecutive weeks and has been at No. 9 for the past five weeks.
Five Tigers are ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes. Scott Barker is No. 7 at 197 pounds, Jeremy Spates is No. 14 in the 149-pound class, John Kopnisky is No. 10 at 174 pounds, Tyron Woodley is ranked eleventh at 165 pounds and Kenny Burleson is ranked No. 17 in the 157-pound class.
Intermat Poll- Feb. 5, 2002
1. Minnesota
2. Iowa
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma State
5. Michigan
6. Oklahoma
7. Iowa State
8. Pennsylvania
9. MISSOURI
10. Arizona State
11. West Virginia
12. Lehigh
13. Illinois
14. Northern Iowa
15. Purdue
16. Lock Haven
17. Central Michigan
18. Edinboro
19. Wisconsin
20. Michigan State
21. Fresno State
22. Cornell
23. Pittsburgh
24. Boise State
25. Hofstra
