Head Coach Brian Smith looks to lead the Tigers to their fifth and sixth victories of the season Saturday.Head Coach Brian Smith looks to lead the Tigers to their fifth and sixth victories of the season Saturday.
Wrestling

Tigers Primed To Take On Eastern Illinois and CMSU

Jan. 5, 2006

Columbia, Mo. - A week after taking second place at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., the No. 9 Missouri Tigers return home to wrestle Eastern Illinois and Central Missouri State University (CMSU) back-to-back Jan. 7, with the first bout beginning at noon CST.

The Missouri wrestling program is more than familiar with its upcoming opponents, having taken on Eastern Illinois 16 times in their history and grappling against the Mules of CMSU 41 times. Current Tigers Head Coach Brian Smith carries a 6-0 record against Eastern Illinois and owns a 6-1 mark against CMSU.

The last time Missouri and Eastern Illinois shook hands at center circle, the Tigers finished off the 2004-05 regular season with a 28-9 victory. CMSU also faced off against the Tigers a year ago, with Missouri earning a 45-6 victory in Columbia. CMSU last beat the Tigers in 1999-2000 by a score of 21-15. Missouri is 10-6 all time against the Panthers and 35-6 versus the Mules.

Three Missouri wrestlers have faced opponents they'll likely see again this weekend. Senior Chris McCormick (Leawood, Kan.), the No. 19 competitor in the nation at 141 pounds, beat CMSU's Wade Killgore, 2-0, at the CMSU Open Nov. 13. McCormick has also wrestled his likely Panther opponent, beating Casey Carrino 11-2, Nov. 20, on his way to a Missouri Open title.

Freshman heavyweight Sean Connole (Erie, Penn.) has also faced each of the opponents he'll probably shake hands with in center circle on Saturday. In fact, the biggest member of Missouri's lineup has already seen CMSU's Dan Moore twice, beating Moore with a 4-3 decision, Oct. 29, in Connole's first action of the season, then losing to the Mules heavyweight, 5-2, at the CMSU Open. Connole fell to Eastern Illinois Danny Perez Nov. 13, in 1:20. Both heavyweight matchups look to be some of the most exciting bouts of the weekend.

No. 1 junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.), who competes at 174 pounds, will take on a familiar opponent in Eastern Illinois Kenny Robertson, ranked No. 13 in the country. The only ranked Division 1 wrestler the Tigers will face this weekend, Robertson was pinned by Askren in 2:20 at the CMSU Open Nov. 29, their only meeting of the season.

The Tigers wrestle Eastern Illinois in the first dual at noon and take on Central Missouri State at approximately 2 p.m. CST.