Nov. 24, 2010
Complete Notes
Missouri (2-2), who ranks No. 16 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll and as high as 11th by Division 1 College Wrestling, heads to the northeast for the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals this weekend. The Tigers will take on American, No. 24 Rutgers, No. 11 Lehigh and Maryland on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Action gets underway at 8:30 a.m. CT between the Tigers and the Eagles of American. At approximately 10:15 CT, Mizzou and Rutgers will battle it out before a 90-minute half time period, where Russia and U.S.A. will face off in a freestyle dual. After the break, the Tigers will take on No. 11 Lehigh at 2:30 p.m., followed by Maryland at 4:15 to close out the day.
Scouting American
American, led by ninth year head coach Mark Cody, comes to the Northeast Duals with a 2-0 record. The Eagles defeated Army by a score of 26-6 and Franklin & Marshall by a 33-10 final to open the season. Since then they've competed in two tournaments - the Brockport Oklahoma Invitational, where they finished seventh, and the Keystone Classic, where they took third. Though unranked in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, the Eagles sit as high as eighth in the country according to W.I.N. Magazine and is 10th in Intermat's rankings.
The Eagles currently have four ranked wrestlers in their 10-man lineup, according to Intermat's weekly individual rankings. Leading the way is Steve Fittery, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 157 pounds. Fittery is currently 6-0 with four falls and one major decision. His most recent fall came against Northwestern's Jason Welch, the No. 8 wrestler in the country. Heavyweight Ryan Flores ranks at No. 3, 149 pounder Ganbayar Sanjaa sits at 14th and Daniel Mitchell ranks 20th at 197 pounds.
Missouri and American have faced once in the past, with the Tigers besting the Eagles by a 51-3 final during the 2003-4 season.
Scouting Rutgers
Rutgers enters the Northeast Duals with a No. 24 overall ranking in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. Led by head coach Scott Goodale, now in his fourth year at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights have put together a 4-1 dual record on the season. Rutgers has picked up wins over Sacred Heart (56-0), East Stroudsburg (32-6), American International (29-9) and West Virginia (25-14), with their only loss coming to No. 5 Penn State (22-10).
Rutgers brings in three ranked wrestlers according to Intermat. Heavyweight D.J. Russo, who is currently 7-0 and has five wins by fall, ranks higherst at No. 5. Scott Winston, who is 7-1 and 4-0 in duals at 165 pounds, ranks eighth. 149 pounder Mario Mason, currently 5-2, sits at 11th.
This will be the first meeting between Missouri and Rutgers
Scouting Lehigh
Currently ranked No. 11 in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, Lehigh comes to the Northeast Duals with a 3-1 record and five wrestlers ranked in Intermat's individual rankings. The Mountain Hawks are in the midst of a five-match stretch against nationally-ranked opponents. Lehigh has recorded wins over Drexel (45-0), then-No. 14 Pittsburgh (29-7) and then-No. 16 Michigan (25-6). Their only loss came in a 21-17 contest to No. 5 Penn State. Before facing the No. 16 Tigers on Saturday they'll take on No. 23 Virginia.
The entire bottom half of Lehigh's starting lineup ranks in the top-25, highlighted by No. 1 heavyweight Zach Rey, who is 4-0 on the season. Robert Hamlin ranks No. 9 at 184 pounds and is also 4-0 on the year. Brandon Hatchett sits at 13th at 165 pounds, while Joe Kennedy is 14th at 197 and Austin Mays ranks 16th at 174.
Missouri and Lehigh have met once, with the Mountain Hawks coming out with a 22-17 victory back in 2005.
Scouting Maryland
The Maryland Terrapins, under the guidance of third year head coach Kerry McCoy, are 3-1 on the young season. The Terps have picked up victories over Johns Hopkins (41-3), West Virginia (27-13) and McDaniel College (40-3), while their lone loss came against Liberty (21-18). They've competed in two tournaments in the past two weekends, taking third in both the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic and the East Stroudsurg Open.
The Terrapins currently have three ranked wrestlers according to Intermat. Josh Asper at 165 pounds leads the way at No. 4, while Mike Letts is 12th at 174 and Kyle John is 18th at 157.
Mizzou holds a 2-1 edge all-time against Maryland. The most recent meeting came in 2008-09, with the Tigers claiming a 28-6 win.
Follow Live
As of now there will be no live coverage of these duals. Stay tuned to mutigers.com for any changes.
What's Next
The Tigers return home for their final home dual of the 2010 portion of the schedule, when they'll take on Kent State at the Hearnes Center on Sunday, Dec. 5. Action gets underway at 1 p.m. CT.
Dom's Big Weekend Ahead
Junior heavyweight Dom Bradley came into the season ranked No. 3 in the country, even though he had limited action for his first two years as a Tiger due to being behind national champion Mark Ellis. After starting the year with an 8-0 record, which includes a 4-0 dual record, Bradley has moved up a spot to No. 2. This weekend at the Northeast Duals, Bradley will get to prove his placement in the national rankings, as three of his four opponents are ranked in the top-5. He'll start off with Ryan Flores from American, the No. 3 ranked heavyweight who is 2-0 in duals this season, winning by tech. fall and fall. Bradley's next opponent is Zach Rey of Lehigh, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country. Rey is 4-0 on the year with all four wins coming in duals. Three of those victories came via decision, with the other coming by fall. So far this year he's beaten No. 7 Cameron Wade (Penn State) and No. 8 Ryan Tomei (Pittsburgh). Bradley's third match of the day will be against No. 5 D.J. Russo of Rutgers, who is 7-0 on the year with five falls. A big day by Bradley will certainly prove to the country that he is the heavyweight to beat this year.
Waters' Early Impact
When Alan Waters came to Mizzou, people knew the Tigers were going to finally have that top grappler at the 125 pound mark that they've longed for. However, no one probably expected the true freshman to have this big of an impact this early. The four-time state champion has put together a 14-0 record in his first month of collegiate action, as he's won all four dual matches he's wrestled in while capturing two tournament titles, winning at the Lindenwood Open and the Central Missouri Open. Last weekend he defeated No. 21 Steve Bonanno of Hofstra by a 2-1 decision and No. 10 Jason Lara of Oregon State by a 3-2 score. After starting the season unranked, Waters is now up to as high as No. 11 in the country in the major polls.