Jan. 27, 2011
Complete Match Notes | Live Scoring
Wrestling Supporting Wrestling | Mizzou Wrestling on Facebook
After a week off, the Missouri wrestling team returns to action this Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Hearnes Center, as they take on the No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers at 1 p.m. CT in the Big 12 Conference opener.
The match will be featured as “Wrestling Supporting Wrestling,” with all ticket proceeds from the event going directly to the Missouri wrestling scholarship fund. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the Hearnes Center on the day of the match or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS.
Wrestling Supporting Wrestling is a concept that was derived by head coach Brian Smith a few years ago, and is based on the idea of turning the program into a self-provider while the program is thriving. Since 2008, the Tigers have had 10 All-Americans and two NCAA National Champions in Mark Ellis and Max Askren. Missouri has also finished within the top-15 of the final rankings in each of the last seven seasons.
Scouting Nebraska
The No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers, sporting a 10-3 dual record, come to Columbia for possibly the last time this Sunday. Winners of four of their last five, Nebraska's dual with Missouri will be their seventh road contest in the past two weeks. The Huskers face off against No. 11 Oklahoma on Friday evening to open their Big 12 schedule.
Nebraska has defeated two teams who are currently in the NWCA Top 25, as they knocked off No. 25 Wyoming on Dec. 4 by a 20-12 score and No. 20 Oregon State, 17-16. They finished ninth at the Midlands with 63 points and then swept through the Lone Star Duals on Jan. 15, beating Utah Valley, Stanford and Brown. Last weekend, the Cornhuskers fell to No. 3 Wisconsin, 22-15, before bouncing back and defeating Northern Iowa by an 18-15 final.
The Huskers hold the all-time edge over the Tigers with a 38-17-3 record. Missouri won last year's meeting in Lincoln by a 22-16 final. Nebraska is led by head coach Mark Manning, now in his 11th season.
Marquee Matchups
Of course a conference dual meet between two Big 12 schools is intriguing enough as is, however there are three matches that stand out above the rest this Sunday. First, at 165, Missouri's Zach Toal, ranked as high as No. 11 in the country, goes up against the top ranked wrestler in the class in Jordan Burroughs. Burroughs, who is 23-0 on the season and 13-0 in dual matches, has picked up bonus points in every match but one this year. He's recorded six pins, nine technical falls, four major decisions and three wins by forfeit or default. His lone decision came in a 10-7 win over then-No. 1 Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. He picked up a technical fall win over No. 12 Cody Yohn of Minnesota, winning 23-7, and has also majored No. 16 Ryan DesRoches of Cal Poly by a 20-8 score.
At 184 pounds, No. 15 Mike Larson is expected to go up against No. 13 Josh Ihnen, who currently sits at 19-6 on the year and 9-4 in duals. Five of his six losses have come against top-15 competition, as he lost in overtime to No. 5 Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming (5-3), by decision to Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus, ranked No. 9 (3-2), twice to No. 3 Travis Rutt of Wisconsin, falling 4-3 and 3-2, and by a 5-0 decision to No. 12 Ryan Loder of Northern Iowa. His big statement win of the year was in overtime against Grant Gambrall of Iowa, ranked No. 16 currently, as Ihnen won 4-3 at the Midlands.
Missouri heavyweight Dom Bradley will take on No. 11 Tucker Lane, who is 19-4 on the season and 10-3 in duals. Three of his losses have come against top-11 competitors, falling to No. 7 Ryan Tomei of Pittsburgh, 4-1, No. 9 Tony Nelson of Minnesota, 3-1 in sudden victory, and No. 11 Eric Bugenhagen of Wisconsin in the second tiebreaker, 2-1. His other loss came to unranked John Helgerson of Wartburg, falling 4-3. His big wins of the year came against No. 13 Christian Brantley of Northern Iowa, and No. 16 Clayton Jack of Oregon State. Lane defeated both Brantley and Jack by 2-0 scores.
Follow Live
Live scoring will be available for this Big 12 match through the NWCA scorebook. Links to live scoring can be found on the wrestling page sidebar at MUTigers.com. Mizzou All-Access subscribers will also be able to watch live on mutigers.tv.
What's Next
Missouri returns to the road next weekend to take on a pair of Big 12 opponents, beginning with Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 4. The following day, Mizzou will take on the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Okla., at 3 p.m. CT.
Early Points Helping Tigers
Much of the Tigers' success this season has been because of the big wins they've had right off the bat in their dual meets. More specifically, the success they've had at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. The Tigers have scored 446 total team points in duals this season, and 183 of those have come from the first three weight classes, making up over 41% of the team's total. Mizzou has accumulated 47 points at 133 pounds, 64 points at 125 and 72 points at 141. The only other class to pick up more points than 47 is heavyweight, which has accumlated 50 points so far this season. 125 pounds has picked up bonus points in four of their 18 wins, while 133 has scored bonus point wins in six of their 19 matches. 141 pounds leads the way, picking up bonus points in 11 of their 17 victories on the season. Missouri has started every match at 125 pounds this year.
Second Half Shift
After struggling through much of the year at the 157 and 197-pound classes, the additions of Nick Gregoris and Brent Haynes into those respective weights have helped turn the tide a bit for the Tigers. After 10 duals this season, Missouri only had recorded 9 points at 157 and 13 points at 197. Since Gregoris and Haynes joined the lineup, Mizzou has picked up 13 points at 157 pounds and 23 points at 197 pounds during the team's last nine duals.
Seven Tigers Take Titles at Open
Thirteen Tiger wrestlers competed in the Roger Denker Open at the University of Central Missouri on Saturday, with 12 coming back having placed in the event.
Cody Farinella (141), Kellen Bounous (149), Drake Houdashelt (157), Jordan Gagliano (165), Dustin Williams (184), Ryan Robinson (197) and Jake Glore (HWT) completed perfect days to take home the title in their respective weight classes. Luke Cherep (141), Ty Prazma (165) and Devin Mellon (HWT) each earned runner-up finishes, while Simon Kitzis (141) and Johnny Eblen (184) finished sixth.
No. 7 Mizzou Sweeps Pair of Duals
The No. 7 Tiger wrestling team improved to 14-5 on the dual season, closing out their non-conference schedule with a pair of victories during the fifth annual Beauty and the Beast competiton. Mizzou opened things up with a 29-9 win over Chattanooga before shutting out SIU-Edwardsville by a 48-0 final to close the day.
Missouri jumped out to a 13-0 lead over the Mocs after the first three matches behind a decision from freshman Alan Waters and a pair of technical falls from sophomore Nathan McCormick and senior Todd Schavrien.
Chattanooga got back in the match with a decision and a win by fall at 149 and 157, respectively, but the Tigers rallied off four straight decisions before junior Dom Bradley's major decision at heavyweight to put things out of reach.
Redshirt freshman Zach Toal and junior Dorian Henderson won their duals by a 5-2 score, while sophomore Mike Larson picked up a 3-2 victory over his opponent. Sophomore Brent Haynes shut out Robert Prigmore, 6-0, and Bradley picked up the major with a 10-2 final. Bradley's second bonus point dual victory of the year closed out the dual, as he took down Matt Lettner four times during the match. A stall warning point in Bradley's favor, along with 1:55 in riding time, added four points to the Missouri team score.
Mizzou followed that win up with a 48-0 thumping of SIU-Edwardsville, the second shutout for the Tigers this season. Missouri beat Lindenwood 41-0 to open the home portion of the schedule back on Nov. 21.
The Tigers opened things up by getting pins in the first three matches. Waters pinned his opponent in 1:36, while McCormick stuck his opponent in 1:53. Schavrien made it 18-0 Tigers with another first period fall, getting the pin 2:13.
The Tigers got a decision at 149 and back-to-back majors at 157 and 165. Henderson kept things rolling with a 6-3 decision at 174, while Larson's bid for a technical fall just short, as he majored his opponent by a 16-2 score. Missouri closed out the match with two more falls, getting pins by Haynes and Bradley at 197 and heavyweight. Haynes took down his opponent and picked up six points in near falls before recording the pin in 2:26, while a takedown by Bradley and strong work on top led him to sticking his opponent in 1:41.
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