Sunday, December 17
Reno, Nev.
11 a.m.
University of Missouri
vs
Reno Tournament of Champions
No. 4 @MizzouWrestling Set to Compete at Reno Tournament of Champions
12/15/2017 4:47:00 AM | Wrestling
Mizzou travels west to Joey Lavallee's hometown for next team tournament
| Reno Tournament of Champions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOURNAMENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH/BRACKETS |
| Reno Tournament of Champions Match Notes |
Reno, Nev. | Sunday, Dec. 17 | 11 a.m. CT | FloWrestling ($) |
MIZZOU TO COMPETE AT RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
- Mizzou Wrestling will head west to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday in Reno, Nev. The tournament, which will begin at 11 a.m. (CT), will be broadcast on FloWrestling.com for a fee.
- The tournament will be a homecoming for redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee, who won four Nevada state titles at Reno High School. A three-year starter for the Tigers, Lavallee is nearing the 100-win milestone as he enters the tournament with a record of 94-26. Last season, Lavallee went 29-2 and earned All-America honors after a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships.
- Mizzou enters the tournament ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, and has now been ranked in the top-10 in 65 consecutive polls dating back to Nov. 12, 2013, when it was ranked No. 11. Beginning the year at No. 5, Mizzou has now been ranked in the preseason top-10 ranking for four straight seasons. Mizzou checked in at No. 6 in the 2014 preseason poll, No. 9 in 2015 poll and No. 5 in the 2016 poll.
- The Tigers' 8-0 start to the season is the eighth 8-0 start under head coach Brian Smith and the ninth overall 8-0 start in program history. Mizzou has started 8-0 in four of the last six seasons, including 2014-15 when the Tigers were last ranked No. 1 in the nation following a NWCA National Duals title.
- Mizzou looks to capture the MAC Dual title in 2017 after coming up just short a season ago. Since joining the Mid-American Conference prior the 2012-13 season, Mizzou has won the MAC Dual and Tournament Championship each season with the exception of 2016-17 when Northern Iowa upset Mizzou on the final dual of the conference slate. (Mizzou was not eligble for the dual title in its first year in the conference, 2012-13, but was eligible for the MAC Tournament Title) At the 2017 MAC Championships, Mizzou captured its sixth consecutive conference tournament title by posting a conference record 154.5 points.
- Just over a month into the season, Mizzou's middleweights have been dependable spots in the lineup, as redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman, redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee and redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis are all still currently undefeated. Up a weight class from the previous two seasons, Lewis has dominated his competition to this point of this season as he will enter the dual with a record of 12-0 (8-0 in duals) while leading the team with 40 dual points. The two-time All-American has recorded bonus point wins in 10 of 12 matches this season. Lavallee, a returning NCAA Finalist, has been solid once again for Mizzou, as he currently holds a record of 11-0 (7-0 in duals). Lavallee has been tough to score on the season, as no opponent has scored more than four points on the Tiger senior. In his second season as an attached wrestler, Eierman picked up right where he left off, as he has posted a record of 10-0 (5-0 in duals), and has recorded five falls, two major decisions and one technical fall on the season.
LAVALLEE RETURNS HOME
- Mizzou's trip to Reno, Nev., will be a homecoming for redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee, who won four Nevada State titles and posted a record of 206-12 at Reno High School.
- Last season, Lavallee roared back onto the scene after a redshirt season in 2015-16, winning the MAC Championship at 157 pounds and earning his first All-America honor by finishing runner-up at the NCAA Championships at 157 pounds. He finished the season with a remarkable record of 29-2 for a winning percentage of .935, the 10th-best single season winning percentage in program history.
- Among team leaders, ranked first among wins (29), first in dual major decisions (6), second among total major decisions (8), second in dual wins (12) and fifth in dual points (42).
- This season, Lavallee has started the season 11-0 (7-0 in duals), and is the consensus No. 2-ranked wrestler in the country. The Tiger senior has won seven matches by bonus points this season, three by major decision, two by technical fall and two by fall.
BONUS POINT MACHINE
- Redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis has been a bonus point machine since being inserted into the starting lineup in 2015-16. In 69 total wins, Lewis has recorded bonus points in 69.6 percent of his victories (48-of-69).
- In total, Lewis has recorded 26 falls, 16 major decisions and six technical falls in his career. A two-time MAC Champion and two-time NCAA All-American, Lewis needs just one more fall, three more technical falls and eight more major decisions to join the top-10 lists in program history in those categories.
- Lewis has opened the season the 2017-18 season with 12 straight victories, recording bonus point wins in all but two matches, including seven falls, six of which occurred in the first period.
- In 2015-16, his first season as an attached wrestler, Lewis went 29-6 and was named the MAC Freshman of the Year after a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. He totaled 10 falls, nine major decisions and one technical fall on the season.
- The bonus point victories did not stop in 2016-17, as Lewis went 28-6 and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. Lewis totaled 22 wins by bonus points on the season, nine falls, nine major decisions and four technical falls.
ERNESTE TOUGH AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
- Redshirt junior 133-pounder John Erneste has had a challenging stretch to start the season, as the Tiger junior has faced five ranked wrestlers in the first six weeks of the season.
- Erneste has proven to be up to the challenge so far, as he as come out victorious in four of his matches against ranked opponents so far, including a 9-6 win over No. 14-ranked Cameron Kelly (Ohio) in his most recent match (Dec. 10).
- This season, Erneste has posted a record of 11-1 (7-1 in duals), and has recorded bonus point victories in seven wins (sux falls, one major decision).
TOP-10 STREAK
- Mizzou checked in at No. 4 in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll on Dec. 12, the 65th consecutive poll that the Tigers have been ranked in the Top-10. The last time Mizzou was not ranked in the top-10 was Nov. 12, 2013, when the Tigers ranked No. 11.
- Before being out of the top-10 for two polls (No. 13 on Nov. 2, 2013 and No. 11 on Nov. 12, 2013), Mizzou was ranked in the top-10 for the 17 consecutive polls. Since Feb. 14, 2012, Mizzou has been ranked in the top-10 for 82 of the last 84 Coaches Polls.
- During this top-10 streak, Mizzou has been ranked in the top-five of the Coaches Poll for 34 weeks, including its ascension to No. 1 in the Feb. 24, 2015 poll after Mizzou defeated No. 1-ranked Iowa to capture the 2015 NWCA National Duals title.
WINS OVER TOP-10 OPPONENTS
- Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Mizzou has beaten nine top-10 ranked opponents, including four on the road, and one against the No. 1-ranked team, Iowa, to claim the 2015 NWCA National Dials title. A breakdown of those Top-10 wins are below:
| Opponent | Score | Date |
| at No. 7 Ohio | 25-18 | Dec. 13, 2014 |
| at No. 4 Cornell | 27-9 | Jan. 10, 2015 |
| vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State | 22-10 | Jan. 23, 2015 |
| vs. No. 1 Iowa | 18-12 | Feb. 22, 2015 |
| vs. No. 3 Ohio State | 26-17 | Dec. 12, 2015 |
| vs. No. 7 Oklahoma | 31-12 | Jan. 30, 2016 |
| vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech | 23-19 | Nov. 20, 2016 |
| at No. 7 Cornell | 25-11 | Jan. 14, 2017 |
| at No. 10 Virginia Tech | 22-12 | Nov. 25, 2017 |
^ - NWCA National Duals in Iowa City, Iowa
CAN YOU BE PERFECT?
- With the 36-6 win over Ohio (Dec. 10), Mizzou improved to 8-0 on the season, its eighth 8-0 start under head coach Brian Smith and the ninth 9-0 start overall in program history. Below is a breakdown of all the 8-0 starts in program history:
| Season | Start | Season's Finish |
| 1967-68 | 15-0 | Big 8 - 5th, NCAA - N/A |
| 2001-02 | 11-0 | Big 12 - 5th, NCAA - 17th |
| 2003-04 | 10-0 | Big 12 - 4th, NCAA - 13th |
| 2004-05 | 8-0 | Big 12 - 5th, NCAA - 11th |
| 2008-09 | 11-0 | Big 12 - 3rd, NCAA - 7th |
| 2012-13 | 8-0 | MAC T Champs, NCAA - 26th |
| 2014-15 | 24-0 | MAC D/T Champs, NCAA - 4th |
| 2015-16 | 9-0 | MAC D/T Champs, NCAA - 6th |
| 2017-18 | 8-0 | TBD |
MIZZOU ROLLS PAST OHIO
- Five Tigers scored bonus point wins to lead Mizzou to a 36-3 win over Ohio. Mizzou won eight of 10 bouts in the dual, and received its bonus point victories in five consecutive matches from 157 to 197 pounds.
- Three Tigers, redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis, redshirt freshman 184-pounder Canten Marriott and redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus, scored falls in the dual, while redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn scored a technical fall and redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee earned a major decision.
- Lewis need just 55 seconds to pin against Austin Reese, as the two-time All-American quickly got the Ohio wrestler to the ground with a takedown 18 seconds into the match, and then recorded the fall soon after. The pin was Lewis' team-leading seventh of the season, and 26th of his career.
- Marriott showed resiliency to score his six points, as the Tiger freshman gave up the first two takedowns in the match, but fought back to take the lead in the third period, and then put Dontae McGee on his back for the first fall of his career.
- At 197 pounds, Miklus led 13-1 over Aaron Naples in the third period when he pinned the Ohio wrestler for his fourth fall of the season and the 26th of his career. Like Lewis, Miklus is now just one pin away from joining the top-10 for career falls in program history.
- At 133 pounds, redshirt junior 133-pounder John Erneste posted his fourth win over a ranked opponent this season, defeating No. 14-ranked Cameron Kelly, 9-6. With the victory, Erneste improves to 11-1 on the season and 7-1 in duals, with all four of his ranked wins coming against top-15 ranked wrestlers.
Players Mentioned
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