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NDSU to face Penn in first round of Virginia Duals
January 12, 2006
North Dakota State will wrestle 25th-ranked Penn in the first round of the Virginia Duals Friday, January 13 at the Hampton Coliseum. The Bison will wrestle at 11:00 EST.
Penn is the second nationally-ranked team the Bison will wrestle since their reclassification to Division I. North Dakota State was defeated by Northern Iowa, ranked 13th at the time, 31-6 on Feb. 10, 2005 at the Bison Sports Arena.
Penn is 2-1 on the year and features Matt Valenti at 133 pounds. Valenti, ranked 12th in at 133 pounds in the latest USA Today/NWCA NCAA Div I Coaches‚ Poll, is 14-2 on the season. Penn has defeated Drexel 21-15 and Maryland 34-6 and were defeated by 10th-ranked Penn State 25-6.
The winner of the dual will advance to the quarterfinals and meet the winner of the Drexel-Virginia dual on Friday, January 13 at 3:00 EST. The loser of the dual will face the loser of the Drexel-Virginia match at the same time in the consolation bracket.
This will be the second consecutive year the Bison compete in the highly-competitive Virginia Duals. Last year the Bison went 1-2 at the event, losing to Rider 19-16 and Buffalo 25-15 and defeating Virginia 21-18. The losses to Rider and Buffalo mark the last time NDSU has lost back-to-back matches.