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NDSU set to host first-ever WWC match on Friday

January 17, 2007

THIS WEEK: North Dakota State (3-2, 0-0 WWC) will host their first match in over a month and their first-ever Western Wrestling Conference dual when they take on Utah Valley State (3-6, 0-1 WWC) at the Bison Sports Arena on Friday, January 19. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Bison hold a 2-0 advantage in the young series. Last season’s match was tied at 16 heading into the final bout before Gabe Mooney defeated Justin Rawle 4-2 in the 149-pound bout to give the Bison a 19-16 victory.

ABOUT UTAH VALLEY STATE: The Wolverines have a record of 3-6 this season and just dropped their first Western Wrestling Conference dual to Northern Colorado 30-13 on Saturday, January 13.

Senior Justin Rawle carries a team that starts four freshman. The 149-pounder leads UVSC in dual wins with six.

Utah Valley State is led by first-year coach Greg Williams. Williams brings to Utah Valley State over 20 years of coaching experience, including the last 13 as the owner and coach of the Elite Wrestling Club.

He is a 14-time coach of the Utah National Wrestling Team and during his coaching career has tutored over 70 high school All-Americans.

ON THE WEB: Live streaming video will be available for all NDSU home matches on the Internet at GoBison.com. Video is available by monthly subscription to NDSU’s All Access service for $7.95. The live stream will be provided by NDSU athletic media relations and will be available five minutes before the match begins.

BISON GO 2-2 AT VIRGINIA DUALS, FINISH TIED FOR SEVENTH: North Dakota State recorded their best result in three years at the Virginia Duals on January 12-13 by going 2-2 in dual action. The Bison finished tied for seventh and were the only unseeded school to place in the 16-team field.

The Bison drew a tough first-round opponent in No. 10 Penn State. The Nittany Lions won nine of ten bouts and beat the Bison 39-3. Matt Wetterling helped avoid the shutout for North Dakota State when he defeated PSU’s Mike Ward 6-3 at 184 pounds.

NDSU won their next two duals as they defeated Duquesne 32-9 and Drexel 25-18. Ryan Adams picked up his first career dual win in the Duquesne match, pinning Brandon Baldini in 2:56. In the Drexel match, Adam Aho upset No. 20 Ryan Hluschak 9-7 at 157 pounds and Wetterling pinned Justin Terhune in 33 seconds, sealing the victory and a top-eight finish.

Old Dominion would stop the Bison run by winning six of ten bouts in a back-and-forth 20-16 match. Once again, Wetterling pinned his opponent, this time it was No. 19 Jesse Strawn in 2:20.

WETTERLING NAMED WWC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: Matt Wetterling (Willmar, Minn./Willmar HS) went 4-0 with three pins at the Virginia Duals on January 12-13. In the opening match against No. 10 Penn State, Wetterling scored the lone win for the Bison with a 6-3 decision over Mike Ward. In NDSU’s final three matches of the tournament, Wetterling pinned Jared Ricotta of Duquesne in 6:53, Justin Terhune of Drexel in 0:33 and No. 19 Jesse Strawn of Old Dominion in 2:20. Wetterling’s pin over Terhune clinched the match against Drexel and a top-eight finish for North Dakota State, their highest finish in three years competing at the tournament. Wetterling is now 8-4 on the season with five pins and has a 4-1 dual record.

NATIONALLY RANKED: Two Bison are ranked in national polls led by 125-pound junior Eric Hoffman, who is ranked in three. His No. 16 ranking in the NWCA/InterMat.com poll is his highest ranking. Along with Hoffman, Matt Wetterling is ranked 26th at 184 pounds in the WrestlingReport.com poll, which was released on January 15.

Wrestler         Wt.   WIN  WR   NWCA
Eric Hoffman     125   #20  #28  #16
Matt Wetterling  184   --   #26  --

WIN = Win Magazine (Jan. 8, 2007); WR = WrestlingReport.com (Jan. 15, 2007); NWCA = USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Poll (Jan. 9, 2007).

NOW INTRODUCING: Ryan Adams and Mike Quamme both made their first appearances in dual matches for North Dakota State at the Virginia Duals on January 12-13. Adams, a 149-pound redshirt freshman from Coon Rapids, Minn., went 3-1 at the tournament, including a pin over Brandon Baldini of Duquesne. Quamme, a sophomore from Dundas, Minn., had a record of 0-4 at 165 pounds. Quamme’s season record is 8-9.

DOUBLE DIGITS: Four Bison eclipsed the double-digit win mark at the Virginia Duals. Eric Hoffman, Eric Sanders, Gabe Mooney and Adam Aho now each own at least 10 victories in the 2006-07 season. Hoffman and Mooney lead the team with 11 apiece and Sanders and Aho have recorded 10.

PIN TO WIN: Matt Wetterling went 4-0 at the Virginia Duals, pinning three of his opponents. The junior leads the squad in falls with five and has the fastest pin recorded this season when he pinned Justin Terhune of Drexel in 33 seconds.

Last season Wetterling recorded 18 pins, which was tied for ninth overall and third in Division I according to InterMatWrestle.com, a Web site ran by the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association.

NON-CONFERENCE MATCH: Although NDSU and SDSU are both in the Western Wrestling Conference, the match on December 15 was a non-conference dual. The two teams will wrestle again with the dual in Brookings on February 18 counting toward the WWC standings.

WESTERN WRESTLING CONFERENCE: North Dakota State and six other schools officially formed the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) on April 27, 2006.

Along with the Bison, charter members of the Western Wrestling Conference will include: the United States Air Force Academy, the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Northern Iowa, South Dakota State University, Utah Valley State College and the University of Wyoming.

Last season the Bison went 4-1 against these schools. Their only loss came to Northern Iowa and their dual with SDSU last year was cancelled due to bad weather. To make up for it, the Bison will face the Jackrabbits twice this year.

NEWCOMERS: North Dakota State welcomes 13 new student-athletes to their roster including a couple of decorated transfers.

Eric Hoffman comes to NDSU via Iowa Central Community College where he was the NJCAA national champion at 125 pounds in 2005. In two years at ICCC, Hoffman compiled a record of 58-12.

Ryan Klinger is a transfer from the University of Illinois where he backed up 133-pound All-American Kyle Ott for two years. In high school, Klinger was an Illinois state champion and helped lead his high school team to its first ever state team title in 2003.

The 11 high school wrestlers that joined the Bison this year have combined for eight state championships, led by Casey Buchholz (North Dakota) and Vince Salminen (Montana), who each won two.

POSTSEASON ELIGIBLE: Thanks to an NCAA ruling in September 2004, North Dakota State could reclassify its wrestling team to Division I in three years instead of five, making them eligible for the NCAA West Regional and the Division I Championships this year. NDSU is on track to reclassify in all sports by 2008-09.