Wrestling opens up McGuirk Arena Friday with Utah Valley
Wrestling will step on the mat for the first time at home at 7 p.m. tomorrow in McGuirk Arena for a dual meet against Utah Valley.
His team fresh off a strong start at the Michigan State Open, head coach Tom Borrelli is still looking to see improvement out of his lineup each week. He said he is interested in how the young Chippewas will come out on Friday in a drastically different setting than the tournament atmosphere they experienced just last weekend.
"I'm just mostly looking to see improvement and to see that attitude and aggressiveness that our guys wrestle with," Borrelli said. "We'll see how some of them will compete in a dual meet. It's different from a tournament in that in a dual, everyone is focused on you."
Central Michigan will face some tough matchups against a few Wolverines, which sent three wrestlers to the NCAA Championships last season. Expectations are high for UVU, which placed third in the Western Wrestling Conference and is welcoming back nine of their 10 starters from last year's 6-4 team.
Seniors Avery Garner at 141, Curtis Cook at 165 and 174-pounder Monte Schmallhaus each placed second at last year's conference tournament. Also dangerous are 125-pound sophomore Jade Rauser and junior heavyweight Adam Fager, both ranked in the Top 20 nationally.
The Chippewas hope to counter with 141-pound sophomore Zach Horan, who took first place in this weight class last week at MSU. He is joined by 125-pound redshirt freshman Corey Keener and junior Mike Ottinger at 174, who also placed in the top three over the weekend.
The CMU home crowd will certainly provide additional support, although Borrelli recognizes being at home for the first meet could possibly become a distraction.
"I just think its important that we keep our composure and do what we're capable of doing, as opposed to trying to get too caught up in things," Borrelli said.
Senior Joe Roth is still questionable to put on a singlet after sustaining an injury in the semifinal match at the 133 pound open. Borrelli said he's doing well but it's still up in the air whether he'll be wrestling this weekend.
