2008 Woodie Awards
First of two consecutive home meets starts Thursday against NIU at Rose
By: Aaron Sides
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Sports
The wrestling team will host the first of two consecutive home meets at 7:30 p.m. Thursday when Northern Illinois visits Rose Arena.
No. 5 Central (11-2 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) defeated the Huskies 27-9 last season. NIU's roster is mostly made up of underclassmen. The Huskies only return five wrestlers who competed against CMU last season.
NIU has two wrestlers ranked in the top 15 in the country in their respective weight classes. No. 10-ranked senior 133-pounder Pat Castillo and No. 13 sophomore 174-pounder Duke Burke will test the Chippewas.
Castillo won a MAC championship at 125 pounds last season, while Burke was a runner-up at 184 pounds.
"They have some outstanding individuals," said senior 184-pounder Christian Sinnott. "We're going to have to show up to wrestle."
Castillo beat senior 125-pounder Luke Smith 3-2 last season for one of NIU's three wins. CMU sophomore 157-pounder Tyler Grayson and junior 165-pounder Trevor Stewart also lost by decision.
The Chippewas witnessed some of what Northern Illinois has to offer when they saw NIU compete at the Midlands meet on Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill.
The flu that has been circulating throughout the team could be a factor again this week. Coach Tom Borrelli said the affected individuals are doing their best to work through it.
"It's been going through our team pretty good," he said. "It's been having some effect on our training continuity."
The illness was severe enough for sophomore 133-pounder Conor Beebe and sophomore 141-pounder Tony D'Alie to miss the dual against Buffalo last weekend. Others had symptoms, but competed nonetheless.
"I had to wrestle with the flu on Saturday," Sinnott said. "I'd rather have it now than later on in the season."
After its meet Thursday, CMU gets only a two-day break. It hosts Bloomsburg at 2 p.m. Sunday.
With the two meets within a short time period, it will allow a tournament-like atmosphere to develop. Borrelli said having to make weight at shorter intervals gets the team ready to do the same during the MAC and NCAA tournaments.
Being at home twice in four days also will give CMU fans just their third and fourth opportunities to see the team compete at Rose Arena.
"It's always fun to wrestle in front of the home crowd," Borrelli said. "Hopefully we'll get the community and students involved."
sports@cm-life.com
No. 5 Central (11-2 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) defeated the Huskies 27-9 last season. NIU's roster is mostly made up of underclassmen. The Huskies only return five wrestlers who competed against CMU last season.
NIU has two wrestlers ranked in the top 15 in the country in their respective weight classes. No. 10-ranked senior 133-pounder Pat Castillo and No. 13 sophomore 174-pounder Duke Burke will test the Chippewas.
Castillo won a MAC championship at 125 pounds last season, while Burke was a runner-up at 184 pounds.
"They have some outstanding individuals," said senior 184-pounder Christian Sinnott. "We're going to have to show up to wrestle."
Castillo beat senior 125-pounder Luke Smith 3-2 last season for one of NIU's three wins. CMU sophomore 157-pounder Tyler Grayson and junior 165-pounder Trevor Stewart also lost by decision.
The Chippewas witnessed some of what Northern Illinois has to offer when they saw NIU compete at the Midlands meet on Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill.
The flu that has been circulating throughout the team could be a factor again this week. Coach Tom Borrelli said the affected individuals are doing their best to work through it.
"It's been going through our team pretty good," he said. "It's been having some effect on our training continuity."
The illness was severe enough for sophomore 133-pounder Conor Beebe and sophomore 141-pounder Tony D'Alie to miss the dual against Buffalo last weekend. Others had symptoms, but competed nonetheless.
"I had to wrestle with the flu on Saturday," Sinnott said. "I'd rather have it now than later on in the season."
After its meet Thursday, CMU gets only a two-day break. It hosts Bloomsburg at 2 p.m. Sunday.
With the two meets within a short time period, it will allow a tournament-like atmosphere to develop. Borrelli said having to make weight at shorter intervals gets the team ready to do the same during the MAC and NCAA tournaments.
Being at home twice in four days also will give CMU fans just their third and fourth opportunities to see the team compete at Rose Arena.
"It's always fun to wrestle in front of the home crowd," Borrelli said. "Hopefully we'll get the community and students involved."
sports@cm-life.com
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