Wrestling tangle in Ivy
Chris McCarty
CMU faces the Princeton Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Friday and then Pennsylvania for a dual with the No. 8 Quakers at 2 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re trying to face as tough a competition before the MAC tournament as we can,” Head Coach Tom Borrelli said.
“We want to make sure we’re battle-ready.”
The match up vs. the Tigers is the first in Chippewas history. Both teams were named to the top five academically.
Leading the Tigers is 174-pounder Greg Parker.
“Greg Parker is ranked pretty high nationally, and they have a couple of guys on their team that are real scrappy,” said Borrelli.
“We’re a little banged up right now, and when you have your second and third stringers wrestling, you don’t have a real big margin for error.”
The “banged up” wrestlers Coach Borrelli referred to are 165-pounder Kevin Carr and 184-pounders Alex Lammers and Russ Vanderheyden.
Carr and Lammers could both likely be sidelined for the season with knee injuries and Vanderheyden is recovering from an ankle injury suffered vs. Northern Illinois Feb. 1.
Wrestling in place of the injured Chippewas will be Joe Ray Barry at 165 pounds and Jeff Pangborn at 184 pounds.
“We don’t know if we’re going to be able to use Russ Vanderheyden, but we’re taking him on the trip,” said Borrelli.
The Tigers have struggled this year, at 3-15 overall with a 0-4 mark in the Ivy League.
In contrast, in the Ivy League is Pennsylvania. The Quakers are ranked eighth nationally after taking eighth at the National Duals.
The Quakers come into this weekend’s action with a 7-4 overall record and a perfect 4-0 in their league.
Penn is led by seniors Rick Springman at 174 pounds and No. 2 Yoshi Nakamura.
Both Springman and Nakamura are returning All-Americans with a combined three losses between the two on the season.
Penn boasts three other nationally ranked wrestlers. At 125 pounds, No. 8 Mason Lenhard; 149 pound No. 10 Joe Henson and at 165 pounds, No. 9 Josh Henson.
