Wrestling: 2010-11 Schedule Announced
October 20, 2010 02:03 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Oliver Luck announced today the 2010-11 wrestling schedule.
With a slate complete with schools from the Eastern Wrestling League, the Big-10 Conference and other prominent wrestling programs that WVU will compete against at tournaments throughout the year, the Mountaineers will face yet another strong schedule.
“Coach Turnbull and the wrestling team experienced success last season and our fans will have more excitement ahead with this season’s schedule,” Luck says. “This is a very quality schedule that our wrestlers will participate in. Given the success of the team over the years, we are able to find top-notch opponents that want to wrestle against us to receive quality competition.”
In one of its earliest starts in program history, WVU will head to the Terrapin Invitational on Nov. 6 to face Maryland, Liberty and McDaniel.
“We’re starting off quicker and stronger than we ever have before with a few of these tournaments,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “Maryland, in the last eight years, has fully funded their program and made significant strides in their program to improve. That will be a very challenging opening match. Liberty doesn’t have the name recognition but they have fully supported their program.”
The Mountaineers will then compete at several prestigious tournaments including the Washington and Jefferson Invitational, the Navy Classic (Annapolis, Md.) and the Sprawl ‘n’ Brawl (Vestal, NY). WVU will face some of the strongest programs in the nation at these meets, including Penn State and Rutgers.
“Penn State is a top 10 program and Rutgers is probably a top 15,” Turnbull says. “We’re coming out of the blocks really hard. In some ways, it’s quicker than what I would like because we’ve got a few people that are just now getting healthier following surgeries earlier this year. We may or may not put in our starting lineup in those first matches but will eventually.”
At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Reno Tournament of Champions, the Mountaineers will see some of the top programs throughout the Midwest such as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa.
Against Big-10 programs, WVU will travel to compete against Illinois on Jan. 7, then have the honor of hosting Michigan State, a consistently ranked program with a strong wrestling heritage a week later.
“Hopefully we’ll have a win-loss record that we feel good about,” Turnbull says. “It’s a schedule that will give everyone opportunities to improve over the year after facing quality competition.”
Before the championship meets, the Mountaineers will have their annual tilts against EWL opponents Bloomsburg, Clarion, Lock Haven, Pitt, Edinboro and Cleveland State.
“It’s a very strong schedule overall,” Turnbull says. “We’ve never gone by the theory of trying to balance it out and make sure we have a certain amount of softer opponents and then a mixture of the stronger. We’ve usually put together what is a very strong schedule. In some ways, it’s not built around trying to show as a coach my best win-loss record. It’s put together so that every guy can see how good he can become. By the end of the year, the experiences of wins and losses should, with the right leadership and right people in the program, reflect how strong the wrestlers have become by the end of the year.”
With a slate complete with schools from the Eastern Wrestling League, the Big-10 Conference and other prominent wrestling programs that WVU will compete against at tournaments throughout the year, the Mountaineers will face yet another strong schedule.
“Coach Turnbull and the wrestling team experienced success last season and our fans will have more excitement ahead with this season’s schedule,” Luck says. “This is a very quality schedule that our wrestlers will participate in. Given the success of the team over the years, we are able to find top-notch opponents that want to wrestle against us to receive quality competition.”
In one of its earliest starts in program history, WVU will head to the Terrapin Invitational on Nov. 6 to face Maryland, Liberty and McDaniel.
“We’re starting off quicker and stronger than we ever have before with a few of these tournaments,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “Maryland, in the last eight years, has fully funded their program and made significant strides in their program to improve. That will be a very challenging opening match. Liberty doesn’t have the name recognition but they have fully supported their program.”
The Mountaineers will then compete at several prestigious tournaments including the Washington and Jefferson Invitational, the Navy Classic (Annapolis, Md.) and the Sprawl ‘n’ Brawl (Vestal, NY). WVU will face some of the strongest programs in the nation at these meets, including Penn State and Rutgers.
“Penn State is a top 10 program and Rutgers is probably a top 15,” Turnbull says. “We’re coming out of the blocks really hard. In some ways, it’s quicker than what I would like because we’ve got a few people that are just now getting healthier following surgeries earlier this year. We may or may not put in our starting lineup in those first matches but will eventually.”
At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Reno Tournament of Champions, the Mountaineers will see some of the top programs throughout the Midwest such as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa.
Against Big-10 programs, WVU will travel to compete against Illinois on Jan. 7, then have the honor of hosting Michigan State, a consistently ranked program with a strong wrestling heritage a week later.
“Hopefully we’ll have a win-loss record that we feel good about,” Turnbull says. “It’s a schedule that will give everyone opportunities to improve over the year after facing quality competition.”
Before the championship meets, the Mountaineers will have their annual tilts against EWL opponents Bloomsburg, Clarion, Lock Haven, Pitt, Edinboro and Cleveland State.
“It’s a very strong schedule overall,” Turnbull says. “We’ve never gone by the theory of trying to balance it out and make sure we have a certain amount of softer opponents and then a mixture of the stronger. We’ve usually put together what is a very strong schedule. In some ways, it’s not built around trying to show as a coach my best win-loss record. It’s put together so that every guy can see how good he can become. By the end of the year, the experiences of wins and losses should, with the right leadership and right people in the program, reflect how strong the wrestlers have become by the end of the year.”
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