Saturday, November 17
Ithaca, N.Y.
3:00 P.M.
West Virginia University
at
Cornell
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Faces Two Top-15 Opponents
November 16, 2018 04:11 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team resumes dual action this weekend, as the Mountaineers take on two teams ranked inside the top 15 of the College NWCA/USA Today Rankings.
WVU (1-0, 1-0) travels to Ithaca, New York, to face No. 9 Cornell on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. ET. WVU will then return home to the WVU Coliseum the following day, rounding out the month of November with a 1 p.m. match against No. 14 Northern Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 18.
"I think we are going to be tested this weekend," first-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Cornell is ranked in the top 10, and I think Northern Iowa may even be better. They have almost eight guys ranked in the top 20. It'll be a real challenge and a real test for us.
"We are just trying to use every match, learn from it and move forward. We want to improve. This weekend is a big test, but I think our guys are ready for it."
Prior to Sunday's match, the Mountaineers will host a free youth clinic, open to any and all entrants in eighth grade and below. All youth clinic participants will be admitted free to the match, with the match set to begin at 1 p.m. To pre-register, email WVUSportsMarketing@mail.wvu.edu.
Additionally, the first 250 youth fans in attendance will receive a free WVU wrestling mask. Autographs also will take place following the match. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
Saturday's dual with the Big Red will be available to subscribers on ESPN+, while Sunday's home match against the Panthers will be streamed live for free on WVUsports.com/Watch and the WVU Gameday App. Fans also can watch the stream live via Roku and Apple TV by searching for the "West Virginia Mountaineers" channel. Tony Onarato and Joe Mitchin will have the call.
Additionally, Sunday's match will be broadcasted live on FloWrestling.com. Live stats for both duals will be provided on TrackWrestling. Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the wrestling schedule page on WVUsports.com.
Saturday's match between the Big Red and the Mountaineers marks the second all-time meeting between the two squads, as Cornell earned a 26-9 win over West Virginia in its first-ever meeting at the 2014 Journeymen Duals.
The Panthers own a 3-0 lead over the Mountaineers in the all-time series, with the last meeting taking place in 1991. Northern Iowa and West Virginia meet for the first time as league opponents, as the Big 12 Conference added UNI in July of 2017 as an affiliate member to give the league a 12-team field.
In their last week of competition, five Mountaineers took first place in their respective pools, as West Virginia collected 217 points for a seventh-place finish at the 2018 Journeymen MyHouse Collegiate Classic on Nov. 11, held at Hudson Valley Community College, in Schenectady, New York. Redshirt freshman Joey Thomas (125), redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149), sophomore Nick Kiussis (165), redshirt freshman Noah Adams (197) and redshirt junior David Smith (HWT) each earned a first-place finish at the one-day event.
Five newcomers are projected to start this weekend, as freshmen Caleb Rea (133) and Luke Martin (141) will compete in their first dual of the season on Saturday.
Kiussis and Rea are tied for the team lead with eight wins on the year. Smith paces the Mountaineers with six match points, as he earned a win by fall in his first career start at heavyweight in WVU's season-opening victory over Northern Colorado on Nov. 1.
Cornell opened its season at Binghamton's Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open last Sunday, with a trio of Big Red grapplers taking home titles in their respective weight classes (Chas Tucker at 133, Hunter Richard at 149 and Ben Honis at 197).
Cornell travels to Binghamton on Friday before taking on West Virginia at home on Saturday, as five top-20 Big Red wrestlers are projected to start this weekend. Cornell took seven qualifiers to last season's NCAA Tournament, crowning four All-Americans and Yianni Diakomihalis as the NCAA champion (141) on its way to a seventh-place team finish.
Northern Iowa also opens its dual season this weekend, as the squad travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a match against the Pitt Panthers before heading down I-79 on Sunday.
UNI returns all six Panthers who earned themselves a spot at the 2018 NCAA Championships, including All-American Jacob Holschlag, who finished fifth in the 197-pound bracket last season.
In addition to the six NCAA qualifiers from 2018, Bryce Steiert (165) is coming off a redshirt year after qualifying for the national tournament two times. UNI also added Oklahoma State transfer Keegan Moore, who qualified for the 2018 NCAA Tournament at 184 pounds.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
West Virginia's Probable Starters:
Cornell's Probable Starters:
Northern Iowa's Probable Starters:
Rankings are listed as follows: The Open Mat/FloWrestling/Intermat
WVU (1-0, 1-0) travels to Ithaca, New York, to face No. 9 Cornell on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. ET. WVU will then return home to the WVU Coliseum the following day, rounding out the month of November with a 1 p.m. match against No. 14 Northern Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 18.
"I think we are going to be tested this weekend," first-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Cornell is ranked in the top 10, and I think Northern Iowa may even be better. They have almost eight guys ranked in the top 20. It'll be a real challenge and a real test for us.
"We are just trying to use every match, learn from it and move forward. We want to improve. This weekend is a big test, but I think our guys are ready for it."
Prior to Sunday's match, the Mountaineers will host a free youth clinic, open to any and all entrants in eighth grade and below. All youth clinic participants will be admitted free to the match, with the match set to begin at 1 p.m. To pre-register, email WVUSportsMarketing@mail.wvu.edu.
Additionally, the first 250 youth fans in attendance will receive a free WVU wrestling mask. Autographs also will take place following the match. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
Saturday's dual with the Big Red will be available to subscribers on ESPN+, while Sunday's home match against the Panthers will be streamed live for free on WVUsports.com/Watch and the WVU Gameday App. Fans also can watch the stream live via Roku and Apple TV by searching for the "West Virginia Mountaineers" channel. Tony Onarato and Joe Mitchin will have the call.
Additionally, Sunday's match will be broadcasted live on FloWrestling.com. Live stats for both duals will be provided on TrackWrestling. Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the wrestling schedule page on WVUsports.com.
Saturday's match between the Big Red and the Mountaineers marks the second all-time meeting between the two squads, as Cornell earned a 26-9 win over West Virginia in its first-ever meeting at the 2014 Journeymen Duals.
The Panthers own a 3-0 lead over the Mountaineers in the all-time series, with the last meeting taking place in 1991. Northern Iowa and West Virginia meet for the first time as league opponents, as the Big 12 Conference added UNI in July of 2017 as an affiliate member to give the league a 12-team field.
In their last week of competition, five Mountaineers took first place in their respective pools, as West Virginia collected 217 points for a seventh-place finish at the 2018 Journeymen MyHouse Collegiate Classic on Nov. 11, held at Hudson Valley Community College, in Schenectady, New York. Redshirt freshman Joey Thomas (125), redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149), sophomore Nick Kiussis (165), redshirt freshman Noah Adams (197) and redshirt junior David Smith (HWT) each earned a first-place finish at the one-day event.
Five newcomers are projected to start this weekend, as freshmen Caleb Rea (133) and Luke Martin (141) will compete in their first dual of the season on Saturday.
Kiussis and Rea are tied for the team lead with eight wins on the year. Smith paces the Mountaineers with six match points, as he earned a win by fall in his first career start at heavyweight in WVU's season-opening victory over Northern Colorado on Nov. 1.
Cornell opened its season at Binghamton's Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open last Sunday, with a trio of Big Red grapplers taking home titles in their respective weight classes (Chas Tucker at 133, Hunter Richard at 149 and Ben Honis at 197).
Cornell travels to Binghamton on Friday before taking on West Virginia at home on Saturday, as five top-20 Big Red wrestlers are projected to start this weekend. Cornell took seven qualifiers to last season's NCAA Tournament, crowning four All-Americans and Yianni Diakomihalis as the NCAA champion (141) on its way to a seventh-place team finish.
Northern Iowa also opens its dual season this weekend, as the squad travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a match against the Pitt Panthers before heading down I-79 on Sunday.
UNI returns all six Panthers who earned themselves a spot at the 2018 NCAA Championships, including All-American Jacob Holschlag, who finished fifth in the 197-pound bracket last season.
In addition to the six NCAA qualifiers from 2018, Bryce Steiert (165) is coming off a redshirt year after qualifying for the national tournament two times. UNI also added Oklahoma State transfer Keegan Moore, who qualified for the 2018 NCAA Tournament at 184 pounds.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
West Virginia's Probable Starters:
| Weight | Name | Year | Hometown |
| 125 | KJ Fenstermacher | r-Fr. | Northampton, Pa. |
| 133 | Caleb Rea | Fr. | Weirton, W.Va. |
| 141 | Luke Martin | Fr. | Parkersburg, W.Va. |
| 149 | Christian Monserrat | r-Sr. | Methuen, Mass. |
| 157 | Zachary Moore | r-Jr. | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| -OR- | Hunter Jones | r-So. | Charleston, W.Va. |
| 165 | Nick Kiussis | So. | Brunswick, Ohio |
| 174 | Josh Ramirez | Fr. | New Orleans, La. |
| 184 | Jackson Moomau | Fr. | Maysville, W.Va. |
| -OR- | Hunter DeLong | So. | Parkersburg, W.Va. |
| 197 | Noah Adams | r-Fr. | Coal City, W.Va. |
| -OR- | Jack Malone | Fr. | Sagamore Hills, Ohio |
| HWT | David Smith | r-Jr. | Charleston, W.Va. |
Cornell's Probable Starters:
| Weight | Name | Year | Hometown |
| 125 | Noah Baughman | Jr. | Doylestown, Ohio |
| 133 | No. 12/-/15 Chas Tucker | Jr. | Worcester, Mass. |
| 141 | No. 1/1/1 Yianni Diakomihalis | So. | Rochester, N.Y. |
| 149 | Hunter Richard | So. | Barneveld, N.Y. |
| 157 | Fredy Stroker | Jr. | Bettendorf, Iowa |
| 165 | Milik Dawkins | Jr. | Flint, Mich. |
| 174 | No. 16/16/16 Brandon Womack | Jr. | Scottsboro, Ala. |
| 184 | No. 8/8/9 Max Dean | So. | Lowell, Mich. |
| 197 | No. -/-/18 Ben Honis | Sr. | Syracuse, N.Y. |
| HWT | Brendan Furman | Fr. | Canonsburg, Pa. |
Northern Iowa's Probable Starters:
| Weight | Name | Year | Hometown |
| 125 | No. 20/20/- Jay Schwarm | Jr. | Bettendorf, Iowa |
| -OR- | Jack Skudlarczyk | r-Fr. | Austin, Texas |
| 133 | Jack Wagner | So. | Bettendorf, Iowa |
| 141 | No. 8/9/9 Josh Alber | Sr. | Dakota, Ill. |
| 149 | Derek Holschlag | r-Fr. | La Porte City, Iowa |
| -OR- | No. 7/7/7 Max Thomsen | Jr. | La Porte City, Iowa |
| 157 | Paden Moore | Jr. | Jackson, Minn. |
| -OR- | Isaiah Patton | Jr. | West Des Moines, Iowa |
| -OR- | Patrick Schoenfelder | r-Fr. | Antioch, Ill. |
| 165 | No. 8/7/9 Bryce Steiert | Jr. | Waverly, Iowa |
| 174 | No. 9/9/9 Taylor Lujan | Jr. | Carrollton, Ga. |
| 184 | No. 9/11/10 Drew Foster | Sr. | Burlington, Iowa |
| 197 | No. 4/4/4 Jacob Holschlag | So. | La Porte City, Iowa |
| -OR- | Izaak Shedenhelm | So. | Denver, Iowa |
| HWT | Carter Isley | So. | Albia, Iowa |
Rankings are listed as follows: The Open Mat/FloWrestling/Intermat
Players Mentioned
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