Sunday, February 24
Brookings, S.D.
7:00 P.M.
West Virginia University
at
South Dakota State
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Caps Regular Season at South Dakota State
February 23, 2019 12:25 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following a three-week hiatus, the West Virginia University wrestling team will cap its 2018-19 regular season on Sunday, as the Mountaineers take on South Dakota State in a 7 p.m. ET league tilt, inside Frost Arena, in Brookings, South Dakota.
Sunday's match will be broadcasted live on FloWrestling.com. Live stats will be provided on TrackWrestling.com. Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the wrestling schedule page on WVUsports.com.
"I think we are excited to compete," said first-year coach Tim Flynn. "We haven't competed in three weeks, but we needed the time. I think we got a little bit better, and I think we are anxious to see how much this weekend. I think it's a win that we can get."
West Virginia (4-13, 3-5 Big 12) and South Dakota State (2-10, 1-7 Big 12) are scheduled to meet in dual action for the fourth time on Sunday. The series began when the Jackrabbits joined the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member at the start of the 2015-16 season. SDSU has won each of the first three meetings, posting an 18-15 victory at Frost Arena in the initial meeting on Feb. 12, 2016, before recording back-to-back wins in Morgantown the past two seasons.
The Jackrabbits have lost four consecutive road matches, most recently dropping a 30-6 contest at Oklahoma on Friday. Henry Pohlmeyer, SDSU's lone wrestler ranked inside this week's Intermat's Top-20 Poll, dropped a 7-5 decision to Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries, who also is ranked in several wrestling publications this week. South Dakota State returns home for the first time since Jan. 31, when the Jackrabbits defeated Big 12 foe Utah Valley, 26-16. First-year coach Damion Hahn, who helped build Cornell into a national powerhouse over the past decade, took over a program that finished 12th at nationals last season.
The most anticipated match of the weekend will be redshirt senior Christian Monserrat and Pohlmeyer at 149 pounds. Monserrat ranks at No. 16 in the latest Intermat Top-20 Poll, while Pohlmeyer sits one spot behind him at No. 17.
Monserrat boasts a team-leading 19-5 mark on the year, pacing the Mountaineers with 51 match points and 35 takedowns. The Methuen, Massachusetts, native has wins over four previous NCAA qualifiers this season, including a 3-1 win over No. 4 Justin Oliver of NC State on Jan. 13. Monserrat is currently on a four-match win streak and is looking to qualify for his first-ever NCAA Tournament in his final season as a Mountaineer.
Pohlmeyer has a 19-10 overall record this season after earning his first-ever trip to nationals in the 141-pound division during the 2017-18 campaign. Both wrestlers went head-to-head in the 141-pound bout last season, with Pohlmeyer claiming an 11-3 major decision over Monserrat on Feb. 11, 2018, in Morgantown.
Of note, the second NCAA Division I Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings and the first edition of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) were released on Feb 14. Monserrat (149), junior Brandon Ngati (HWT), redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133), sophomore Nick Kiussis (165) and redshirt freshman Noah Adams (197) each appear in the top 33 of both lists.
Monserrat appears at No. 17 in the RPI and is ranked 18th overall in the coaches' panel rankings at 149 pounds. Ngati comes in at No. 29 in the RPI and is ranked at No. 30 in the heavyweight division of the coaches' panel rankings, moving up two spots from his previous rank of No. 32 in the rankings released on Jan. 25. Schmitt sits at No. 15 in the coaches' panel rankings and is ranked at No. 16 in the RPI at 133 pounds. Kiussis appears at No. 20 in the RPI and is ranked 22nd overall in the coaches' panel rankings at 165 pounds. Adams comes in at No. 14 in the RPI and is ranked at No. 24 in the coaches' panel rankings at 197 pounds, moving up eight spots from his previous rank of No. 32.
Following its trip to South Dakota, West Virginia will take a week off from competition before heading to the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship from March 9-10. The event will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Sunday's match will be broadcasted live on FloWrestling.com. Live stats will be provided on TrackWrestling.com. Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the wrestling schedule page on WVUsports.com.
"I think we are excited to compete," said first-year coach Tim Flynn. "We haven't competed in three weeks, but we needed the time. I think we got a little bit better, and I think we are anxious to see how much this weekend. I think it's a win that we can get."
West Virginia (4-13, 3-5 Big 12) and South Dakota State (2-10, 1-7 Big 12) are scheduled to meet in dual action for the fourth time on Sunday. The series began when the Jackrabbits joined the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member at the start of the 2015-16 season. SDSU has won each of the first three meetings, posting an 18-15 victory at Frost Arena in the initial meeting on Feb. 12, 2016, before recording back-to-back wins in Morgantown the past two seasons.
The Jackrabbits have lost four consecutive road matches, most recently dropping a 30-6 contest at Oklahoma on Friday. Henry Pohlmeyer, SDSU's lone wrestler ranked inside this week's Intermat's Top-20 Poll, dropped a 7-5 decision to Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries, who also is ranked in several wrestling publications this week. South Dakota State returns home for the first time since Jan. 31, when the Jackrabbits defeated Big 12 foe Utah Valley, 26-16. First-year coach Damion Hahn, who helped build Cornell into a national powerhouse over the past decade, took over a program that finished 12th at nationals last season.
The most anticipated match of the weekend will be redshirt senior Christian Monserrat and Pohlmeyer at 149 pounds. Monserrat ranks at No. 16 in the latest Intermat Top-20 Poll, while Pohlmeyer sits one spot behind him at No. 17.
Monserrat boasts a team-leading 19-5 mark on the year, pacing the Mountaineers with 51 match points and 35 takedowns. The Methuen, Massachusetts, native has wins over four previous NCAA qualifiers this season, including a 3-1 win over No. 4 Justin Oliver of NC State on Jan. 13. Monserrat is currently on a four-match win streak and is looking to qualify for his first-ever NCAA Tournament in his final season as a Mountaineer.
Pohlmeyer has a 19-10 overall record this season after earning his first-ever trip to nationals in the 141-pound division during the 2017-18 campaign. Both wrestlers went head-to-head in the 141-pound bout last season, with Pohlmeyer claiming an 11-3 major decision over Monserrat on Feb. 11, 2018, in Morgantown.
Of note, the second NCAA Division I Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings and the first edition of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) were released on Feb 14. Monserrat (149), junior Brandon Ngati (HWT), redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133), sophomore Nick Kiussis (165) and redshirt freshman Noah Adams (197) each appear in the top 33 of both lists.
Monserrat appears at No. 17 in the RPI and is ranked 18th overall in the coaches' panel rankings at 149 pounds. Ngati comes in at No. 29 in the RPI and is ranked at No. 30 in the heavyweight division of the coaches' panel rankings, moving up two spots from his previous rank of No. 32 in the rankings released on Jan. 25. Schmitt sits at No. 15 in the coaches' panel rankings and is ranked at No. 16 in the RPI at 133 pounds. Kiussis appears at No. 20 in the RPI and is ranked 22nd overall in the coaches' panel rankings at 165 pounds. Adams comes in at No. 14 in the RPI and is ranked at No. 24 in the coaches' panel rankings at 197 pounds, moving up eight spots from his previous rank of No. 32.
Following its trip to South Dakota, West Virginia will take a week off from competition before heading to the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship from March 9-10. The event will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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