"Our schedule is designed so each individual starter will wrestle the majority of their matches against opponents ranked in the Top 25 in the United States," Martin said. "We have upgraded our schedule to prepare our guys for the NCAA Tournament."
The Monarchs season kicks off on Nov. 6 with the 2nd Annual ODU Fall Clinic from 8-2 PM. The second annual Blue-Silver Intrasquad match then follows the clinic at 2:30 PM.
The schedule includes four of the biggest and toughest tournaments to wrestle in the United States with the Missouri Open (Nov. 20), the Mat town Tournament in Lock Haven, PA (Nov. 26), the Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 2), and the Southern Scuffle (Dec. 29).
The Missouri Open will field competition from defending National Champion and preseason number 1 ranked Oklahoma State, including other Big 12 national powerhouses, no. 7 Oklahoma and no. 16 Missouri, and Big Ten powers such as no. 3 Illinois, no. 11 Wisconsin, and no. 17 Indiana.
Following their stint in the mid-west the blue and silver will head to Pennsylvania to compete with some of the country's elite programs like Penn State and Minnesota.
The Monarchs then travel to Las Vegas, NV to compete in the prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 2-3. They will face opponents from defending national runner-up Michigan, defending Big 10 champion Illinois, 4th ranked Cornell, 6th ranked Nebraska, CAA returning conference champion and rival Hofstra, No. 11 Wisconsin, and other nationally competitive schools such as: Ohio State, Purdue, Edinboro, Cal Poly, Arizona State, and Pittsuburgh.
They will then finish out their tough tournament schedule with the Southern Scuffle, that has become the largest college tournament that is exclusive to Division I teams outside of the NCAA tournament.
"These tournaments are very competitive and will prepare us for the NCAA tournament at the end of the year." Martin said, "We will see many faces that we would not have seen with our former schedule. We want to know where we are before we get to the NCAA's."
The Monarchs will host four home matches, including first time ever December 17th match against University of Northern Iowa who was ranked as high as 12th last year by the NWCA/USA today Coaches Pool. The Panthers have three wrestlers ranked in the Intermat Preseason Ranking and are coached by Martin's former Iowa teammate Brad Perith, where they contributed to two NCAA team championships.
The Avalon Duals at Edinboro, PA on November 20th will put the Monarchs against Edinboro, Slippery Rock University, and the University of Maryland.
In January, they will travel across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to the Hampton Coliseum for the program's 19th appearance in the Virginia Duals. Some of the nation's top teams are in the field, including West Virginia, University of Pennsylvania, Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Indiana.
February 3rd the Monarchs will hold their annual scholarship dual against University of Virginia at home and two days later on February 5th will host a match against UNC Greensboro as well as a free kids clinic from 10-11:30 AM for the ages of K-8. Then on February 16th they will have their final home match of the season against VMI in their annual alumni match. Old Dominion will then end its regular season with a road trip to Chapel Hill to take on Appalachian State and ACC champions UNC.
The Monarchs have a long and grueling season in front of them and with out a doubt the toughest in ODU history, but Martin and his staff feel that this is what is needed. "I am confident our student-athletes will be ready to perform when they look across the mat and see someone standing in a Big 10 or Big 12 uniform. We will make sure of that", Martin said.
2005-2006 Old Dominion Wrestling ScheduleDateDayOpponent Location Outcome/Time11/05SatInter Squad Meet Norfolk, VA TBA11/12SatAvalon Duals Edinboro, PA All Day11/20SunMissouri Open Colombia, MO All Day11/26SatMat Town Tournament Lock Haven, PA All Day12/02FriLas Vegas Invitational Las Vegas, NV All Day12/03SatLas Vegas Invitational Las Vegas, NV All Day12/04SunPenn State Open State College, PA All Day12/17SatUNI Norfolk, VA 2:00 PM12/29ThuSouthern Scuffle Greensborough, NC All Day12/30FriSouthern Scuffle Greensborough, NC All Day01/07SatVA States Charlottesville, VA All Day01/13FriVA Duals Hampton, VA All Day01/14SatVA Duals Hampton, VA All Day01/20FriCAA Duals Fairfax, VA TBA01/21SatCAA Duals Fairfax, VA TBA02/03FriUVA Duals Norfolk, VA 7:00 PM02/05SunUNC-G Norfolk, VA 12:00 PM02/11SatGMU/Campbell Farifax, VA All Day02/16ThuVMI Dual Norfolk, VA 7:00 PM02/19SunUNC/Appalachian State Chapel Hill, NC All Day03/03FriCAA Championships Drexel University TBA03/04SatCAA Championships Drexel University TBA03/16ThuNCAA Championships Oklahoma City, OK TBA03/17FriNCAA Championships Oklahoma City, OK TBA03/18SatNCAA Championships Oklahoma City, OK TBA
For a complete look at the 2005-2006 Old Dominion Wrestling schedule visit: http://odusports.collegesports.com/sports/m-wrestl/sched/oldd-m-wrestl-sched.html