Feb. 1, 2006
NORFOLK, VA - This weekend at the Old Dominion Fieldhouse, ODU's Wrestling Monarchs host Virginia and UNC-Greensboro in an exciting weekend of wrestling action. Friday's match against UVA marks the teams annual scholarship match while Sunday's Kid's Day match against UNC-G offers a free kid's clinic for ages K-8th grade. Old Dominion is 7-5-1 overall, and 9-1-1 in the CAA.
ODU vs. UVA Highlights:
Friday February 3, Old Dominion hosts UVA for it's annual scholarship match at 7:00 pm at the ODU Fieldhouse. Admission to the event is $5; all proceeds benefit the Intercollegiate Foundation for Wrestling Scholarships. Admission is free for ODU students with a valid ID and children ages 4 and under.
The match will highlight four rematches from this year's championship bouts at the Virginia Intercollegiate Tournament back in January. Old Dominion finished first at the event for the first time since 1994; UVA took second. At 125 pounds, Bryan LaShomb will have a second chance as he wrestles UVA's Anthony Burke. Burke Pinned LaShomb at the 3:57 mark in last month's tournament championship bout. At 133 pounds, freshman Ryan Williams fell to Mike Grogan by a close 3-2 decision, the two will meet again this Friday. At 174, TJ Hansen will rematch Mike Grogan after holding him to 3-2 win by decision at the tournament. Finally, at 197 pounds Adam Wright will again face Brent Jones after beating him by a 15-4 major decision in their last meeting.
This is the first time ODU has wrestled UVA since head coach Steve Martin has taken over the reigns. In their last meeting under Gray Simons, the Monarchs fell to a 25-14 defeat. The Cavaliers are 7-4 overall, 2-0 in the ACC after beating Virginia Tech last weekend 25-15. Old Dominion is 19-16 all-time against Virginia.
Friday's Probables:
UVA ODU 125 Anthony Burke Bryan LaShomb (16-10)133Eric Albright Ryan Williams (18-11)141 Peter Ferrara BJ Compton (4-9)149 Drew DiPasquale Jeff Becker (7-10)157 Mike Sewell Nick Pullano (11-16)165 Damian Johnson Robby Gosnell (18-10)174 Mike Grogan TJ Hansen (5-4)184 Kyle Narkiewicz David Mendoza (9-9)197 Brent Jones #18 Adam Wright (23-4)285 Nick Smith John Dolida (9-18)
ODU vs. UNC-G Highlights:
Sunday February 5, Old Dominion hosts UNC-Greensboro at noon at the ODU Fieldhouse, admission to the event is free. Sunday's Kid's Day match will offer a free clinic prior to the match open to kids ages K-8th grade. The clinic will run from 10:00-11:30am, with the match kicking off at noon. All clinic attendees are invited to stick around and root for the Monarchs as they take on the Spartans. In conjunction with Kid's Day, ODU Wrestling will donate $250 to the wrestling club with the largest attendance. There will be a break in the action after the fifth collegiate match to allow for two youth matches between club members that attend the clinic prior to the match. For more information on Kid's Day, please call 683-6373.
In 2005, ODU traveled to Greensboro to take on the Spartans on their home turf. The outcome was a win for the Monarchs 20-15. The Spartans are 9-1 overall, 3-0 in the Southern Conference after beating the citadel last weekend 27-10. ODU's all-time record against UNC-G stand at 5-1.
Last year against UNC-G, the Spartan's Chris Bencivenga beat ODU's BJ Compton by tech fall. This year freshman Ryan Williams looks to will be taking on Bencivenga as a 133 pound rematch. Compton will wrestle Kevin Artis at 141 pounds. At 165 pounds, Robby Gosnell and Mark Ring are set for a rematch of last year's bout. Last year's contest ended in favor of Gosnell by a 4-3 decision. Expected to be one of the most exciting matches of the day, no. 19 Adam Wright will take on no. 18 Daren Burns of UNC-G. Both participated I the match a year ago, but in different weight classes. Wright moved up from 184 pounds last year to wrestle Burns who last year was contending in the heavyweight class.
Sunday's Probables:
UNC-G ODU 125 Justin Walp Bryan LaShomb (16-10)133 Chris Bencivenga Ryan Williams (18-11)141 Kevin Artis BJ Compton (4-9)149 Cody Harrington Jeff Becker (7-10)157 Mark Ring Robby Gosnell (18-10)174 Joe Lowe TJ Hansen (5-4)184 Kane Smith David Mendoza (9-9)197 #18 Daren Burns #19 Adam Wright (23-4)285 #13 Tyler Shovlin John Dolida (9-18)