Norfolk, Va. – The Old Dominion wrestling team announced its schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 season. The Monarchs, who return three NCAA All-Americans and placed second as a team in the highly competitive Mid-American Conference last season, have compiled yet another challenging schedule that includes an away trip to California, a return to the prestigious Midlands tournament and over a dozen exciting dual meet matchups.
Associate head coach Mike Dixon is highly anticipating the events slated for this season. “We are excited for this year's upcoming schedule. As our mission is to continue to put our student athletes in the best position possible to win an NCAA title, we feel this year's schedule will offer the preparation necessary to have our guys excel in March at Madison Square Garden. We are thrilled to start up a series with the University of North Carolina as well as Navy. They are both very well-coached teams and will offer us a tough challenge at home. As usual, the MAC continues to be one of the toughest conferences in the country. Our home matches with Northern Iowa, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois will be extremely tough, competitive matches and hopefully entertaining for our fans.”
ODU is coming off a very productive season that saw a program-record seven wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. Chris Mecate and Alex Richardson finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in their weight classes to clinch All-American status. Jack Dechow was the lone Monarch grappler to claim an individual crown at the MAC Championships and was also ODU’s first ever champion at the Midlands tournament.
As a team, ODU posted a 13-5 record in dual meets and went 6-2 in MAC action. The Monarch grapplers also notched a third place finish at the Virginia Duals after defeating top-ten Edinboro in a riveting 16-15 nail-biter.
As always, the wrestling season will commence with the annual Blue-Silver Intrasquad, for which a date has yet to be determined.
The Monarchs will officially begin the season in Binghamton, New York on Sunday, Nov. 8 for the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open and will then travel to Charlottesville, Va. to take on Virginia in their first dual meet of the year a week later on Sunday, Nov. 15.
On Saturday, Nov. 21, ODU will compete in a double-dual meet against Cal Poly and San Francisco State in Gilroy, California, while some additional team members will compete in the Wolfpack Open on Sunday, Nov. 22 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Monarchs will then compete against back-to-back foes from North Carolina, as they will open up the home dual meet slate by hosting UNC on Sunday, Dec. 13 at the Ted Constant Center before heading to Raleigh to take on NC State on Thursday, Dec. 17. The UNC Tar Heels are the No. 12 preseason ranked team according to WIN and return All-Americans Evan Henderson, who is ranked No. 1 at 141, and Ethan Ramos, who is No. 4 at 165. The NC State Wolfpack are ranked No. 12 in WIN’s preseason team standings and return All-American Kevin Jack at 141 and two-time NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski at 285.
To wrap up the 2014 portion of the season, ODU will return to the prestigious Midlands tournament in Evanston, Ill. Jack Dechow will look to defend his 2014 title in a packed field that includes 23-time NCAA Champs, Iowa, and a plethora of other highly-rated teams.
On Jan. 8-9, ODU will compete at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. in a 16-team dual-meet style tournament against several premier teams including Iowa State and preseason No. 6 Virginia Tech.
Next, a slew of MAC dual meets await the Monarchs, as the squad will square off at Buffalo on Friday, Jan. 22 before heading to Kent State on Sunday, Jan. 24. The following Sunday, preseason No. 7 Missouri will play host to ODU in a showdown between the 2014 MAC champions and second-place finishers.
On Friday, Feb. 5, Steve Martin’s squad will host Navy, and then they will trek to Athens, Ohio to take on Ohio University on Sunday, Feb. 7. The Bobcats enter the 2015-16 season ranked No. 15 and have three wrestlers projected within the top 10.
To close out the regular season, ODU will host a double-dual meet with Eastern Michigan and American on Sunday, Feb. 14. The Monarchs will then host Central Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 21 at a location to be determined.
In postseason action, ODU will look to claim their first Mid-American conference title at the MAC Championships which will be held at Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. on March 5-6.
Finally, ODU will conclude the season at the NCAA Championships at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from March 17-19.
VOUCHER BOOKS
Take advantage of the great offer to attend ODU wrestling matches through the ODU Wrestling Season Ticket Voucher Book available online here. Each voucher book contains 12 vouchers. These vouchers are good for any regular season ODU home wrestling match during the 2015-2016 season.
Be sure to follow Old Dominion Wrestling on Twitter at twitter.com/ODUWrestling and find them on Facebook at facebook.com/OldDominionWrestling.
2015-16 ODU Wrestling Schedule
TBD TBD Blue-Silver Intrasquad Norfolk, Va.
Sun. Nov. 8 Jonathan Kaloust Open Binghamton, N.Y.
Sun. Nov. 15 Virginia Charlottesville, Va.
Sat. Nov. 21 Gilroy Duals (Cal Poly, SFSU) Gilroy, Calif.
Sun. Nov. 22 Wolfpack Open Raleigh, N.C.
Sun. Dec. 13 North Carolina Norfolk, Va.
Thurs. Dec. 17 NC State Raleigh, N.C.
T/W Dec. 28-29 Midlands Evanston, Ill.
F/Sat. Jan. 8-9 Virginia Duals Hampton, Va.
Sun. Jan.17 Northern Iowa Norfolk, Va.
Fri. Jan. 22 Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y.
Sun. Jan. 24 Kent State Kent, Ohio
Sun. Jan. 31 Missouri Columbia, Mo.
Fri. Feb. 5 Navy Norfolk, Va.
Sun. Feb. 7 Ohio Athens, Ohio
Sun. Feb. 14 Eastern Michigan/American Norfolk, Va.
Fri. Feb. 19 Northern Illinois Norfolk, Va.
Sun. Feb. 21 Central Michigan TBD
Sat/Sun March 5-6 MAC Championships Ypsilanti, Mich.
Th-Sat March 17-19 NCAA Championships New York, N.Y.