COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Old Dominion wrestling team (4-8, 0-3 MAC) continues its stretch of away conference meets this Sunday, Jan. 31 when the Monarchs square off against fifth-ranked Missouri (9-1, 6-0 MAC) at 2 p.m. EST on ESPN3.
The Monarchs dropped back-to-back MAC dual meets against Buffalo and Kent State last weekend, but Brandon Jeske, No. 13 Chris Mecate, No. 8 Alexander Richardson and No. 4 Jack Dechow won both of their respective bouts. Jeske will enter Sunday’s showdown with the No. 5 Missouri Tigers on a seven-match winning streak, and Richardson will be looking to claim his 100th career victory against Missouri’s undefeated, third-ranked Lavion Mayes.
In the polls this week, Brandon Jeske remains as high as No. 19 by WIN Magazine at 125, Emilio Saavedra is tabbed as high as No. 13 by InterMat at 133, Chris Mecate is No. 10 by The Open Mat at 141 and Jack Dechow is up to No. 4 according to InterMat. As a tournament team, ODU is ranked No. 18 by InterMat and is tied for 20th by WIN Magazine.
The Missouri Tigers enter Sunday’s dual meet after their 37-match winning streak came to an end at the hands of No. 4 Oklahoma State last Friday. It was the first dual meet loss Missouri had suffered since Jan. 31, 2014, also against Oklahoma State. The Tigers will take on Oklahoma this Saturday before welcoming the Monarchs on Sunday.
Mizzou boasts eight nationally ranked wrestlers in its starting lineup including 2014 NCAA Champion J’den Cox, who is currently ranked No. 2 at 197. The Tigers are also led by undefeated, third-ranked Lavion Mayes at 149 and freshman Daniel Lewis, who is ranked No. 5 by InterMat at 165.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Old Dominion Monarchs (4-8, 0-3)
125: Jr. Brandon Jeske (12-6)
133: So. Josh Markham (8-10) or Fr. Brandon James (16-10)
141: #13 RSr. Chris Mecate (14-4)
149: #8 Sr. Alexander Richardson (15-3)
157: RSr. Devin Geoghegan (9-9) or RSo. Austin Eads (11-10)
165: Fr. Seldon Wright (13-11)
174: So. Brooks Climmons (6-11)
184: #4 RJr. Jack Dechow (10-1)
197: RSr. Austin Coburn (5-14)
285: Fr. Andrew Snyder (2-13)
#5 Missouri Tigers (9-1, 6-0)
125: #10 RSo. Barlow McGhee (13-6) or Aaron Assad (12-7)
133: #13 RJr. Zach Synon (14-6) or John Erneste (13-5)
141: #8 RJr. Matt Manley (22-5) or Cole Baumgartner (14-6)
149: #3 RJr. Lavion Mayes (19-0)
157: RSr. Le’Roy Barnes (19-7)
165: #5 RFr. Daniel Lewis (17-4)
174: #10 RSr. Blaise Butler (11-3) or Tim Miklus (9-8)
184: #7 RSo. Willie Miklus (13-3)
197: #2 Jr. J’den Cox (19-1)
285: Fr. James Romero (11-14) or Mike Monaghan (1-6)
COVERAGE
Sunday’s dual meet will be streamed live at 2 p.m. EST by ESPN3. As always, live Twitter updates will be provided by @ODUWrestling.
NEXT UP
ODU returns home on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. when they host Navy on Military Appreciation Day at the Ted Constant Center.
VOUCHER BOOKS
Take advantage of the great offer to attend ODU wrestling matches through the ODU Wrestling Season Ticket Voucher Book available online here. Voucher books can also be purchased at the gate prior to any home event. Each voucher book contains 12 vouchers. These vouchers are good for any regular season ODU home wrestling match during the 2015-2016 season.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For an in-depth look to everything Monarchs Wrestling, make sure to follow the team on Facebook, Twitter (@ODUWrestling) using the hashtag #ManeFocus and on YouTube and ODUsports.com.