NORFOLK, Va. – ODU wrestling head coach Steve Martin released the 2018-2019 schedule on Tuesday afternoon.
The Monarchs regular season schedule features six home matches against Missouri, NC State, Buffalo, SIUE, Duke, and Navy. ODU hits the road to visit Northwestern, CMU, NIU, Ohio, American, and Drexel. Among those 12 opponents, five of those squads were nationally ranked in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll last season.
To view the entire schedule, click here.
Highlighting the season, ODU will be hosting the 2019 Mid-American Conference Championships at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on March 8-9.
"A big highlight of our schedule this year is we host the Mid-American Conference tournament, said Martin. "This is something that happens once every eight to nine years depending on the number of participants in the conference. We think this will be a phenomenal event for all of the Hampton Roads wrestling community, our Monarch faithful and especially our athletes. The opportunity to compete for conference titles in their home venue will be invaluable."
To kick off the season, ODU will be heading north to compete in the Princeton Open hosted by Princeton University. Purdue, Stanford, Lehigh, Rider, Hofstra, Columbia, Franklin & Marshall, Sacred Heart and more will be in attendance at the Princeton Open.
On November 11, the Monarchs welcome MAC and national powerhouse Missouri at 1 p.m. Last year, the Tigers finished the season ranked No. 3 in the country and went undefeated in dual action.
"We are very excited about this schedule. We have a tough early slate with Missouri and NC State both in November," said Martin. "We've also added two new events in the Princeton Open and Reno Invitational that are great events that we're excited to see our team compete in. We're looking forward to seeing the progress we've made over the summer."
The Monarchs then travel to the Naval Academy to compete in the annual Navy Classic, where last year the ODU grapplers finished in third behind No. 24 Navy and No. 25 Purdue.
ODU faces two strong opponents in NC State (Nov. 29) at home then Northwestern (Dec. 7) on the road. Last season NC State finished in a tie for fourth at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish in school history. The Wildcats finished in a tie for 24th last season at the NCAA Championships and had one All-American.
ODU travels to Nevada to compete in the 24th Reno Tournament of Champions, which will be streamed on FloWrestling. Last season, NC State earned the team win at the event. Wyoming, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Cal Poly, Fresno State, Stanford, and Arizona State will be among the powers in attendance at the event.
Following their time in Nevada, the wrestling Monarchs will head back to Illinois to wrestle in the historic 56th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at the Sears Centre Arena. Last season, Larry Early finished in eighth place and earned five wins at the event. The event will be stacked with Big 10 teams in Northwestern, Illinois, Rutgers, Iowa, Wisconsin and more.
Continuing their road action, ODU faces CMU (Jan. 4) and NIU (Jan. 6) in MAC action.
In mid January, the Monarchs travel up the road to compete in the Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum. Oklahoma, Arizona State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Kent State will be participating in the Virginia Duals this upcoming season. Last year, ODU went 2-2 after falling to No. 9 Virginia Tech and Iowa State and defeating Campbell and UTC.
Following the Virginia Duals, the Monarchs host three back-to-back home duals in Buffalo (Jan. 18), SIUE (Jan. 25), and Duke (Jan. 27). ODU competes in their final MAC dual on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. as they face Ohio.
On February 11, ODU hosts their final home match as they welcome Navy for the second straight season. Last season, the Midshipmen finished dual action 10-3.
The Monarchs close their regular season slate on the road as they travel to American (Feb. 22) and Drexel (Feb. 24).
Postseason action begins on March 8 as the Monarchs host the MAC Championships at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, which runs through March 9.
Following the MAC Championships on March 21-23, the NCAA Tournament begins in Pittsburgh at the PPG Paints Arena. The Monarchs return three NCAA qualifiers in Michael McGee, Larry Early, and Seldon Wright and welcomed EMU transfer Sa’Derian Perry, an NCAA All-American.
