Oct. 24, 2007
NORFOLK, Va. -- The ODU wrestling team is receiving votes in the 2007 USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Preseason Coaches Poll. The team returns two of three NCAA Qualifiers and will have a former NCAA Qualifier, High School All-American, or Junior National All-American at every weight class in the starting lineup. Ranking 16th among 197 pounders, junior David Mendoza pulled in his third ranking of the preseason.
ODU went 12-7 in head coach Steve Martin's third season at the helm a year ago, and finished second in the CAA for the second straight season. The coaching regime has brought in three top twenty recruiting classes and have had eight NCAA qualifiers in three seasons.
Mendoza, a junior from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, went 32-12 last season with a team high 12 pins. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament with a second place finish at the CAA Tournament. He was 7-2 in CAA Duals and 19-4 in tournament action a year ago. The ranking of 16th in the nation is his third preseason ranking in addition to 16th by Amateur Wrestling News and 20th by W.I.N. Magazine.
USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Preseason Division I Wrestling Coaches PollRank Team (First) 2006-07 Record Points1 Minnesota (12) 19-1 4802 Oklahoma State 14-5 4423 Iowa State 13-3 4394 Iowa 14-5 4335 Michigan 2-10-1 4296 Northwestern 13-8 4097 Missouri 12-3 4078 Ohio State 8-7 3989 Cornell 9-5 37110 Central Michigan 16-4-1 36611 Penn State 14-5 36312 Wisconsin 18-3 34613 Hofstra 18-4-2 34114 Nebraska 10-7-1 33915 Indiana 13-5 32716 Edinboro 17-1 31517 Illinois 11-1 28618 Navy 11-4 26819 Oklahoma 10-7 22920 Pittsburgh 7-7 22121 UT-Chattanooga 16-1 20422 Harvard 4-9-1 14823 Penn 8-7-1 14424 American 9-10 13325 Oregon State 17-2 115
Others receiving votes: Lehigh, Stanford, Cal State-Fullerton,Old Dominion, Boise State, West Virginia, Bloomsburg,UC Davis, Columbia, Rider, Arizona State
197 pounds
1. Josh Glenn, Sr. American2. Phil Davis, Sr. Penn State3. Mike Tamillow, Sr. Northwestern4. Max Askren, So. Missouri5. Craig Brester, So. Nebraska6. Wynn Michalak, Sr. Central Michigan7. Dallas Herbst, Jr. Wisconsin8. Hudson Taylor, So. Maryland9. Joel Flaggert, Sr. Oklahoma10. Joe Rovelli, Sr. Hofstra11. Matt Koz, Sr. UT-Chattanooga12. Daren Burns, Sr. UNC Greensboro13. Patrick Bond, So. Illinois14. Jason Trulson, Sr. Arizona State15. Brandon Halsey, Jr. Cal State-Bakersfield16. David Mendoza, Jr. Old Dominion17. T.J. Morrison, Sr. Rider18. Jared Villers, Sr. West Virginia19. Brent Jones, So. Virginia20. Andrew Anderson, Jr. Northern Iowa
For complete rankings, go to www.intermatwrestle.com.