Wrestling rolling into last regular-season dual at Michigan State
No. 10 wrestling is riding a nine-dual win streak into its regular season finale at 7 p.m. Friday at Michigan State.
That is not the only win streak the Chippewas have on their side; in the past six years they have an unblemished record against the Spartans.
“Any time you wrestle in-state opponents, there is a little bit of everyone knows everyone," said head coach Tom Borrelli. "Some kids wanted some people to come there to wrestle, and some wanted them to come here to wrestle.”
All-time, CMU is only a win above the .500 mark with a record of 14-13 against MSU.
Last year’s dual ended with a 21-12 victory for the Chippewas. Seniors Ben Bennett and Mike Ottinger both had impressive victories, while fellow senior Donnie Corby looks to avenge a loss.
“I think we’re pretty confident going into this match," Borrelli said. "It’s going to be a good fight."
Unlike their undefeated conference record (5-0), the Spartans are 0-8 coming into the dual. And, after CMU came away with three wins last weekend in California, it moved up back into the top-10 in the national team rankings, according to InterMatwrestle.com.
“I think there are some important individual matchups in this dual," Borrelli said. "Some of their guys are ranked, and some of our guys need to build up the records for the tournaments."
MSU features four wrestlers ranked in the top 25. Senior No. 2 Ben Bennett will have his hands full with No. 17 John Rizgallah in the 184 weight class, while Friday’s finale will feature MSU’s No. 10 Mike McClure and No. 5 Jarod Trice for the heavyweight match-up.
This will also be the senior's last regular-season dual of their careers, and Borrelli said it will be bringing some extra energy to the dual.
“I feel like we are getting better," Borrelli said. "I’m excited to get the regular dual season over and get started with tournament competition."
The Chippewas look to finish the regular dual season with a win and enter the Mid-American Conference tournament with their tenth-consecutive win.
The win could also be a little added momentum as the team will look to earn its 13th-straight MAC tournament championship, after regaining the MAC regular-season title after losing it in 2012, coming off back-to-back titles in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
