Nov. 3, 2007
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -
Penn State Wrestle-Offs Match Notes!
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The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will open up the 2007-08 season by hosting its annual Media Day festivities on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. The media will meet and talk with the Nittany Lion wrestlers and staff from 2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and then are invited to remain for an open practice beginning at 3:30 p.m. The, three days later, Penn State hosts Wrestle-Offs. Action is set to begin in Rec Hall at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4.
Nine of the ten weights will feature action. Senior All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 in every pre-season poll, will not take part as no other competitors will wrestle at 197 due to early season nagging injuries.
In all, 35 wrestlers will be taking part in the bracketed tournament with seven wrestlers receiving pre-season national rankings set to hit the mats (Davis being the only ranked grappler who will not wrestle). The weight-by-weight breakdown by numbers includes three 125-pounders, four at 133, four at 141, two at 149, four at 157, four at 165, three at 174, three at 184, only Davis at 197 and four at HWT.
Penn State will open up the 2007-08 season by hosting ACC foe Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 11, in a 1 p.m. dual in Rec Hall. Admission to wrestle-offs is free. Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted to wrestling events for free! Season tickets are $28 for adults and seniors, youth 18 and under season tickets are $21. Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order tickets. All home duals will be streamed live at gopsusports.com and over the air on WBLF 970 AM and WKVA 920 AM.
DAVIS, HAAS AND STRAYER NAMED 2007-08 TEAM CAPTAINS Three of Penn State's most respected wrestlers have been named team captains for the upcoming 2007-08 season, Nittany Lion head coach Troy Sunderland announced. Seniors Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) and junior Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) will be tri-captains during the upcoming campaign. Davis is a three-time All-American at 197 and is trying to become only the fourth four-time All-American in Penn State's 100 years of wrestling. A contender for the national title at 197, he went 28-5 last season and placed fifth at nationals after being NCAA Runner-Up in 2006. A seventh place finisher at nationals as a freshman in 2005, Davis has a superb 90-19 career record, is 41-5 in duals, 20-3 in Big Ten duals, 22-1 in pins, 16-0 in majors and has 169 dual match points. He was also the 2006 Big Ten Champion.
Strayer earned All-America honors at 133 last season, placing seventh in Detroit and going 27-8 on the year. As a freshman, Strayer went 26-6 and finished just one win shy of earning All-America laurels in 2006. Strayer, who will wrestle at 141 this year, heads into this junior year with a 53-14 record, 32-5 in duals and with 105 dual match points. An outstanding student, Strayer is a two-time first team NWCA National All-Academic selection and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten pick. Haas has had a star-crossed career at Penn State, suffering numerous injuries that have kept him from wrestling a complete campaign. An outstanding talent, Haas has a 22-8 career record, including a 14-7 mark two years ago at 125. But his season was cut short by an injury that kept him from competing in the post-season. Last year, Haas began the year at 133, winning the East Stroudsburg Open before suffering another injury that ended his season. Haas is healthy and ready to compete at 133 this year.
LIONS RANKED #11 IN USA TODAY/NWCA POLL; DAVIS #2 AT 197 TO LEAD SEVEN INDIVIDUALS Even with a starting line-up featuring five returning starters at different weight classes, the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will head into the 2007-08 campaign with a No. 11 team ranking courtesy of the USA Today/NWCA Preseason Coaches Poll. The poll is compiled and published by Intermat, the NWCA's official website at www.intermatwrestle.com. Head coach Troy Sunderland's team is one of nine Big Ten schools ranked among the nation's top 17 teams. Defending conference and national champion Minnesota heads the list with all 12 first place votes. Oklahoma State, which will host Penn State on Dec. 9, is No. 2, and Iowa State checks in at No. 3. Big Ten foes Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern follow with Missouri checking in at No. 7. Ohio State, Cornell and Central Michigan round out the top ten.
Penn State sits ant No. 11, just nine poll points out of ninth place and three out of tenth. The Nittany Lions are the highest ranked Pennsylvania school heading into the new year. Wisconsin, Hofstra, Nebraska and Indiana comprise the rest of the top 15. Edinboro, Illinois, Navy, Oklahoma and Pittsburgh hold the 16th through 20th spots while UT-Chattanooga, Harvard, Penn, American and Oregon State round out the top 25. Penn State will face eight of the top 25 teams in regularly scheduled duals and will certainly meet more at the 2008 National Duals on Jan.12-13 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Nittany Lions will also take on Lehigh, which was the top team in the `receiving votes' category.
Senior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), a three-time All-American at 197, heads a list of seven ranked Penn State individuals. Davis is ranked No. 2 at 197 pounds. He heads into his senior campaign with a 90-19 career record and a combined 21-9 mark in the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. While Penn State has nine wrestlers returning with starting experience from last year or the year prior, he is one of only four returning at their previous weight. Senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) returns as 125 and heads into the year ranked No. 11 by Intermat. McKnight is a three-time national qualifier with an 88-34 career record. Sophomore Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) returns at 165 pounds and heads into the season ranked No. 16. Rella went 21-13 as a true freshman last year. Penn State's four other ranked grapplers are all wrestling at new weights in 2007-08. Junior All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), who placed seventh at NCAAs in the 133-pound weight class last season, is wrestling up a weight at 141 this year and is ranked No. 7 nationally. Strayer is a two-time national qualifier with a 53-14 career record. Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) qualified for nationals as a true freshman at 157 and moves down to his more natural 149 pounds this season. Jenkins, who went 23-12 last year and won the FILA Junior World Championship this summer, is ranked No. 7 at 149.
Sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) finished just one win shy of becoming an All-American at 149 last season, going 22-12 as a red-shirt freshman and 3-2 at nationals. Vallimont will make the move up to 157 this year and heads into the campaign ranked No. 11. Fellow sophomore Dave Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) is coming off a red-shirt season in 2006-07. Erwin started at 165 as a true freshman, going 23-8, but an injury in the early rounds of the 2006 Big Ten tournament kept him from making a trip to nationals. The Ohio-native will move up to 174 pounds and heads into the season ranked No. 11. LIONS RANKED #10 IN AWN PRE-SEASON POLL; DAVIS #2 AT 197 TO LEAD EIGHT INDIVIDUALS The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, featuring a potential starting line-up comprised of perhaps five sophomores, has garnered a No. 10 team ranking from Amateur Wrestling News. The national wrestling publication has just released its preseason team and individual rankings. Senior 197-pounder Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) leads a strong contingent of eight ranked individuals. The Big Ten once again dominates the top ten, with Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern and Ohio State comprising the entire top five. Oklahoma State, Central Michigan, Cornell, Nebraska and Penn State round out the top ten. Penn State, as the top ranked team from Pennsylvania in the early poll, gives the conference six of the nation's top ten squads on the early list. Iowa State (11), Wisconsin (12), Indiana (13), Illinois (14), Missouri (15), Pittsburgh (16), Hofstra (17), American (18), Navy (19) and Edinboro (20) round out the preseason poll. In all, nine of the Big Ten's 11 teams are ranked by AWN.
Davis, a three-time All-American for Penn State, heads into the season ranked No. 2 at 197, right behind defending national champion Josh Glenn of American. Davis will be looking to grab his first national crown and become the fourth four-time All-American in Penn State history. Sophomore Dave Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) is ranked No. 9 at 174. Erwin red-shirted last year after starting as a freshman in 2005-06 at 165 pounds. All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), who placed seventh at 133 pounds last year to become an All-American, will head into his junior year ranked No. 10 at 141 pounds. Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), a national qualifier at 157 last year during his true freshman season, is ranked No. 11 at 149. Senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) enters his final campaign ranked No. 12 at 125. McKnight is a three-time qualifier who has advanced to the `Round of 12' twice. Sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) checks in with a No. 14 ranking at 157 pounds. Vallimont qualified as a freshman at 149 last year and finished just one win shy of becoming an All-American. Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), yet another sophomore, will enter the year ranked No. 14 at 165. Rella just missed out on qualifying for NCAAs last season. Senior Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.), coming off an injury red-shirt season, checks in at No. 18 at 133 pounds. Haas was a part-time starter at 125 two years ago.
LIONS RANKED #12 IN W.I.N. MAGAZINE PRE-SEASON POLL; DAVIS #2 AT 197 W.I.N. Magazine released its pre-season poll in early October and the Nittany Lions checked in at No. 12 on the national publication's season-starting poll. Phil Davis is ranked No. 2 at 197 to lead seven ranked individual: Mark McKnight is No. 12 at 125; Jake Strayer was No. 3 at 133 but will move to 141; Bubba Jenkins is No. 12 at 149; Dan Vallimont is No. 11 at 157; Dave Rella is No. 15 at 165; and Dave Erwin is No. 15 at 174
NITTANY LIONS ONCE AGAIN INK TOP THREE RECRUITING CLASS Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling coach Troy Sunderland and his coaching staff have once again notched the No. 3 ranked recruiting class in the country according to Intermat, the National Wrestling Coaches Association's official website. The 2007 class follows last year's No. 3 ranking as well, giving the Nittany Lion staff two straight top-three classes. Led by five high school All-Americans, Penn State is ranked just behind No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Missouri, making the Lions the second-ranked Big Ten school on the list and the only Pennsylvania program in the top 12. Virginia Tech and defending national champion Minnesota round out the top five. Oklahoma State follows at No. 6 with Michigan stepping in at No. 7 as one of four Big Ten schools in the top ten. Virginia (8), Northern Iowa (9) and Kent State (10) round out the top ten. The remainder of the top 20 is as follows: Oklahoma (11), Oregon State (12), Lehigh (13), Edinboro (14), Cornell (15), Old Dominion (16), Lock Haven (17), Nebraska (18), Hofstra (19) and Harvard (20). Intermat ranks the top 30 recruiting classes, with the last ten as follows: Penn (21), Michigan State (22), Eastern Michigan (23), Columbia (24), Indiana (25), Iowa State (26), Iowa (27), Bucknell (28), George Mason (29) and Northwestern (30).
DAVIS MOVING UP CAREER LISTS! Senior Phil Davis heads into his senior campaign with a 90-19 career record. Not only is he just ten wins from becoming the 24th member of Penn State's 100-win club, but he will tie -- and then pass -- current Nittany Lion head coach Troy Sunderland on that illustrious list of all-time win leaders in Penn State history (Sunderland has 100 career wins).
Davis' 41 dual wins is just six shy of moving into a tie for 14th place all-time, equalling the mark of 47 held by both Dan Mayo and Andy Voit. The Harrisburg native's 22 pins (Davis is 22-1 in matches decided by a fall) is currently 16h all-time at Penn State. The Nittany Lion has competed in 109 career matches, giving him a shot at reaching Glenn Pritzlaff's career total of 135, which would be 20th all-time in PSU history.