Jan. 8, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -
2008 National Duals Division I Bracket (in .pdf form)
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, fresh off a 35-10 win over Cornell on Friday night, has ascended to the No. 1 spot in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll, as compiled and released by Intermat at www.intermatwrestle.com, where the full ranking release and National Duals brackets can be viewed. The top ranking marks the first time since the 1992-93 season that Penn State has been ranked at the top of the list.
The Nittany Lions, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, received eight of the 12 first place votes with No. 2 Iowa getting two. Oklahoma State, coming off a win at Iowa on Saturday, is No. 3 with Iowa State sitting at No. 4. Central Michigan is ranked No. 5 while defending national champion Minnesota is No. 6. Both CMU and Minnesota each received one first place vote. Michigan (7), Missouri (8), Northwestern (9) and Nebraska (10) round out the top ten.
With five teams ranked in the top ten, the Big Ten once again has nine teams ranked with Ohio State checking in at No. 11, Wisconsin tied for No. 12, Indiana at No. 15 and Illinois at No. 17. Individual rankings will be released by the NWCA tomorrow.
Penn State is 5-0 on the year and has won its five duals by a combined score of 151-42. The Nittany Lions have won 38 of their 50 bouts and four of their five wins are over teams ranked in the top 25 as of today. Penn State won nine of ten bouts in beating No. 21 Maryland 34-3; won seven of ten bouts in beating No. 12 Hofstra 28-11, split its ten matches but won the battle of bonus points in a 21-18 at No. 3 Oklahoma State and won seven of ten in beating No. 19 Cornell 35-10. Penn State also shut out Lehigh 33-0.
The Nittany Lions will take part in the 2008 National Duals this coming Saturday and Sunday at the University of Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome. The last time Penn State won the National Duals was the same 1992-93 season when it was called the National Team Duals. The Nittany Lions went on to post a 22-0-1 record that year and finish as the National Runner-Up at the 1993 NCAA Championships.
Penn State has received top seed at the tournament, which seeds eight squads. The Nittany Lions will face 16th-ranked UT-Chattanooga in the first round on Saturday at 9 a.m. If the Nittany Lions defeat the Mocs, then Penn State would face the winner of No. 9 Northwestern (the #8 seed) and No. 10 Nebraska. The other first round match ups in Penn State's half of the bracket are No. 6 Minnesosta (the #5 seed) against West Virginia and No. 5 Central Michigan (the #4 seed) facing No. 11 Ohio State.
The two-day, sixteen team, dual meet tournament features a stunning field comprised of nine of the nation's top ten ranked teams. Thirteen of the nation's top 16 teams are in the field. Fifteen of the 16 squads are ranked in the top 25 with the 16th receiving votes.
Action gets under way in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Penn State's next home dual will be on Sunday, Jan. 27, when the Nittany Lions host No. 15 Indiana at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall. All Penn State duals can be heard locally on WBLF AM (970) and WKVA (920 AM). 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 free! Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual tickets.