Jan. 16, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team is ranked No. 7 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. The poll is compiled and released by Intermat and full details can be viewed at www.intermatwrestle.com.
Penn State, now 8-2 on the year, was the latest No. 1 team to fall victim to an upset, joining the ranks of previous No. 1 squads Iowa, Iowa State and Minnesota to hold the spot briefly only to suffer an untimely loss. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 3-2 showing and a sixth place finish at the 2008 National Duals.
National Duals champion Iowa has now returned to the top-spot, followed by Oklahoma State in a close second. The Hawkeyes received seven first place votes while OSU received five. Penn State downed Oklahoma State 21-18 in Stillwater earlier this year. Nebraska is now No. 3, followed by Michigan at No. 4, Minnesota at No. 5, Ohio State and No. 6 and Penn State at No. 7. Iowa State (8), Central Michigan (9) and Northwestern (10) round out the top ten.
The Big Ten, with six teams in the top ten, has nine ranked altogether. Wisconsin sits at No. 13, Illinois is at No. 15 and Indiana is No. 17. Intermat will release the individual rankings later this week.
No. 7 Penn State will have its chance to take on the nation's top ranked team in its next dual as the Nittany Lions visit No. 1 Iowa this Sunday for a 1 p.m. Central/2 p.m. Eastern dual in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 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.