Nov. 12, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State Nittany Lion senior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Nov. 10, 2013. The honor is the first for Penn State this year and the second of Taylor's career.
Taylor, ranked No. 1 at 165 by Intermat, was simply unstoppable in his first action of the 2013-14 season. Coming off an impressive exhibition win in Washington, D.C., the prior weekend, Taylor destroyed the field at the Binghamton Open on Sunday. The Lion 165-pounder went 5-0 with four pins, all in the first period. His only non-pin was an 18-2 technical fall in the semifinals. His four pins came at 1:13, 2:00, 2:41 and 1:51 in the championship bout.
A three-time All-American and national finalist and the '12 NCAA Champion and Hodge Trophy Award winner, Taylor now has 41 career pins, second all-time at Penn State and now within striking distance of the once thought untouchable record of 53. His 105 career wins is 21st all-time.
Head coach Cael Sanderson's team opens up the 2013-14 dual meet season at Rider on Sat., Nov. 16, and at Lehigh on Sun., Nov. 17. The Rider dual will be broadcast live on The Comcast Sports Network. Penn State's home opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 24, against Lock Haven. The dual starts at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall and will be preceded by the raising of the 2013 Big Ten and NCAA title banners.
With the full season of Rec Hall duals sold out prior to the start of the campaign, a very limited number of standing room only tickets are available to a few of the seven Rec Hall duals. Also, there are still tickets available for Penn State's Dec. 8 dual against Pitt in the Bryce Jordan Center. People may purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Penn State Athletics ticket office located in the BJC. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.