Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech wrestling squad heads to Michigan this weekend for undoubtedly its toughest weekend of the season thus far. The Hokies will take on Binghamton and 17th-ranked Michigan Saturday at Ann Arbor and will then make the short trek to Mount Pleasant for matches Sunday against No. 6 Central Michigan and No. 4 Nebraska.
Tech is off to a 12-0 start, the best start in program history. The 12-match winning streak isn’t the longest in program history, though, as the Hokies won 29-straight matches over a span from Feb. 22, 1954 thru Feb. 17, 1958.
Tech is 0-1 against Binghamton, losing 29-14 in 1975 at Blacksburg. The Hokies are 0-2 against the Wolverines, falling 25-12 in 2000 at the Virginia Duals and 35-6 in 2001 at the National Duals. Tech is 0-2 against Nebraska, falling 41-3 in 2006 at Lincoln and 34-9 in 2006 at Blacksburg. Virginia Tech is 0-1 against the Chippewas, losing 44-(-1) in 2005 at the Journeyman Duals.
The Hokies will certainly be tested this weekend, as they will take on three top 20 opponents in two days. Tech is 0-8 against ranked opponents under head coach Kevin Dresser.
Tech will wrestle Binghamton at noon and Michigan at 4 p.m. Both matches will be contested in the Cliff Keen Arena on Michigan’s campus. On Sunday, the Hokies will open with the host Chippewas at 11 a.m., followed by the Cornhuskers at 3 p.m., both at Rose Arena.
Saturday will be a special day for Tech associate head coach Tony Robie and assistant coach Nate Yetzer. Robie was an assistant coach at Michigan for four seasons (2000-04) and was the head coach at Binghamton for the 2005-06 season, where he was assisted by Yetzer.
Tech’s match against Michigan will feature live udates via InterMat while Tech’s match against Central Michigan on Sunday will be streamed for a fee on CMU Sports Zone.
Below are all five probable lineups for this weekend, as submitted by the respective coaching staffs.
Virginia Tech (12-0)
125: #13 Jarrod Garnett (26-4)
133: Will Livingston (11-4) OR Brock LiVorio (21-6)
141: Chris Diaz (21-7)
149: Pete Yates (19-7) OR Matt Rosen (18-4)
157: Jesse Dong (20-5)
165: Matt Epperly (17-8)
174: Anthony Trongone (17-8)
184: Tommy Spellman (16-5)
197: D.J. Bruce (20-6)
285: David Marone (20-8)
Binghamton (9-8)
125: Tyler Malmberg (9-7)
133: Rob Slavin (10-14)
141: Anwar Goeres (14-11)
149: Matt Kaylor (21-12)
157: Nate Patterson (11-8)
165: Ryan McGarity (15-14)
174: John Kaloust (2-8)
184: #9 Josh Patterson (29-4)
197: Corey Waite (17-14)
285: Dan Bittner (5-12) OR Carl Korpi (1-8)
#17 Michigan (4-5)
125: #14 Michael Watts (10-3)
133: Zac Stevens (10-11)
141: Kellen Russell (13-2)
149: Mark Beaudry (1-2) OR Mark Weber (11-9)
157: Aaron Hynes (11-10)
165: Justin Zeerip (3-9)
174: #1 Steve Luke (15-0)
184: #12 Anthony Biondo (11-5)
197: #6 Tyrel Todd (8-1)
285: Eddie Phillips (7-8) OR Chad Bleske (8-3)
#6 Central Michigan (11-1)
125: # 8 Scotti Sentes (17-3)
133: # 19 Conor Beebe (12-10)
141: Tony D'Alie (12-7) OR Eric Kruger (7-6)
149: Steve Brown (14-4)
157: Tyler Grayson (6-5) OR Eric Cubberly (4-6)
165: #10 Trevor Stewart (17-5)
174: #7 Mike Miller (16-5)
184: Vince DiDona (15-9)
197: Eric Simaz (7-9)
285: Jarod Trice (13-7)
#4 Nebraska (10-2)
125: Andy Pokorny (7-10)
133: Matt Vacanti (13-10) OR Patrick Aleksanyan (11-6)
141: Curtis Salazar (11-9) OR Jon Burns (14-5)
149: Robert Sanders (21-9)
157: #3 Jordan Burroughs (19-0)
165: #5 Stephen Dwyer (18-2)
174: #2 Brandon Browne (19-2) OR Andy Johnson (10-2)
184: #10 Vince Jones (21-5) OR Levi Wofford (15-4)
197: #2 Craig Brester (20-1)
285: #16 Tucker Lane (20-6)