Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, November 3
Bowen Field House
All Day
Eastern Michigan University
vs
EMU Open
Wrestling Season Gets Underway Saturday with EMU Open
10/31/2012 11:55:00 AM | Wrestling
Eagles kick off 57th year of competition
EMU Open Live Scoring
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team begins its 57th season Saturday, Nov. 3, with the 21st-annual EMU Open at Bowen Field House. Wrestling will get underway at 9 a.m. The unattached event will feature 450 Division I, II and III wrestlers from all corners of the country including many nationally-ranked grapplers.
The EMU Open marks the first-of-seven home dates on the schedule for the Eagles this season. The dual-meet season gets underway when the Eagles host Michigan State, Nov. 16, as part of High School Night at Bowen. Cleveland State (Nov. 30), Indiana (Dec. 16), Olivet (Jan. 16), Kent State (Feb. 1) and Iowa State (Feb. 17).
The 2011-12 season proved to be a renaissance campaign for an Eagles' team which had struggled through years of inconsistency and untimely injuries. EMU finished with its second-best overall record (14-6) in program history last year and turned in a winning record in MAC matches (3-2) for the first time in 21 seasons.
This season, seventh-year Head Coach Derek DelPorto's squad looks to build upon that success with 16 letterwinners returning including four placewinners from the 2012 Mid-American Conference tournament and a trio of wrestlers who competed at the NCAA Championships.
The 2012-13 Eagles' squad consists of three seniors: Filiberto Colon, Chris Eggert and Aaron Sulzer. All three bring the experience of wrestling in at the MAC Championships and will provide valuable leadership for this year's nine newcomers–eight of whom are freshmen.
DelPorto, who has become known for scheduling the toughest competition in the country, has lived up to that reputation once again this season. The Eagles will face five teams ranked in the top-25 nationally this season including No. 1 Minnesota Saturday, Nov. 24, at the NDSU Duals. Ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll, Michigan hosts EMU, Dec. 8, in Ann Arbor. Eastern Michigan will face No. 18 Pittsburgh, Jan. 13, before meeting up with three straight national powerhouses in No. 7 Missouri, Jan. 26, No. 22 Kent State, Feb. 1, and No. 17 Central Michigan, Feb. 8.
With an all-time record of 65-55-2, DelPorto is third all-time in wins (65) among EMU head coaches, one behind Russell Bush's 66 wins from 1956-71, and 15 behind John Eisley's 80 victories from 1979-91. Additionally, his all-time winning percentage of .537 is good for the highest mark among all eight coaches in the history of EMU.
Eastern Michigan wrestlers earned top-four seeds in three weight classes in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, as redshirt senior Aaron Sulzer tied for first at 157 lbs., and redshirt juniors Jared Germaine and Nick Whitenburg were selected third at 125 lbs. and 197 lbs., respectively. EMU ranked fifth overall among eight teams including the six full members institutions and two new affiliate schools.
Sulzer, a participant at the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons, tied for top spot at 157 lbs. with Missouri's Kyle Bradley. Both wrestlers are ranked nationally to begin the season with Bradley checking in at No. 17 and Sulzer holding down the No. 24 spot according to d1collegewrestling.net.
Ranked No. 23 nationally at 125 lbs., Germaine was selected third behind Alan Waters of Missouri and Joe Roth of CMU. Germaine ascended as high as No. 16 last season in the national polls and competed in his first NCAA Championships.
At 197 lbs., Whitenburg received a third-place nod behind 2011 NCAA Champion Dustin Kilgore of Kent State and Brent Haynes of Missouri. Whitenburg took second place at last season's MAC Championships and fell just shy of an NCAA appearance.
Returning from injury in 2012-13 is senior Chris Eggert, who will make the leap from middleweight to heavyweight. In 2010-11, Eggert wrestled at 174 lbs. for the Eagles at the MAC Championships, going 1-2. In regular season competition, Eggert posted a 3-2 record in MAC competition and a 16-16 overall mark.
With the departure of Andrew Novak, who was undefeated in MAC bouts last season, the 133-lbs. weight class will likely fall into the hands of redshirt freshman Vincent Pizzuto. Pizzuto bursted onto the scene last year winning three tournaments and cruising to a 28-5 record in unattached competition.
A spot also opens up at 141 lbs. with the loss of Corey Phillips. Redshirt junior Seth Schaner, who saw action at the MAC Championships in 2012, will begin the year in that slot. At 165 lbs., a platoon of freshmen could fill the void left behind by Lester France. Jacob Dorulla and James Klosz are expected to compete for the starting slot. Freshman Matthew VanCuren will also compete for a spot at 149 lbs. with Jaylyn Bohl, who saw the bulk of the action in that weight class last season.
This fall, the MAC announced the addition of Missouri, the Northern Iowa and Old Dominion as affiliate members. All three universities joined the MAC with five-year agreements, with Missouri and Northern Iowa joining for the conference tournament only for the 2012-13 season and then participating fully next season. Old Dominion will join the MAC next year.
The Eagles will compete at the 2013 MAC Tournament, March 10, at the University at Buffalo. EMU is looking for its first individual MAC Champion since John McClure in 2009 and the first team title since the 1995-96 campaign. EMU was picked to fifth in the MAC Preseason poll and Missouri was picked to unseat 11-time champion Central Michigan as tournament champion.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team begins its 57th season Saturday, Nov. 3, with the 21st-annual EMU Open at Bowen Field House. Wrestling will get underway at 9 a.m. The unattached event will feature 450 Division I, II and III wrestlers from all corners of the country including many nationally-ranked grapplers.
The EMU Open marks the first-of-seven home dates on the schedule for the Eagles this season. The dual-meet season gets underway when the Eagles host Michigan State, Nov. 16, as part of High School Night at Bowen. Cleveland State (Nov. 30), Indiana (Dec. 16), Olivet (Jan. 16), Kent State (Feb. 1) and Iowa State (Feb. 17).
The 2011-12 season proved to be a renaissance campaign for an Eagles' team which had struggled through years of inconsistency and untimely injuries. EMU finished with its second-best overall record (14-6) in program history last year and turned in a winning record in MAC matches (3-2) for the first time in 21 seasons.
This season, seventh-year Head Coach Derek DelPorto's squad looks to build upon that success with 16 letterwinners returning including four placewinners from the 2012 Mid-American Conference tournament and a trio of wrestlers who competed at the NCAA Championships.
The 2012-13 Eagles' squad consists of three seniors: Filiberto Colon, Chris Eggert and Aaron Sulzer. All three bring the experience of wrestling in at the MAC Championships and will provide valuable leadership for this year's nine newcomers–eight of whom are freshmen.
DelPorto, who has become known for scheduling the toughest competition in the country, has lived up to that reputation once again this season. The Eagles will face five teams ranked in the top-25 nationally this season including No. 1 Minnesota Saturday, Nov. 24, at the NDSU Duals. Ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll, Michigan hosts EMU, Dec. 8, in Ann Arbor. Eastern Michigan will face No. 18 Pittsburgh, Jan. 13, before meeting up with three straight national powerhouses in No. 7 Missouri, Jan. 26, No. 22 Kent State, Feb. 1, and No. 17 Central Michigan, Feb. 8.
With an all-time record of 65-55-2, DelPorto is third all-time in wins (65) among EMU head coaches, one behind Russell Bush's 66 wins from 1956-71, and 15 behind John Eisley's 80 victories from 1979-91. Additionally, his all-time winning percentage of .537 is good for the highest mark among all eight coaches in the history of EMU.
Eastern Michigan wrestlers earned top-four seeds in three weight classes in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, as redshirt senior Aaron Sulzer tied for first at 157 lbs., and redshirt juniors Jared Germaine and Nick Whitenburg were selected third at 125 lbs. and 197 lbs., respectively. EMU ranked fifth overall among eight teams including the six full members institutions and two new affiliate schools.
Sulzer, a participant at the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons, tied for top spot at 157 lbs. with Missouri's Kyle Bradley. Both wrestlers are ranked nationally to begin the season with Bradley checking in at No. 17 and Sulzer holding down the No. 24 spot according to d1collegewrestling.net.
Ranked No. 23 nationally at 125 lbs., Germaine was selected third behind Alan Waters of Missouri and Joe Roth of CMU. Germaine ascended as high as No. 16 last season in the national polls and competed in his first NCAA Championships.
At 197 lbs., Whitenburg received a third-place nod behind 2011 NCAA Champion Dustin Kilgore of Kent State and Brent Haynes of Missouri. Whitenburg took second place at last season's MAC Championships and fell just shy of an NCAA appearance.
Returning from injury in 2012-13 is senior Chris Eggert, who will make the leap from middleweight to heavyweight. In 2010-11, Eggert wrestled at 174 lbs. for the Eagles at the MAC Championships, going 1-2. In regular season competition, Eggert posted a 3-2 record in MAC competition and a 16-16 overall mark.
With the departure of Andrew Novak, who was undefeated in MAC bouts last season, the 133-lbs. weight class will likely fall into the hands of redshirt freshman Vincent Pizzuto. Pizzuto bursted onto the scene last year winning three tournaments and cruising to a 28-5 record in unattached competition.
A spot also opens up at 141 lbs. with the loss of Corey Phillips. Redshirt junior Seth Schaner, who saw action at the MAC Championships in 2012, will begin the year in that slot. At 165 lbs., a platoon of freshmen could fill the void left behind by Lester France. Jacob Dorulla and James Klosz are expected to compete for the starting slot. Freshman Matthew VanCuren will also compete for a spot at 149 lbs. with Jaylyn Bohl, who saw the bulk of the action in that weight class last season.
This fall, the MAC announced the addition of Missouri, the Northern Iowa and Old Dominion as affiliate members. All three universities joined the MAC with five-year agreements, with Missouri and Northern Iowa joining for the conference tournament only for the 2012-13 season and then participating fully next season. Old Dominion will join the MAC next year.
The Eagles will compete at the 2013 MAC Tournament, March 10, at the University at Buffalo. EMU is looking for its first individual MAC Champion since John McClure in 2009 and the first team title since the 1995-96 campaign. EMU was picked to fifth in the MAC Preseason poll and Missouri was picked to unseat 11-time champion Central Michigan as tournament champion.
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