Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, January 5
Convocation Center
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Northern Iowa
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Wrestling Squares Off with No. 9 Northern Iowa
1/4/2014 9:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Eagles host Panthers in the Convocation Center at 2 p.m.
Notes
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University wrestling squad takes on its third ranked opponent of the 2013-14 season when it hosts No. 9 Northern Iowa in its second Mid-American Conference dual, Sunday, Jan. 5 at the Convocation Center. The first bout is slated to start at 2 p.m.
SCOUTING No. 9 NORTHERN IOWA: The Panthers are 3-0 on the season as they defeated Northern Illinois, 32-6, in their only Mid-American Conference dual of the year. UNI has also competed in four tournaments and has placed 25 competitors, including seven champions at the Finn Grinaker Cobbler Open, Nov. 16, and one first-place finisher at Midlands, Dec. 30.
Six of Northern Iowa's 10 starters are currently ranked in the top-20 of the InterMat rankings, while five grapplers have a perfect 3-0 record in dual meets. The Panthers were ranked first in the MAC in the December rankings and had four wrestlers ranked in the top-four of the conference in their individual weight classes. UNI has also had two wrestlers of the week as Cooper Moore grabbed the honors for the week ending Nov. 22 and No. 2 ranked Tyler Graff clinched the honor for the week ending Dec. 4.
Senior Ryan Loder leads the Panthers as he boasts a 102-23 career record and is currently ranked No. 5 at 184 lbs. according to InterMat. Loder is 3-0 in his final season and 1-0 in MAC duals as he earned a 10-1 major decision against NIU. Redshirt-freshman Dylan Peters headlines at 125 lbs. for the Panthers as he posts a team-high 18 wins on the season and is currently ranked No. 7 in his weight class, while No. 2 Joe Colon has clinched 17 victories at 133 lbs. in his senior campaign.
The cousin duo of Levi Wolfensperger (141 lbs) and Gunnar Wolfensperger (149 lbs) combine for a 22-12 record on the season for the Panthers. Gunnar Wolfensperger posts a 2-1 dual meet record and is 0-1 in the MAC, while Levi has yet to participate in a dual but is projected to start at 141 lbs. against EMU after starting at 133 for the previous two seasons.
SERIES HISTORY: Northern Iowa and Eastern have squared off one time in program history but this will mark the first time the two teams have competed against each other in a conference dual. UNI is in its first complete season in the conference after finishing third in the MAC Championships in 2012-13.
The Green and White is 0-1 against the Panthers as it fell 22-12, Nov. 14, 2009 when the two teams faced off at the Northwestern Duals. The Eagles came away with four decisions, while Northern Iowa grabbed four decisions, one major decision and one pin.
EMU EARNS PROGRAM-BEST FINISH AT MIDLANDS: The Eagles saw their best finish in program history at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships as they placed 19th out of 47 teams. The Green and White scored 21 points, which marked the third-highest point total for EMU in its five years at the tournament.
Redshirt-senior Brandon Zeerip had a strong showing in his first Midlands for EMU, going 3-0 with two decisions and one major decision to remain in the championship bracket at the conclusion of the first session. The Fremont, Mich. native was unable to clinch the win he needed in his first bout of the second session, sending him to the wrestleback bracket for day two. The 157 lb. grappler could not get any momentum going on day two for the Eagles as he fell in a major decision to end the EMU run at the tournament.
The Green and White saw some other bright spots on day one of the tournament as both Jacob Davis and Phillip Joseph earned pins over their opponents and Khodor Hoballah grabbed a 3-2 record with one major decision.
THREE EAGLES RANKED IN MAC DECEMBER POLLS: Three EMU redshirt-seniors are currently ranked in the Mid-American Conference December Polls as Jared Germaine (125 lbs.) and Nick Whitenburg (194 lbs.) rank third in their respective weight classes and Phillip Joseph ranks fourth at 184 lbs.
Germaine boasts a perfect 6-0 record for the Eagles at the 125 lb. weight class and has yet to be beaten in his final season, while Whitenburg holds a 4-2 record, falling only to Drexel's Brandon Palik and Michigan State's Nick McDiarmid.
Joseph has proven to be a steady competitor after moving up to 184 lbs. in his senior season as he holds a 9-2 overall record and a 6-1 dual record. The Lapeer, Mich. native clinched the deciding pin over Stanford to allow the Eagles to beat the then-No. 23 Cardinal 18-16 at the Convocation Center, Nov. 24.
OUTSCORING THE OPPOSITION: The Eagles are currently outscoring their opponents 204-96 on the young season as they have only allowed four teams to score in the double-digits through their first six duals. The Green and White's 204 team points are the best any team since the 2005-06 season has put up through its first eight duals. The 2011-12 team nabbed 202 points through eight duals with a 49-3 win over Sacred Heart, Nov. 26, 2011.
EMU dominated its first four opponents at the EMU Duals as it dropped only seven of its 40 bouts on the day, while averaging two pins per dual with eight total, including five in its first dual against Tiffin. The Green and White suffered its first loss of the season at Michigan State, but kept the Spartans to only one pin and six decisions, keeping the score under 30.
The Eagles came up with close wins over Stanford and Old Dominion, using a Phillip Joseph pin against the Cardinal and a Khodor Hoballah decision against the Monarchs. Eastern continued its dominating ways over Olivet as it defeated the Comets 23-9, which allowed EMU to keep its opponent point total under 100.
TAKING DOWN RANKED OPPONENTS: Eastern will look to pick up its third victory over ranked opponents when it takes on Northern Iowa as the Panthers are ranked No. 9 in the nation, accoring to InterMat rankings and No. 10 in both the NCAA rankings and AWN rankings. UNI is the only Mid-American Conference team ranked in the top-25 as Ohio sits at No. 26 in InterMat rankings and Kent State, Central Michigan and Old Dominion all earned top-50 rankings.
The Green and White has taken down two ranked opponents in two-straight duals as the Eagles defeated No. 23 Stanford, 18-16 in the Convocation Center before traveling to Norfolk, Va. and securing a 21-19 victory over No. 24 Old Dominion, Dec. 6. Since EMU defeated both teams, the Cardinal has moved up as high as No. 18 in the NCAA rankings, while the Monarchs dropped out of Wrestlingreport.com's top-25. The wins mark the first time in Eagle history that Eastern has defeated two ranked teams in a season. Prior to beating Stanford and Old Dominion, EMU last beat a ranked opponent in the 2012-13 campaign when it defeated then-No. 24 North Dakota State, 18-17, Nov. 24, 2012.
DELPORTO CAPTURES 100th CAREER VICTORY: Head Coach Derek DelPorto clinched his 100th career victory as a head coach when the Eagles grabbed a 21-19 victory over Old Dominion. The deciding win over the preseason No. 2 team in the MAC came in the final bout as the Eagles trailed by one heading into the heavyweight division.
The Erie, Pa. native posts a 101-90-2 all-time record since he began coaching at Slippery Rock prior to coming to Eastern Michigan in 2006.
DELPORTO NEARING ALL-TIME EMU COACHING RECORD: Head Coach Derek DelPorto currently holds a 79-69-2 record at EMU, which is one win shy of tying former head coach John Eisley. While at Eastern, Eisley posted an 80-74-4 record in his 12-year tenure. If DelPorto picks up just two more wins this season, he will take the all-time wins record in just eight seasons at the helm.
COVERAGE OF NORTHERN IOWA DUAL: Eastern Michigan's dual against No. 9 Northern Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 5 will be live streamed on Eastern Michigan's Eagle All-Access. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access starts at just $6.95. Former EMU standout Drew Lesko will be broadcasting the dual from the Convocation Center starting at 2 p.m.
UP NEXT ON THE MAT?: The Eagles head to Pittsburgh, Pa. for their final tournament of the 2013-14 schedule. The Green and White will participate in the Pitt Duals, Sunday, Jan. 12 where they will take on N.C. State, UNC and Duke.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University wrestling squad takes on its third ranked opponent of the 2013-14 season when it hosts No. 9 Northern Iowa in its second Mid-American Conference dual, Sunday, Jan. 5 at the Convocation Center. The first bout is slated to start at 2 p.m.
SCOUTING No. 9 NORTHERN IOWA: The Panthers are 3-0 on the season as they defeated Northern Illinois, 32-6, in their only Mid-American Conference dual of the year. UNI has also competed in four tournaments and has placed 25 competitors, including seven champions at the Finn Grinaker Cobbler Open, Nov. 16, and one first-place finisher at Midlands, Dec. 30.
Six of Northern Iowa's 10 starters are currently ranked in the top-20 of the InterMat rankings, while five grapplers have a perfect 3-0 record in dual meets. The Panthers were ranked first in the MAC in the December rankings and had four wrestlers ranked in the top-four of the conference in their individual weight classes. UNI has also had two wrestlers of the week as Cooper Moore grabbed the honors for the week ending Nov. 22 and No. 2 ranked Tyler Graff clinched the honor for the week ending Dec. 4.
Senior Ryan Loder leads the Panthers as he boasts a 102-23 career record and is currently ranked No. 5 at 184 lbs. according to InterMat. Loder is 3-0 in his final season and 1-0 in MAC duals as he earned a 10-1 major decision against NIU. Redshirt-freshman Dylan Peters headlines at 125 lbs. for the Panthers as he posts a team-high 18 wins on the season and is currently ranked No. 7 in his weight class, while No. 2 Joe Colon has clinched 17 victories at 133 lbs. in his senior campaign.
The cousin duo of Levi Wolfensperger (141 lbs) and Gunnar Wolfensperger (149 lbs) combine for a 22-12 record on the season for the Panthers. Gunnar Wolfensperger posts a 2-1 dual meet record and is 0-1 in the MAC, while Levi has yet to participate in a dual but is projected to start at 141 lbs. against EMU after starting at 133 for the previous two seasons.
SERIES HISTORY: Northern Iowa and Eastern have squared off one time in program history but this will mark the first time the two teams have competed against each other in a conference dual. UNI is in its first complete season in the conference after finishing third in the MAC Championships in 2012-13.
The Green and White is 0-1 against the Panthers as it fell 22-12, Nov. 14, 2009 when the two teams faced off at the Northwestern Duals. The Eagles came away with four decisions, while Northern Iowa grabbed four decisions, one major decision and one pin.
EMU EARNS PROGRAM-BEST FINISH AT MIDLANDS: The Eagles saw their best finish in program history at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships as they placed 19th out of 47 teams. The Green and White scored 21 points, which marked the third-highest point total for EMU in its five years at the tournament.
Redshirt-senior Brandon Zeerip had a strong showing in his first Midlands for EMU, going 3-0 with two decisions and one major decision to remain in the championship bracket at the conclusion of the first session. The Fremont, Mich. native was unable to clinch the win he needed in his first bout of the second session, sending him to the wrestleback bracket for day two. The 157 lb. grappler could not get any momentum going on day two for the Eagles as he fell in a major decision to end the EMU run at the tournament.
The Green and White saw some other bright spots on day one of the tournament as both Jacob Davis and Phillip Joseph earned pins over their opponents and Khodor Hoballah grabbed a 3-2 record with one major decision.
THREE EAGLES RANKED IN MAC DECEMBER POLLS: Three EMU redshirt-seniors are currently ranked in the Mid-American Conference December Polls as Jared Germaine (125 lbs.) and Nick Whitenburg (194 lbs.) rank third in their respective weight classes and Phillip Joseph ranks fourth at 184 lbs.
Germaine boasts a perfect 6-0 record for the Eagles at the 125 lb. weight class and has yet to be beaten in his final season, while Whitenburg holds a 4-2 record, falling only to Drexel's Brandon Palik and Michigan State's Nick McDiarmid.
Joseph has proven to be a steady competitor after moving up to 184 lbs. in his senior season as he holds a 9-2 overall record and a 6-1 dual record. The Lapeer, Mich. native clinched the deciding pin over Stanford to allow the Eagles to beat the then-No. 23 Cardinal 18-16 at the Convocation Center, Nov. 24.
OUTSCORING THE OPPOSITION: The Eagles are currently outscoring their opponents 204-96 on the young season as they have only allowed four teams to score in the double-digits through their first six duals. The Green and White's 204 team points are the best any team since the 2005-06 season has put up through its first eight duals. The 2011-12 team nabbed 202 points through eight duals with a 49-3 win over Sacred Heart, Nov. 26, 2011.
EMU dominated its first four opponents at the EMU Duals as it dropped only seven of its 40 bouts on the day, while averaging two pins per dual with eight total, including five in its first dual against Tiffin. The Green and White suffered its first loss of the season at Michigan State, but kept the Spartans to only one pin and six decisions, keeping the score under 30.
The Eagles came up with close wins over Stanford and Old Dominion, using a Phillip Joseph pin against the Cardinal and a Khodor Hoballah decision against the Monarchs. Eastern continued its dominating ways over Olivet as it defeated the Comets 23-9, which allowed EMU to keep its opponent point total under 100.
TAKING DOWN RANKED OPPONENTS: Eastern will look to pick up its third victory over ranked opponents when it takes on Northern Iowa as the Panthers are ranked No. 9 in the nation, accoring to InterMat rankings and No. 10 in both the NCAA rankings and AWN rankings. UNI is the only Mid-American Conference team ranked in the top-25 as Ohio sits at No. 26 in InterMat rankings and Kent State, Central Michigan and Old Dominion all earned top-50 rankings.
The Green and White has taken down two ranked opponents in two-straight duals as the Eagles defeated No. 23 Stanford, 18-16 in the Convocation Center before traveling to Norfolk, Va. and securing a 21-19 victory over No. 24 Old Dominion, Dec. 6. Since EMU defeated both teams, the Cardinal has moved up as high as No. 18 in the NCAA rankings, while the Monarchs dropped out of Wrestlingreport.com's top-25. The wins mark the first time in Eagle history that Eastern has defeated two ranked teams in a season. Prior to beating Stanford and Old Dominion, EMU last beat a ranked opponent in the 2012-13 campaign when it defeated then-No. 24 North Dakota State, 18-17, Nov. 24, 2012.
DELPORTO CAPTURES 100th CAREER VICTORY: Head Coach Derek DelPorto clinched his 100th career victory as a head coach when the Eagles grabbed a 21-19 victory over Old Dominion. The deciding win over the preseason No. 2 team in the MAC came in the final bout as the Eagles trailed by one heading into the heavyweight division.
The Erie, Pa. native posts a 101-90-2 all-time record since he began coaching at Slippery Rock prior to coming to Eastern Michigan in 2006.
DELPORTO NEARING ALL-TIME EMU COACHING RECORD: Head Coach Derek DelPorto currently holds a 79-69-2 record at EMU, which is one win shy of tying former head coach John Eisley. While at Eastern, Eisley posted an 80-74-4 record in his 12-year tenure. If DelPorto picks up just two more wins this season, he will take the all-time wins record in just eight seasons at the helm.
COVERAGE OF NORTHERN IOWA DUAL: Eastern Michigan's dual against No. 9 Northern Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 5 will be live streamed on Eastern Michigan's Eagle All-Access. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access starts at just $6.95. Former EMU standout Drew Lesko will be broadcasting the dual from the Convocation Center starting at 2 p.m.
UP NEXT ON THE MAT?: The Eagles head to Pittsburgh, Pa. for their final tournament of the 2013-14 schedule. The Green and White will participate in the Pitt Duals, Sunday, Jan. 12 where they will take on N.C. State, UNC and Duke.
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