Wrestling Kicks off the Season With the EMU Duals/Open

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YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Eastern Michigan University wrestling squad opens its 2015-16 season at home with the EMU Duals/Open, Saturday Nov. 7, at the Convocation Center. The Eagles will play host to a total of 13 teams, with each team participating in three duals which will run simultaneously on six mats. The Open portion of the tournament will begin at 10 a.m. and will run alongside the duals on eight separate mats.

EMU welcomes Bloomsburg, Central Michigan, Clarion, Edinboro, Illinois, Kent State, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Olivet, Purdue, Rider, and Utah Valley to the Convo for the event. The Eagles will themselves square off against Bloomsburg at 9 a.m., Clarion at 10:30 a.m. and Purdue at 1:30 p.m. Live results of the days events can be found at TrackWrestling.com.

2015-16 OUTLOOK: The Eagles enter the second year under the guidance of Head Coach David Bolyard. The squad, which finished 8-12 last season, is looking to build upon a promising 2014-15 campaign.

The team sent two wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in 2015 and return one of those athletes as redshirt senior Anthony Abro (Canton, Mich.-Canton) is back for his final year with the Green and White. In total EMU gets back eight of its ten starters from last season's squad, along with 13 total letterwinners, 10 of whom have prior starting experience.

HOSTING THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: EMU has the special privilege of hosting the 2016 Mid-American Conference Championships to be held at the Convocation Center. It will be the first time the Eagles will play host to the conference's premier event since 2009.

FACING TOP COMPETITION: The Green and White will square off against six teams who were ranked in the preseason InterMat Division I poll. These teams include Missouri, who is ranked 10th overall, Ohio (16th), Northern Iowa (17th), Old Dominion (18th), Kent State (22nd) and Central Michigan (25th). EMU also matches up with three Big Ten Teams this season, with duals against Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana.

EAGLES VS. GOLDEN EAGLES: The EMU Eagles open their 2015-16 season with the Golden Eagles of Clarion. The two teams squared off last season, Jan. 10, with a dominating 34-7 victory on the road for EMU. Clarion has already broken the seal on the 2015-16 season after they hosted the Clarion Open, Nov. 1.

EMU returns six of the eight grapplers who earned decisions against Clarion last season. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles return four starters from the dual last season, with one of the decision earners, Michael Pavasko, returning at the 174 class.

BREAKING DOWN BLOOMSBURG: The Huskies of Bloomsburg are next on the docket for EMU. The two schools have squared off three times, with BU holding the 2-1 advantage. They most recently met last season, Nov. 21, in a road dual with EMU coming away victorious 30-6.

The Eagles earned eight decisions in the bout last season, and return seven of the eight wrestlers who earned those decisions. Meanwhile for BU, they return four starters from the match last season. One of the four, Andy Schutz, earned a decision for the Huskies.

SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS: Purdue is the final matchup for EMU in the Duals. The Boilermakers hold a 6-0 all-time advantage over the Eagles. They last met in 2008 at the Boilermaker Challenge, Nov. 15, where Purdue was victorious 33-6.

Purdue lost half of its starting lineup entering the season. Two of the returning starters are ranked in the InterMat preseason rankings, with 141 pounder Danny Sabatello ranked No. 15, while 157 pounder Doug Welch is ranked No. 13. Sabatello himself was a 2014 NCAA qualifier in the 141 class.

UP NEXT ON THE MATS: Following the Duals, EMU hits the road for the first time with a bout against Cleveland State in Ohio. It will be the fifth straight season EMU will travel to the Rock and Roll Capital of the World, with the previous four coming at the Cleveland State Open.

TWO EAGLES EARN PRESEASON RANKINGS: The Mid-American Conference wrestling coaches announced the 2015-16 preseason individual weight class rankings and team rankings in conjunction with the league office, Oct. 15.

Two Eagles earned top-four seeds in their weight classes, as reigning NCAA qualifier redshirt senior Anthony Abro (Canton, Mich.- Canton) ranked No. 3 at the 197 lbs. class, while redshirt sophomore Gage Hutchison (Buchanan, Mich.- Buchanan) came in at No. 4 in the heavyweight class.

ABRO RANKED NATIONALLY: Redshirt senior Anthony Abro (Canton, Mich.- Canton) enters the season garnering some national attention. He was ranked as the No. 11 best wrestler in the 197 class by The Open Mat in their preseason poll, while also being ranked as the 13th best by InterMat Wrestling. Abro is coming off of his best season as an Eagle, where he racked up 28 wins, and ended his season with a top-16 finish at the NCAA Championships.

EAGLES TABBED EIGHTH IN PRESEASON POLL: For the third consecutive season, EMU was picked to finish eighth in the conference, garnering three points in the poll. The Eagles are coming off an 8-12 season (1-7 MAC) under second-year Head Coach David Bolyard. Defending MAC champion Missouri was picked to finish first in the conference with 21 points, followed by Ohio in second place with 16 and Northern Iowa and Old Dominion tied for third with 15.

2015-16 MAC Preseason Poll:
1. Missouri (21.0)
2. Ohio (16.0)
t3. Northern Iowa (15.0)
t3. Old Dominion (15.0)
5. Central Michigan (14.0)
6. Kent State (11.0)
7. Northern Illinois (5.0)
8. Eastern Michigan (3.0)
9. Buffalo (0.0)

EAGLES SIGN EIGHT FOR 2015-16 SEASON: The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team will welcome nine newcomers to the 2015-16 squad Head Coach David Bolyard and his coaching staff announced Friday, Aug. 14. The recruits hail from five different states, including three from Michigan. Zac Carson, Noah Gonser, David Kasper, George Lahar V, Jared Langley, Sa'Derian Perry, Chris Poland and J.J. Wolfe will compete for the Eagles this upcoming season after signing their National Letters of Intent.

WRESTLING CLAIMS TOP SPOT IN NWCA ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS: For the first time in Eastern Michigan University wrestling history, the Eagles garnered the top spot in the nation on the National Wrestling Coaches Association's All-Academic teams, announced by the NWCA Friday, May 22. The Green and White finished the 2014-15 academic year with a team grade point average of 3.382, which edged out second-place Harvard, who carried a 3.372 team GPA in the 2014-15 academic year and notched the title the past two seasons. Furthermore, the award marks not only the first time in EMU history that the grapplers had captured the honor, but the team is also the first-ever Mid-American Conference team to earn the honor since its inception in the 1990-91 academic year.

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Abro

Zac Carson

Noah Gonser

Gage Hutchison

David Kasper

George Lahar V

Jared Langley

Sa'Derian Perry

Chris Poland

J.J. Wolfe

Eastern Michigan Athletics