Wrestling Continues MAC Schedule Against Northern Iowa

Wrestling vs Northern Iowa
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 6 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Convocation Center Auxiliary Gym
Game Notes	PDF Notes
Twitter	@EMUWrestling
Live Stats	Track Wrestling

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team rings in the New Year by continuing Mid-American Conference dual action with a matchup against the University of Northern Iowa, Wednesday, Jan. 6. The meet gets underway at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Convocation Center's Auxiliary Gym.

Those who cannot make it out to watch can follow live results by following @EMUWrestling on Twitter.

PREVIEWING THE PANTHERS: Northern Iowa enters Wednesday's dual sporting a 1-3 record, including 0-1 in the MAC. UNI has wrestled one of the tougher schedules this season, dropping duals to No. 19 Oregon State, No. 17 Rutgers, and No. 9 Missouri. Their lone dual win came in a 39-3 decision over Hofstra.

Individually UNI features five grapplers in the InterMat top-20, including Dylan Peters (No. 7, 125 lbs.), Josh Alber (No. 18, 133 lbs.), Bryce Steiert (No. 20, 157 lbs.), Cooper Moore (No. 7, 165 lbs.), and Blaize Cabell (No. 15, HWT).

ALL-TIME VS. UNI: Wednesday's meeting will mark the eighth time EMU and UNI will square off on the mats. The previous seven meetings all belong to the Panthers. The series dates back to 1967, where the two schools met each year from 1967-71. The series was renewed in 2010 at the Northwestern Duals, and will now be a yearly affair after UNI joined the MAC during the 2013-14 season. This will be the second straight season the two teams will dual.

LAST TIME WE MET: Eastern Michigan fell to the University of Northern Iowa in its first Mid-American Conference dual of the 2014-15 season Sunday, Jan. 4. The Eagles (5-3) were unable to overcome the powerful UNI squad, allowing the Panthers (4-3) to take the 24-15 victory. EMU won three bouts on the day, including two via pin at 133 and 141 lbs., as well as a 10-4 decision at 197 lbs.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Based on UNI's projected starters for Wednesday's dual, they return five of the ten starters from last season's bout. Three of those five won their matches. Conversely, the Eagles return four projected starters from last year. Only one, Anthony Abro at 197 lbs., picked up the win.

The potential rematches include Anthony Abro vs Cody Krumwiede at 197 lbs. (Abro, 10-4 Dec.), and Gage Hutchison vs Blaize Cabell at 285 lbs. (Cabell, 9-3 Dec.).

HUTCHISON PACES EAGLES AT THE MIDLANDS: The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team wrapped up its 2015 schedule with a big time performance from redshirt sophomore Gage Hutchison at the 53rd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 29-30. The heavyweight grappler took seventh place in his weight class out of 27 total wrestlers.

Hutchison's top-eight finish marked the second straight year in which EMU has placed a wrestler at The Midlands, as Brandon Zeerip placed eighth at 157 lbs. last year. It was also the 19th time Eastern has placed a grappler in the tournament's 53-year history.

In all, Eastern sent 10 wrestlers onto the mats over the two days. They racked up 12 total wins to finish in 27th out of 43, totaling 16.5 points.

UP NEXT ON THE MATS: The Eagles hit the road for their first MAC dual away from home when they travel to Athens, Ohio to square off against Ohio University. The dual is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 8.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Entering the final season of their storied careers, redshirt seniors Anthony Abro and Vincent Pizzuto are near the top of the EMU record book in career wins. Abro has 86 career wins, while Pizzuto has 81. This is good for a tie for seventh place and a tie for ninth place on the all-time list, respectively. Steve Brown is the program leader in victories, racking up 117 from 1984-88.

ABRO RANKED NATIONALLY: Redshirt senior Anthony Abro is currently ranked 14th at 197 by InterMat wrestling, while also being ranked 17th by TheOpenMat.com Abro is coming off of his best season as an Eagle, in which he racked up 28 wins, and ended his season with a top-16 finish at the NCAA Championships. He is currently 15-2 on the year in 2015-16.

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Abro

Gage Hutchison

Vincent Pizzuto

Brandon Zeerip

Eastern Michigan Athletics