Eagles Host Ohio, Old Dominion to Open MAC Schedule

Wrestling vs Ohio (3-3, 1-1 MAC) & Old Dominion (1-4, 1-2 MAC)
Date	Friday-Sunday, Jan. 6-8 \| 7 p.m./Noon
Location	Convocation Center (Aux Gym Friday)
Game Notes	PDF Notes
Twitter	@EMUWrestling
Results	Ohio ODU
Live Stream ($)	Eagle All-Access (Sunday Only)
Tickets	emueagles.com

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team opens Mid-American Conference action this weekend when it plays host to Ohio University Friday, Jan. 6, and Old Dominion University, Sunday, Jan. 8. Friday's dual begins at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center Auxiliary Gym, while Sunday will be held in the Convo's main arena, beginning at noon.

    The dual can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMUWrestling. Full results can be found on TrackWrestling.com. Sunday's dual will be streamed on Eagle All-Access. Links are on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

BATTLING THE BOBCATS: Ohio enters the weekend with an even 3-3 record, including 1-1 in conference action. OU knocked off West Virginia and UT Chattanooga in non-conference action. Their conference victory was over Buffalo, while the defeat came against nationally ranked Missouri.

    Individually, OU has two grapplers ranked in InterMat's top-20, including Shakur Laney (19th) at 125 lbs. and Cameron Kelly (20th) at 133 lbs.

All-TIME VERSUS THE BOBCATS: Since 2005-06, EMU is 2-9 versus the Bobcats, with the last victory coming in the 2011-12 season, a 22-14 win.

MEETING THE MONARCHS: Old Dominion enters Sunday's showdown sporting a 1-4 record, including a 1-2 mark in the MAC. ODU's lone dual win came against Northern Illinois, while the losses have come to nationally ranked opponents, including conference foes Missouri and Northern Iowa.

    Individually, the Monarchs have three nationally ranked grapplers according to InterMat, including No. 17 Seldon Wright at 165 lbs., as well as Jack Dechow and Kevin Beazley at 184 and 197 lbs., respectively who are each ranked ninth.

ALL TIME VS ODU: EMU and Old Dominion have met three times since ODU joined the MAC in 2014. The Eagles lead the all-time series 2-1, winning the first and third matchups.

LAST TIME WE MET: EMU met both teams last season, with No. 21 OU claiming victory, 19-12, Jan. 8. Against Old Dominion, EMU ended the dual season on a high note, winning 19-12 to secure a winning season.

EAGLES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: A pair of Eagles are nationally ranked after strong performances this season. Redshirt freshman Noah Gonser is ranked as high as 12th by TheOpenMat, as well as 14th by TrackWrestling, 16th by FloWrestling and 18th by InterMat at 125 lbs. Redshirt junior Gage Hutchison is also ranked by the national outlets, including 14th by InterMat and TrackWrestling, as well as 16th by TheOpenMat and 18th by FloWrestling.

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOK: Redshirt senior Nick Barber has 76 victories in his EMU career, which ranks 14th on the all-time list with. Recent EMU Hall of Fame inductee Steve Brown holds the all-time record with 117 wins. Barber trails Doug Harper and Nick Wittenburg by two wins for 12th all-time.

UP NEXT ON THE MATS: Eastern heads back on the road to face in-state foe Adrian College, Friday, Jan. 13. The dual against the Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m.

EAGLES SPLIT TRI DUAL, DEFEAT CSU, 38-12: EMU split a tri-dual, Dec. 11 at the Convocation Center, defeating Cleveland State, 38-12, before falling to Indiana, 25-12.

    The Eagles dominated the Vikings winning eight of ten bouts, including four by pin, while also notching a technical fall. Only one loss came on the mats, as EMU forfeited a weight class. Against the Hoosiers, Eastern won two of the first three matches, but ultimately could not overcome its powerful Big Ten opponent.

    The highlight of the day was redshirt freshman Noah Gonser who won both of his bouts at 125 lbs., including a pin over CSU and a victory over a nationally ranked IU opponent.

HUTCHISON CLAIMS FOURTH AT THE MIDLANDS: Redshirt junior Gage Hutchison has a phenomenal performance at the 54th annual Midlands Championships this past weekend, as the heavyweight took fourth place out of 42 wrestlers. Hutchison racked up six wins over the two days of competition, including wins over three nationally ranked opponents, and four who were seeded in the tournament. His wins came over No. 10 Brooks Black, No. 14 Ross Larson, and No. 20 Ray O'Donnell, which was a 16-1 technical fall. Hutchison also pinned Tyler Kral of Purdue in just 10 seconds, the quickest pin of the tournament.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Nick Barber

Noah Gonser

Gage Hutchison

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