UNI Wrestling Preps for Bulk of Dual Season

UNI wrestling (1-3/0-1 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (6-2/1-0 MAC)

6 p.m. CT Jan. 6, 2016 – EMU dual
Convocation Center Auxiliary Gym, Ypsilanti, Michigan
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FULL NOTES - PDF

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI wrestling team starts the bulk of its dual season on the road this week facing MAC opponent Eastern Michigan.

"The focus for our team is effort, energy, enthusiasm – have some excitement when we compete," said head coach Doug Schwab. "When we are training right now, everything is about changing levels, changing energy, changing speed."

EMU notched its first MAC win over Buffalo (30-3) in early December. UNI is looking for its first win in the conference after losing to No. 4 Missouri. The December rankings put UNI in a tie for fourth place in the conference, while EMU is ranked eighth out of the nine teams. The Eagles received votes in the latest USA Today/NWCA Division I coaches poll.

The Panthers have never lost to Eastern Michigan (7-0). Last year, UNI won 24-15. Both teams had very different lineups.

THE LINEUPS (UNI vs. EMU)

125: Leighton Gaul vs. Armando Torres

After starting at 133 pounds last year, Gaul is back in the lineup at 125 pounds for his first dual this season as a sophomore. He tied for first at the Buena Vista Open this year and took second at the UNI Open.
Armando Torres is a redshirt freshman who has lost just one dual (5-1). He was edged out 6-3 by No. 11 Chasen Tolbert of Utah Valley at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

133: No. 18 Josh Alber vs. Shayne Wireman or Blake Caudill

Alber is ranked fourth in the conference and is coming off a successful Midlands Championships, where he took second.
"I like how he competed," Schwab said of Alber at Midlands. "Good tournament for him. He was aggressive. He got beat attacking."
The redshirt freshman has three top-20 wins with decisions over No. 12 Josh Martinez of Air Force and No. 20 Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers two times.
Wireman has wrestled the majority of EMU's dual with a 2-4 record and is 1-1 against MAC opponents overall this year. Wireman bounced between the 125-pound and 133-pound weight classes last year.
Caudill is 2-0 in duals this season after moving up a weight class from last year. Caudill and Alber were both beaten by Missouri's Jaydin Clayton. Caudill lost by tech fall, and Alber was pinned midway through the second period at 4:03.

141: Trevor Jauch or Jake Koethe vs. Kyle Springer

Jauch is one of three Panthers leading the team in falls. His biggest pin was against No. 15 Jamel Hudson of Hofstra. He notched three more en route to winning the Cobber Open and grabbed two more at the Midlands Championships.
Koethe is one of seven Panthers with wins over top-20 opponents. He beat No. 17 Anthony Abidin of Nebraska, 8-4, at Midlands last week. He has won the Buena Vista Open two years in a row.
"Jake Koethe is wrestling pretty well," said Schwab. "I like the things he is doing. He beat a guy that was ranked fairly high, a kid from Nebraska, and he handled him pretty well. He is right there with the best guys. Him and (Trevor) Jauch – to me, it's really a nip-and-tuck thing."
EMU's Springer is coming into the dual with just one loss and a win over No. 15 Danny Sabetello of Purdue. He wrestled unattached last year after transferring from Indiana.

149: Jake Hodges or Peter Stewart vs. Nick Barber

Both Panthers will be making a season debut in the dual lineup. Hodges started for UNI at 141 pounds last year and has competed the early part of the season at the lighter weight. He tied for first at the Buena Vista Open.
Stewart also would be moving up a weight class for UNI. He transferred from Iowa Western Community College after taking seventh at the NJCAA tournament at 141 pounds. He has placed at three of the four open tournaments he has competed in this year at 141 pounds.
Nick Barber has a loss against MAC opponent Colin Heffernan, ranked fourth in the conference, but notched a win over No. 10 B.J. Clagon of Rider en route to a second-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Barber was 3-4 in MAC competition last year.

157: No. 20 Bryce Steiert vs. Devan Marry

Steiert cracked the national rankings this week after another top-20 win. He beat No. 18 Tyler Berger of Nebraska at the Midlands Championships. Steiert has wins over No. 12 Dylan Cottrell of West Virginia and No. 17 Eleazar DeLuca of Northern Colorado. He is now ranked fourth in the MAC.
"Steiert is right there," said Schwab. "He is one takedown away from beating the best guys in the country, but now we have to go get that takedown."
He took sixth at the Cliff Keen Invite in early December.
Marry is 10-5 on the season and has pinned six opponents, including No. 13 Doug Welch of Purdue in 1:18. He is 7-1 in duals. He had one conference win last year at 165 pounds.

165: Tyler Berger or No. 8 Cooper Moore vs. Dakota Jaurez

Moore is the reigning conference champion. He is a two-time national qualifier and took eighth at the Cliff Keen this year. Moore is ranked second in the MAC.
Berger started the year in the lineup at 165 pounds, going 1-2 at the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals. Both losses were to top-15 opponents.
Jaurez is 9-5 on the season and 3-1 in duals. He was edged out 5-4 by No. 14 Connor Brennan or Rider early in the season.

174: Drew Foster vs. Jake Davis

Foster was second at the Cobber Open this year and won the Joe Parisi Open last year. He is 11-8 on the season and looking for his first dual win.
Davis pinned No. 15 Nick Kee of Appalachian State in 1:26. He is 6-2 in duals and four first-period falls. Davis is ranked fourth in the MAC. Davis moved up from 165 pounds in the 2013-14 season before suffering an injury. He posted a 14-4 record wrestling unattached last year at 174 pounds.

184: Cody Caldwell vs. Derek Hillman

Caldwell is a returning NCAA qualifier. The senior took fourth at the MAC tournament as a sophomore to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament at 174 pounds. He moved to the 184-pound weight class as a junior.
Hillman is a redshirt freshman with a 6-2 dual record. He went 9-6 wrestling unattached as a freshman.

197: Jared Bartel or Cody Krumwiede vs. No. 14 Anthony Abro

In 2013-14, Bartel represented the Panthers at the MAC tournament as a redshirt freshman after wrestling one dual. He took sixth. He competed in three duals as a sophomore the next year. He is 1-2 in duals year, splitting time with Krumwiede.
Krumwiede is coming off a recent win at the UNI Open. He lost his only dual for the Panthers this season. The senior moved down from heavyweight last season.
Abro has lost just one dual for the Eagles and has won three matches by fall. He took sixth at the Reno Tournament of Champions after medically forfeiting his final two matches. He is ranked No. 3 in the conference. Abro was the lone Eagle to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament last year. He beat Krumwiede 10-4 in last year's dual in UNI's West Gym.

285: No. 15 Blaize Cabell vs. Gage Hutchinson

Cabell is the conference leader and two-time NCAA qualifier. He has a top-10 win over Billy Smith of Rutgers. His undefeated dual record last season made him eighth among all Panthers with the most dual wins in a single season. In his MAC dual opener, Cabell notched 12 takedowns against James Romero of Missouri.
Cabell beat Hutchinson in last year's dual, 9-3.
Hutchinson is coming off a seventh-place finish at the Midlands Championships. He lost to Smith of Rutgers at Midlands. He was 4-4 in MAC action last year.

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