GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Senior Night is upon (7) University of Providence men's wrestling with only two more events left in the regular season and only one more home dual. That final home dual will be a Senior Night matchup against (14) Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) on Friday, February 2 at 7 p.m.
The two teams have already faced, meeting in the first round of the National Duals on January 4. ERAU was ranked 10th at the time, and dual came down to the final match. UP came away with six of the 10 matches, but the only match to result in extra points went to the Eagles, with (19) Collin Anderson beating UP's Eli Walston in a 16-0 technical fall. UP won minor decisions at 149, 157, 174, 184, 197, and 285.
Of the 10 matches in the last dual, six featured ranked wrestlers on both sides. With lineups changes due to strategic planning for national rankings, and UP Head Coach
Caleb Schaeffer trying to fit in a few of the seniors, that number will be reduced to three based on the unofficial lineups.
Those three matches are at 157, 174, and 285. Both 174 and 285 will be rematches of bouts UP won the last time around. At 174, UP's (5)
Adrian Lyons-Lopez will take on (12) Kody Davis who he beat in a 9-7 decision, while (8)
Matt Hopkins will take on (14) David Rupp of ERAU at 285 after Hopkins won that bout by a 4-1 decision.
The 157 match could be a rematch or could end up with two completely different wrestlers. The Argos have both
Shonn Roberts, ranked 5th at 149, and
Casey Dobson, ranked 7th at 157, listed as options, while Embry-Riddle has (7) James Williams and unranked Carlos Apodaca listed. Dobson faced Williams the last time and won a 4-3 decision.
Another key match will come at 133. Since the two teams last faced, the Argos have moved senior
Isaac Wilson from 125 to 133. When he wrestled ERAU's (10) Chandler Strand at 125, he lost a 4-2 decision, but this time he'll face (19) Collin Anderson, who beat Walston last time. A win for Wilson could get him ranked at 133 heading into the inaugural Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship.
UP will honor four seniors before the match starts, three of whom will wrestler in the dual. Wilson will be joined by
Austin Dodson, who will wrestle at 125, and
Arram Price, who will wrestle at 165 in the lineup while fellow senior
Wytt Bedke will also be honored.
The Argos will have one more dual before the conference tournament, traveling to Havre, Montana to take on (12) Montana State University-Northern on February 7.