Edinboro Match Notes

Follow the Virginia Duals at www.virginiaduals.org


THE EDINBORO LINEUP

2013-14 Record -- 2-2, 2-0 EWL

125 NR/#17 Kory Mines (Jr.-r, 13-5, Bedford, OH)
133 #3/#4 A.J. Schopp (Jr.-r, 18-1, Tyrone, PA)
Alex Schulmann (Sr., 0-0, Lincroft, NJ)
141 #1/#1 Mitchell Port (Jr.-r, 14-0, Bellefonte, PA)
149 #13/#14 Dave Habat (Jr., 16-3, Parma, OH)
157 #20/#18 Johnny Greisheimer (Sr.-r, 14-6, Wantagh, NY)
Kasey Burnett-Davis (Jr.-r, 8-5, Meadville, PA)
165 Zach Towers (Fr.-r, 6-4, Meadville, PA)
174 Patrick Jennings (So.-r, 6-5, Ridge, NJ)
Nick Mitchell (Fr.-r, 6-5, Frewsburg, NY)
184 #14/#11 Vic Avery (So.-r, 7-2, Foxboro, MA)
197 Vince Pickett (So., 10-5, Galloway, OH)
Colton Bigelow (Fr.-r, 2-4, Ocean, NJ)
Hwt. #19/#17 Ernest James( Sr.-r , 14-5, Medford, NY)

HEAD?COACH: Tim Flynn (Penn State '87, 175-67-5, 17th year)
Rankings: InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News

THE MATCH STORIES

Edinboro will hit the mats for the first time in 2014 in the Virginia Duals. The Fighting Scots are competing in the National Division, which includes several of the top Division I teams. Edinboro is seeded second and will receive a first round bye, as will Virginia, the number one seed. The Fighting Scots could face a familiar foe in Eastern Wrestling League rival Lock Haven in the quarterfinals should the Bald Eagles get past Old Dominion, the number seven seed, in the first round. Edinboro's quarterfinal match will get underway at 3 p.m. at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA. The semifinals are set for Saturday at 2 p.m., with the championship and third place matches at 8:30 p.m.

The Virginia Duals field features six teams ranked according to the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll or InterMat's rankings. Edinboro is ranked ninth by InterMat and 14th in the NWCA poll. Virginia, the number one seed, is ranked 13th by the NWCA and 15th by InterMat. In the NWCA rankings, Virginia Tech is ranked 15th and Bloomsburg 22nd. In InterMat's rankings, Kent State is 22nd and Old Dominion 25th. Five of the 14 teams in the National Division are members of the EWL. In addition to Edinboro, the number two seed, and Lock Haven, Bloomsburg is seeded fourth. The two newcomers to the EWL -- Rider and George Mason -- will meet in a first round match.

The Fighting Scots come in with a 2-2 record in dial matches after posting a 27-9 win over Rider on December 21. They also own a 40-3 win over Clarion in another EWL dual. Edinboro could have a chance to avenge a 23-14 loss to Virginia Tech in the Virginia Duals, with the Hokies the number three seed.

Edinboro finished fourth in last year's Virginia Duals. Thanks to wins over Army (25-10) and Old Dominion (21-12) the Fighting Scots reached the semifinals before suffering a 23-10 loss to 10th-ranked Virginia Tech. They dropped a 25-10 decision to ninth-ranked Central Michigan in the third place match. Edinboro won the Virginia Duals championship in 2007.

The Fighting Scots come off a strong showing at the prestigious Midlands Championships. They matched their highest finish ever in the event, coming in second. In addition, five wrestlers placed, led by Mitchell Port. The redshirt junior was the champion at 141 lbs., Edinboro's first since 2011. A.J. Schopp bounced back from a loss in the semifinals to take home third place at 133 lbs., and Johnny Greisheimer was also third at 157 lbs. Ernest James was fifth at heavyweight and Vic Avery came in eighth at 184 lbs., although the redshirt sophomore forfeited his final two matches due to an injury.

Edinboro has continued to climb in the various national rankings. The Fighting Scots are ranked ninth in the latest InterMat poll and have been as high as sixth. The Scots are 14th in the USA Today/ NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll. In addition, they are 11th according to WrestlingReport.com and 12th in WIN's Tournament Power Index.

The Edinboro lineup features as many as eight ranked wrestlers, led by Mitchell Port, who has ascended into the top spot in the rankings at 141 lbs. Port finished as the runnerup at 141 lbs. at the NCAA?Division I?National Championships last March, earning All-American honors for the first time. He owns a 14-0 record and is number one according to InterMat, Amateur Wrestling News and WrestlingReport.com, and second in the WIN?rankings. A.J. Schopp (18-1), another junior, was first for a week at 133 lbs. before suffering his first loss of the season at the Midlands Championships. He is third according to InterMat and WrestlingReport.com and fourth in the AWN and WIN polls. Vic Avery (7-2) is as high as 11th at 184 lbs. according to AWN, along with 13th by WIN, 14th by InterMat and 17th by WrestlingReport.com. Dave Habat (16-3) is ranked 13th at 149 lbs. by both InterMat and WIN, along with 14th by AWN and WrestlingReport.com. Ernest James (14-5) parlayed a strong showing at Midlands into a boost in the rankings. The heavyweight is now 17th according to AWN, 19th by InterMat and 20th by Wrestling Report.com. Johnny Greisheimer (14-6) reappeared in the rankings after being out for several weeks. The senior is 15th at 157 lbs. according to WrestlingReport.com, 18th in AWN's and 20th in InterMat's. Kory Mines (13-5) stands 17th in the AWN poll and 24th in WrestlingReport.com's at 125 lbs. Finally, Vince Pickett is ranked 28th by WrestlingReport.com at 197 lbs.

Head coach Tim Flynn has once again assembled a demanding schedule, with no fewer than five teams ranked in this week's InterMat Top 25 or USA?Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll. Leading the way is Iowa, which visited McComb Fieldhouse on December 5 as the top-ranked team in the country. Using the NWCA?poll, which is a measure of dual meets, Iowa is currently ranked third. Pittsburgh is 12th, while Virginia Tech has been ranked as high as eighth and is now 15th. Rider was ranked 25th at the time Edinboro faced the Broncs, and upcoming opponent Bloomsburg is 22nd. The Fighting Scots are also scheduled to compete in the Virginia Duals, which has four teams in AWN's top 25, including 13th-ranked Virginia. Throw in the Midlands Championships and Edinboro's wrestlers will once again face some top talent.

Edinboro returns to action on Saturday, January 18 with an EWL match at Lock Haven.