EDINBORO MATCH NOTES

KENT STATE MATCH streamed on FLOWRESTLING 

EDINBORO FIGHTING SCOTS
2013-14 Record -- 9-3, 5-0 EWL  

125 -- #17/#18 Kory Mines (Jr.-r, 19-7, Bedford, OH)
            Bijan Banks (Sr.-r, 1-7, Elkton, MD)
133 -- #2/#2 A.J. Schopp (Jr.-r, 26-1, Tyrone, PA)
141 -- #1/#1 Mitchell Port (Jr.-r, 22-0, Bellefonte, PA)
149 -- #15/#18 Dave Habat (Jr.-r, 22-4, Parma, OH)
157 -- #15/#15 Johnny Greisheimer (Sr.-r, 21-7, Wantagh, NY)
165 -- Kasey Burnett-Davis (Jr.-r, 15-9, Meadville, PA)    
174 -- Patrick Jennings (So.-r, 9-10, Ridge, NJ)
            Andrew Church (Gr., 4-4, Erie, PA)
184 -- #15/#13 Vic Avery  (So.-r, 18-4, Foxboro, MA)        
197 -- Vince Pickett  (So.,17-10, Galloway, OH)
Hwt. -- #16/#12 Ernest James (Sr.-r, 22-5, Medford, NY)
 
HEAD?COACH:  Tim Flynn (Penn State '87, 182-68-5, 17th year)
Rankings:  InterMat/TheOpenMat.com
 
 
KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES
Record -- 11-11, 4-3 MAC  
 
125 -- Del Vinas (So., 17-14, Twinsburg, OH)
            Alfredo Gray (So., 11-20, Wadsworth, OH             )
133 -- NR/#19 Mack McGuire (So., 23-11, Upper St. Clair, PA)
141 -- Tyler Small (Jr., 21-13, Littlestown, PA)
149 -- Mike DePalma (So., 21-15, Jeannette, PA)
157 -- #4/#6 Ian Miller (So., 22-4, Oak Harbor, OH)
            T.J. Keklak (Sr.-r, 9-16, Johnstown, PA)
165 -- Tyler Buckwalter  (So., 6-9, Mill Hall, PA)   
            Clay Wenger (So., 4-10, Wadsworth, OH)             
174 -- Caleb Marsh (Jr., 15-8, Marysville, OH)
            Mike Vollant (So., 10-12, Erie, PA)
184 -- #13/NR Sam Wheeler (So., 27-5, Copley, OH)
            Cory Campbell (So., 9-8, Oberlin, OH)
197 -- Cole Baxter (So., 21-14, Butler, PA)
Hwt. -- Mimmo Lytle (Fr.-r, 14-20, Swanton, OH)
             Jordan Marrero (Jr., 11-12, Reynoldsburg, OH)
 
HEAD?COACH:  Jim Andrassy (Kent State '95, 134-75-1, 11th year)
Rankings:  InterMat/TheOpenMat.com
 
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
Record -- 11-6, 0-3 Big 12  

125 -- Cory Stainbrook   (Fr., 21-12, Streetsboro, OH)
133 -- Nathan Pennesi   (Sr., 15-8, Latrobe, PA)
141 -- #14 /#16 Colin Johnston (Sr., 25-5, Eighty-Four, PA)
149 -- NR/#20 Mike Morales (Jr., 16-5, Brick, NJ)
157 -- Jason Luster (So., 12-8, Pittsburgh, PA)
165 --Ross Renzi (So., 19-13, Burke, VA)
174 -- Bubba Scheffel (So., 26-7, Oakland, MD)
184 -- Mac Mancuso (Sr., 19-10, Atlantic City, NJ)
197 -- Leo Trindade (Fr.,14-12, Billerica, MA)
Hwt. -- A.J. Vizcarrondo (So., 18-14, Philadelphia, PA)
 
HEAD?COACH:  Craig Turnbull (Clarion '74, 287-208-9, 36th year)
Rankings:  InterMat/TheOpenMat.com
 
THE MATCH STORIES
 
Edinboro wraps up the dual meet portion of its schedule this weekend with back-to-back matches.  On Friday night the Fighting Scots travel to Kent, Oh. to face the Golden Flashes of Kent State.  That match will get underway at 8:05 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center, following the conclusion of Kent's match with Missouri.  The match will be streamed live by FloWrestling.  On Saturday the Fighting Scots return hold to celebrate Senior Night, with former Eastern Wrestling League rival West Virginia providing the opposition.  That match gets underway at 7 p.m. at McComb Fieldhouse.  

Edinboro comes in with an 9-3 record after upsetting sixth-ranked Pittsburgh 17-16 last Friday.  The match was tied at 16-16 after the ten bouts, but Edinboro won based on criteria 3.15.3, total match points.  Edinboro prevailed 50-49.  The Fighting Scots have now won nine of their last ten duals, the lone loss coming to Virginia in the finals of the Virginia Duals. They clinched the EWL regular season crown with a 5-0 record.  The Fighting Scots moved up to eighth in the latest InterMat rankings, and are 14th in the USA Today/ NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll.        

The Fighting Scots captured second place at the Virginia Duals a month ago.  Following a first round bye, they edged 25th-ranked Old Dominion 17-16, then advanced to the finals with a 23-9 win over 15th-ranked Virginia Tech.  Virginia, ranked 13th, would edge Edinboro in the finals, 20-19.

Kent State has a deceiving 11-11 record.  The Golden Flashes upset 15th-ranked Iowa State 19-16 in the National Duals on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals, before losing to No. 11 Ohio State 32-4.  They ended the National Duals with a 24-13 loss to No. 22 Illinois.  Head coach Jim Andrassy's team has faced a demanding schedule, with four losses by four points or less. 

Edinboro and Kent State have wrestled six common opponents -- Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Old Dominion, Rider, Virginia and Virginia Tech.  The Fighting Scots are 5-2 in those matches, losing to Virginia and splitting with Virginia Tech.  The Golden Flashes show a 3-5 record against common opponents -- losing to Virginia and Virginia Tech twice, along with a loss to Rider.

After struggling to a 2-13 finish a year ago, West Virginia has rebounded with an 11-6 record this season in its second season in the Big 12. Long-time head coach Craig Turnbull's team comes off a 26-19 loss to Ohio on Sunday.  Edinboro and WVU have four common opponents -- Clarion, Lock Haven, Pittsburgh and Virginia.  The Mountaineers own wins over Clarion and Lock Haven and lost to Pitt and Virginia.

Edinboro will recognize seniors Bijan Banks, Andrew Church, Johnny Greisheimer and Ernest James prior to Saturday's match against West Virginia.  Greisheimer and James are starters at 157 and 285 lbs., respectively.  Both are two-time national qualifiers with James owning 93 career victories and Greisheimer 90.  Banks started for Edinboro at 125 lbs. in 2010-11 and has proven a valuable workout partner in the wrestling room since then.  Church just joined the Fighting Scots in mid-December after transferring from Penn State.  He competes at 174 lbs.    

The Fighting Scots turned in 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's win at Pittsburgh helped the Fighting Scots climb in the team rankings.   They moved up one spot to eighth in the latest InterMat poll and have been as high as sixth.  The Scots also jumped a spot in the USA Today/ NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll, now ranked 13th.  In addition, they are 10th according to WrestlingReport.com and tied for 12th in WIN's Tournament Power Index.

Edinboro has eight ranked wrestlers in its lineup.  The group is led by Mitchell Port, who is ranked number one 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 22-0 record and is number one according to InterMat, TheOpenMat.com and WrestlingReport.com, and second in the WIN?rankings.  A.J. Schopp (26-1), another junior, was first for a week at 133 lbs. before suffering his first loss of the season at the Midlands Championships.  He is second according to InterMat, TheOpenMat.com and WrestlingReport.com and third in the WIN poll.  Dave Habat (22-4) is ranked 11th at 149 lbs. by WIN, along with 15th by InterMat, 16th by WrestlingReport.com and 18th by TheOpenMat.com.  Vic Avery (18-4) is as high as 13th at 184 lbs. according to TheOpenMat.com and WIN, along with 15th by InterMat and 17th by WrestlingReport.com.  Kory Mines (19-7) has made a steady climb up the rankings at 125 lbs., and moved into 13th in the WIN poll.  He is also 17th by InterMat and WrestlingReport.com and 18th according to TheOpenMat.com.  Johnny Greisheimer (21-7) is another Fighting Scot who has ascended up the rankings.  The senior is now 14th at 157 lbs. according to WrestlingReport.com and WIN, along with 15th by TheOpenMat.com and InterMat.  Ernest James (22-5) parlayed a strong showing at Midlands into a boost in the rankings, and has continued to climb.  The heavyweight is now 12th according to The OpenMat.com, 14th by WrestlingReport.com, 16th according to InterMat and 18th by WIN.  Finally, Vince Pickett (17-10) is ranked 28th by WrestlingReport.com at 197 lbs.            

Head coach Tim Flynn 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 was 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 has moved up to sixth, while Virginia Tech has been ranked as high as eighth and is now 16th.  Rider was ranked 25th at the time Edinboro faced the Broncs, and Bloomsburg has been ranked at various points in the season.  The Fighting Scots also competed in the Virginia Duals, where they faced 12th-ranked Virginia in the finals.  Throw in the Midlands Championships and Edinboro's wrestlers have again faced some top talent.

UP?NEXT: EWL?Championships -- Saturday, March 8 at Cleveland State.          
 
THE?KENT?STATE SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS?4-2
The Fighting Scots prevailed 20-19 a year ago after Kent State won by a 22-15 margin in 2011-12. 
 
LAST?MEETING
2012-13:  EDINBORO 20, KENT?STATE?19 -- The Fighting Scots jumped out to a 17-4 lead with wins in four of the first five matches. The Golden Falshes rallied for wins in the next four bouts and led 19-17 heading into the heavyweight match.  Ernest James provided Edinboro with its winning margin, capturing a 4-2 decision in a tiebreaker over Keith Witt.  
 
THE?WEST?VIRGINIA SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS?15-9-2
The Fighting Scots won 29-9 a year ago at the WVU?Coliseum, avenging an 18-17 loss to the Mountaineers the year before.  Prior to that Edinboro went 6-0-2 in the previous eight meetings.  
 
LAST?MEETING
2012-13:  EDINBORO 29, WEST?VIRGINIA 9 -- The Fighting Scots won seven of the ten matches, including falls by A.J. Schopp and Mitchell Port.  Dave Habat followed the two pins with a technical fall to give Edinboro a 17-3 lead after just four bouts.
 
THE?COACHES
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86) is in his 17th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots.  He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 182-68-5 record.  Edinboro has had 11 top-20 finishes and three in the top ten at the NCAA?Division I?National Championships during his tenure.  He has produced three national champions and 30 All-Americans.  All told, Flynn has been named the EWL?Coach of the Year five times and the PSAC?Coach of the Year 11 times.
 
KENT?STATE -- Jim Andrassy (Kent State '95) is in his 11th season at the helm of his alma mater.  During that time he has posted a 134-75-1, producing six All-Americans, including one national champion.  Over his last seven seasons Kent State has sent at least five wrestlers to Nationals each year and finished either first or second in the Mid-American Conference standings.  Including his time as an assistant coach and wrestler at Kent State, Andrassy has spent 24 seasons with the Golden Flashes. 
 
WEST?VIRGINIA -- Craig Turnbull (Clarion '74) ranks among the top coaches in the country as he completes his 36th season in charge of the Mountaineers' program.  He owns a 287-208-9 career record.  The four-time Eastern Wrestling League Coach of Year has been at the forefront of five individual national champions, 26 All-Americans, 42 EWL champions and more than 160 NCAA Championships qualifiers.  In addition, Turnbull, who entered the year as the seventh-winningest active coach in the NCAA  and now has 287 dual meet victories, has been at the helm for each of the Mountaineers' six EWL conference titles as well as 12 top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships.  Turnbull was an All-American at Clarion in 1973. Following his standout career there, he entered the coaching realm with a stint at Strong Vincent High in Erie, Pa. From 1976-1978, Turnbull was an assistant coach at WVU under Frank Liechti and in 1979, he became the seventh coach in the history of the West Virginia wrestling program.