Edinboro Match Notes
 
Edinboro Lineup  
125 -- #19/2#20 Kory Mines (R-Sr., 19-5, 74-52, Bedford, Ohio/Maple Heights)
133 -- Anthony Rivera (R-Fr., 3-4, 3-4, Mardela Springs, Md./Parkside)
141 -- #2/#2 Mitchell Port (R-Sr., 20-0, 116-15, Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area)
149 -- #3/#4 Dave Habat (R-Sr., 19-1, 117-25, Parma, Ohio/St. Ignatius)
157 -- Chase Delande (R-So., 8-6, 29-11, Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard-Davidson) and Ty Schoffstall (R-Fr., 14-6, 14-6, Pottsville, Pa./Tri-Valley)
165 -- Casey Fuller (R-Jr., 13-7, 42-39, Hamlin, Pa./Western Wayne)         
174 -- Patrick Jennings (R-Jr., 18-7, 43-44, Ridge, N.Y./Longwood) and Nick Mitchell (R-So., 10-1, 23-12, Frewsburg, N.Y./Frewsburg)              
184 -- #12/#12 Vic Avery  (R-Jr., 16-5, 65-27, Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro)
197 -- Vince Pickett  (Jr.,12-8, 55-34, Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing)
Hwt. -- Warren Bosch (R-Jr., 10-11, 26-32, Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park)/Forrest Christmann (R-Fr., 6-5, 6-5, Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock)       
 
HEAD COACH:  Tim Flynn (Penn State '87, 190-70-5, 18th year)
Rankings:  InterMat/Flowrestling


Chattanooga Mocs Probable Lineup 
Record -- 3-3, 0-0 SoCon  
 
125 -- #10/#10 Sean Boyle (Sr.,16-4, Lowell, Mass./Michigan)
133 -- #16/#17 Nick Soto (Sr., 15-7, Spring Hill, Fla.)
141 -- Michael Pongracz (So., 11-7, Milford, N.J.) and Jacob Murphy (Fr., 6-8, Marietta, Ga.)
149 -- Shawn Greevy (Sr., 10-7, Mechanicsburg, Pa.) 
157 -- Austin Sams (Jr., 7-11, Fairfield, Oh.) and Kamal Shakur (Fr., 0-0, Lilburn, Ga.)
165 -- Justin Lampe (Fr., 0-2, Fairdale, Ky.)
174 -- Levi Clemons (Sr., 13-4, Kissimmee, Fla.) and Sean Mappes (So., 9-6, Greenwood, Ind.) and McCoy Newberg (So.,       13-5, Franklin, Tenn./Nebraska)
184 -- John Shrader (So., 7-4, Franklin, Tenn.) and John Lampe (Jr., 11-7, Fairdale, Ky.)
197 -- Scottie Boykin  (So., 11-7, Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Hwt. -- Jared Johnson  (So., 16-6, Jefferson City, Mo.)
 
HEAD?COACH:  Heath Eslinger (64-48, 6th year, Tenn.-Chattanooga '00)
Rankings:  InterMat/Flowrestling
 
 
West Virginia Mountaineers Probable Lineup 
Record -- 3-4, 0-0 Big 12  
 
125 -- Zeke Moisey (Fr., 20-8, Northampton, Pa.)
133 -- Cory Stainbrook (So., 10-10, Streetsboro, Oh.)
141 -- #11/10 Michael Morales (Sr., 21-6, Brick, N.J.) and Louis Colonna (R-Fr., 1-4, Montgomery, N.J.)
149 -- James Dekrone (R-So., 10-12,     Northport, N.Y.)
157 -- Tim Wheeling (Jr., 6-11, Erie, Pa.) and Roman Perryman (Sr., 3-7, Springfield, Va.) and Brutus Scheffel (Sr., 5-7, Oakland, Md.)
165 -- Ross Renzi  (Jr., 6-8, Burke, Va.)
174 -- Parker VonEgidy (R-Fr., 3-0, Marshville, N.C./Missouri) and Christian Chirico (Jr., 1-6, Palmyra, Va.)
184 -- Bubba Scheffel (Jr., 13-9, Oakland, Md.)
197 -- Jake A. Smith (So., 15-6, Charleston, W.Va.)
Hwt. -- A.J. Vizcarrondo (Jr., 9-9, Philadelphia, Pa.) 
 
HEAD?COACH:  Sammie Henson (3-4, 1st year, Missouri '95)
Rankings:  InterMat/Flowrestling


The Match Stories
 
Edinboro takes to the mat for the first time in 2015 on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10.  The Fighting Scots will take part in the Virginia Duals. The 2015 Virginia Duals will once again take place at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va., but will feature a new format. Unlike previous years when the field used a bracket setup, this year's 12-team field will compete in four pools of three teams, with the pool winners moving on to the semifinals on Saturday. Edinboro is in the James River Pool along with Chattanooga and West Virginia. The Fighting Scots will wrestle the Mocs, who are 3-3 in duals and come off a 13th-place showing at the Southern Scuffle, at 11 a.m. on Friday. They follow with a match against the 3-4 Mountaineers at 1 p.m.     

The Virginia Duals has six ranked teams in the field according to the latest USA?Today/NWCA Division I?Coaches Poll. That includes sixth-ranked Virginia Tech, the Fighting Scots, who are ranked tenth, plus 16th-ranked Virginia, 17th-ranked Rider, 24th-ranked Old Dominion, and Bucknell, ranked 25th. InterMat's Tournament Rankings have Edinboro fifth, Virginia Tech eighth, Virginia 15th, and old Dominion 21st. For the complete Virginia Duals field with the four pools and schedule go to
www.virginiaduals.theopenmat.com   

Head coach Tim Flynn will have to make do with a patched-up lineup that will be minus two top-ten wrestlers for a period of time. All told, three starters are missing and the Fighting Scots are even down to their third and fourth wrestlers at 157 lbs. Edinboro has been without Austin Matthews for over a month now at 157 lbs. and the Clarion transfer is out indefinitely. Kasey Burnett-Davis was filling in admirably but he has now missed time with an injury is not expected to compete this weekend. In addition, Zach Towers is once again out of the lineup at 174 lbs. The Fighting Scots were dealt another blow when A.J. Schopp went down at the Midlands Championships. Ranked number one at 133 lbs. entering the tournament, he was injured in his consolation semifinal match. He was able to finish the match but did not wrestle in the third place match. Schopp, who is now 15-1 and ranked as high as second by Flowrestling, is out indefinitely.

The Fighting Scots are in the midst of their most difficult portion of the schedule. Edinboro recently competed in the Grapple at the Garden at Madison Square Garden. The Scots, ranked 12th at the time in the USA Today/NWCA Division I?Coaches Poll, lost to third-ranked Cornell (23-14) and defeated 11th-ranked Lehigh (19-18). That was followed by the fourth place showing at the Midlands Championships, and now the Virginia Duals.

Edinboro comes off a fourth place showing at the Midlands Championships, with five wrestlers placing. Mitchell Port led the way. The redshirt senior improved to 20-0 as he won for the second straight year at 141 lbs. He was named the Art Kraft Champion of Champions. Ranked second, Port claimed a 4-1 decision over third-ranked Devin Carter of Virginia Tech in the finals. Dave Habat also reached the finals at 149 lbs. He would suffer his first loss of the year and is now 19-1, extending defending national champion Jason Tsirtsis to a tiebreaker before falling 2-1. Kory Mines turned in a strong showing while taking fourth place at 125 lbs., and A.J. Schopp was also fourth at 133 lbs. Vic Avery suffered a pair of heartbreaking losses while finishing fifth. He dropped a 5-3 decision to second-ranked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn, and later suffered a 7-6 loss in two tiebreakers to Iowa's Sam Brooks, who is ranked eighth.

Edinboro currently has eight wrestlers showing up in the various national rankings, although only six will compete this weekend. The rankings include the WrestlingReport.com rankings which ranks 33 wrestlers per weight class. Five Fighting Scots are ranked in the top ten of their respective weight classes. A.J. Schopp, who had been the consensus number one at 133 lbs., is now either second or third.  Mitchell Port is second at 141 lbs. Dave Habat is ranked as high as third at 149 lbs. in three different polls. Newcomer Austin Matthews, a transfer from Clarion, has been ranked as high as fifth at 157 lbs., and is still ranked as high as sixth by InterMat. However, he has been out of the lineup for over a month due to an injury and is now missing from several rankings. Vic Avery is ranked as high as 10th by WIN at 184 lbs. Kory Mines has been in and out of the 125 lb. rankings the last few weeks. He used a strong showing at the Midlands Championships to vault back into the rankings and is now as high as 17th by WIN and WrestlingReport.com.  Vince Pickett is ranked 25th at 197 lbs. by WrestlingReport.com and Patrick Jennings is now 33rd at 174 lbs. It marks the first time the redshirt junior has appeared in the rankings.

Edinboro enjoyed a record-setting performance in the PSAC?Championship on December 5. The Fighting Scots won their fourth straight PSAC?title and 15th in Tim Flynn's 18 years as head coach. they finished with 189.5 points to easily outdistance second-place Lock Haven, who finished with 130.5 points. Clarion came in fifth. Edinboro also set a record with nine PSAC?champions, breaking the previous record of seven the Scots held along with Clarion. A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.), Mitchell Port (141 lbs.), and Dave Habat (149 lbs.) won their fourth PSAC?titles. It marks the first time a lineup has had three four-time PSAC?titlists in it. There had previously been just 14 four-time PSAC?champions. Kory Mines won his second straight title at 125 lbs., and Vic Avery is now a two-time champion at 184 lbs. Kasey Burnett-Davis is now a two-time champion, as well, winning at 157 lbs. after claiming the 165 lb. title a year ago. Zach Towers (174 lbs.) and Vince Pickett (197 lbs.) won their first PSAC?crowns.    

Edinboro comes off the finest season in school history. The 2013-14 Fighting Scots finished with an 11-3 record, winning the EWL and PSAC?Championships. Seven national qualifiers then combined to help Edinboro finish fifth at the NCAA?Division I?National Championships, the highest finish in school history. Three Fighting Scots earned All-American honors -- A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.) and Mitchell Port (141 lbs.) for the second time and Dave Habat (149 lbs.) for the first time. Port placed third with Schopp and Habat coming in fourth.

Edinboro's lineup features five returning national qualifiers, along with a sixth in Clarion transfer Austin Matthews. Leading the way are All-Americans Mitchell Port, A.J. Schopp, and Dave Habat. Port earned All-American honors for the second time at 141 lbs. with a third place finish, while Schopp is also a two-time All-American after coming in fourth last year at 133 lbs. Habat earned his first All-American certificate with a fourth place finish at 149 lbs. Kory Mines made his first appearance at Nationals last year at 125 lbs. Matthews earned a trip to Nationals for the first time while wrestling at Clarion. He competed at 157 lbs.  

Head coach Tim Flynn has always liked to challenge his squad, and this year is no exception. The Pittsburgh match was the first of a very difficult dual schedule for the Fighting Scots. Using the USA?Today/NWCA?Division I?Coaches Poll, Edinboro's schedule currently includes six teams in the top 25, including two of the top seven squads.  Edinboro already faced Pittsburgh, with the Panthers currently ranked ninth.  On November 15 the Fighting Scots competed in the EWL?Duals and upset a Michigan team that was eighth at the time and now ranked 15th. The Scots faced a grueling day at the Grapple at the Garden on December 21. They wrestled third-ranked Cornell in their first match, then met 11th-ranked Lehigh. Ohio State, currently ranked seventh, will visit McComb Fieldhouse for a first round match in the NWCA?Cliff Keen National Duals on February 15. 17th-ranked Rider is also still ahead on the schedule. The Broncs are also one of six ranked teams In the 2015 Virginia Duals. The field includes Virginia Tech (6th), Virginia (16th), Old Dominion (24th), and Bucknell (25th). Throw in matches against Kent State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, and West Virginia, plus the other four EWL opponents, and the Scots will be battle-tested by March.
 
HEAD?COACH
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86) is in his 18th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots.  He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 190-70-5 record.  Edinboro has had 12 top-20 finishes and four in the top ten at the NCAA?Division I?National Championships during his tenure.  He has produced three national champions and 33 All-Americans.  All told, Flynn has been named the EWL?Coach of the Year six times and the PSAC?Coach of the Year 12 times. last year Flynn captured nearly every Coach of the Year award, including being named the NWCA?NCAA?Division I Coach of the Year, WIN's Dan Gable Coach of the Year, and was InterMat's Co-Coach of the Year along with Minnesota's J Robinson.
 
THE?CHATTANOOGA SERIES
FIRST MEETING  
 
SCOUTING?CHATTANOOGA
Head coach Heath Eslinger (Tenn.-Chattanooga '00) is in his sixth year at the helm of his alma mater and has turned the Mocs into the dominant team in the Southern Conference. He has a 64-38 record and has guided Chattanooga to four SoCon Regular Season and Tournament Championships.  Chattanooga opened the season with three straight wins, including a 23-15 triumph over Kent State. The Mocs have since suffered three straight losses, the last to Old Dominion (25-12) to fall to 3-3. They come off a 14th place finish at the Southern Scuffle. Seniors Sean Boyle and Nick Soto placed. Boyle took third place at 125 lbs. while Soto was seventh at 133 lbs. Boyle is in his first season at Chattanooga after the NCAA granted him a sixth season of eligibility. He previously competed at Michigan where he was a two-time national qualifier. He is ranked tenth with a 16-4 record. Soto is 15-7 and ranked 16th. He is a three-time SoCon champion and NCAA qualifier and has a 100-34 career record. 
 
THE?WEST?VIRGINIA SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS?16-9-2
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.  
 
SCOUTING?WEST VIRGINIA
The Mountaineers come in with a 3-4 record under first-year head coach Sammie Henson, who took over for long-time mentor Craig Turnbull. Henson previously served as the head assistant coach for two years at Missouri and also had a stint with Penn State. He was a two-time national champion at Clemson and previously earned All-American honors at Missouri. WVU lost its first four matches under Henson, including a 26-9 loss to Cornell, but has since run off three straight victories. Those wins came against Lock Haven, Grand Canyon and Arizona State. The Mountaineers showcase Michael Morales. The senior is ranked 11th at 141 lbs. with a 21-6 record. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier who has a 77-30. Freshman Zeke Moisey was a four-time PIAA placewinner at Bethlehem Catholic. He has a 20-8 record while competing at 125 lbs.