Flashes Set for Four Duals in Virginia
1/11/2017 4:47:00 PM | Wrestling
Kent State will take on four teams over two days at the 37th annual Virginia Duals inside Hampton Coliseum Friday and Saturday (Jan. 13-14). Competition begins with four pools of three teams on Friday. The Golden Flashes will open their weekend with a 9 a.m. matchup against Lock Haven, followed by an 11 a.m. tilt with No. 5 Virginia Tech in the Hampton Pool.
The top four teams from each pool will advance to Saturday's Gold Bracket. There will also be a four-team Silver Bracket and a four-team Bronze Bracket, giving each team two additional dual meets. Silver and Bronze brackets will begin Friday at 3 p.m. and conclude Saturday at 10 a.m. Gold bracket semifinals will be Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by the championship and third place duals at 8:30 p.m.
Competing Teams
|
Hampton Pool |
James Pool |
Poquoson Pool |
York Pool |
|
No. 5 Virginia Tech |
Old Dominion |
Bucknell |
No. 24 Virginia |
|
Kent State |
Chattanooga |
Np. 19 Arizona State |
The Citadel |
|
Lock Haven |
No. 15 Oklahoma |
Campbell |
North Dakota State |
Live Video and Live Scoring
Live video of the entire event can be seen with a subscription to TrackWrestling. Live scoring can be followed free on TrackWrestling.
Kent State Probable Lineup
125: Cory Simpson (9-10)
133: Ethan McCoy (7-8)
141: Chance Driscoll (13-10)
149: Tim Rooney (15-12)
157: Casey Sparkman (15-6)
165: Jared Walker (13-10)
174: Jairod James (14-3)
184: Jerald Spohn (11-10)
197: Stephen Suglio (14-10)
285: Devin Nye (12-11)
The Opponents
Lock Haven (3-3) recently finished ahead of the Golden Flashes in the top spot at the Lock Haven Classic on Dec. 29 with four individual champions. The Bald Eagles have dual wins over Maryland, George Mason and Bloomsburg. Sophomore heavyweight Thomas Haines is 22-2 and sophomore 197-pounder Tristan Sponseller is on a 10-match winning streak.
The Bald Eagles lead the all-time series with Kent State 7-4, but the Flashes have won the last two meetings. In the most recent meeting, Kent State topped Lock Haven 22-18 in November of 2014. In 2003, the Bald Eagles edged the Flashes 19-17 in their only meeting at the Virginia Duals.
Virginia Tech (7-1) has won each of its last three duals by 19 or more points. The Hokies only setback this season came at Missouri. The latest Open Mat rankings had six Hokies in the Top 10: No. 2. Joey Dance (125), No. 7. Solomon Chishko (149), No. 8 Sal Mastriani (157), No. 2 Zach Epperly (174), No. 6 Zack Zavatsky (184), No.3 Jared Haught (197), No. 3 Ty Walz (285).
The Hokies lead the all-time series with the Flashes 5-4 and hold a 3-2 edge at the Virginia Duals. Virginia Tech has won the last five meetings, most recently earning a 29-15 victory at the 2015 Virginia Duals. Kent State's last win in the series came during the 2010 Virginia Duals.
Virginia Duals History
Prior to the current pool format at the Virginia Duals, Kent State placed in the top six spots of the dual tournament in eight straight seasons. In 2012, the Golden Flashes went 4-0, capping off its run with an upset of Missouri in the championship round.
Last season, Kent State went 3-1 overall, winning the Silver Bracket on Saturday with a 23-13 victory over Old Dominion. The Flashes also topped George Mason and Bucknell. Casey Sparkman finished 2-0 on the weekend.
Most Recent Action
The Flashes placed second at the Lock Haven Classic (Dec. 29) with wrestlers from 15 different teams competing. Sophomores Casey Sparkman and Devin Nye each claimed runner-up spots going 3-1. Nye notched his team-leading sixth pin and Sparkman registered his team-leading sixth tech fall.
Redshirt freshman Tim Rooney pushed himself for six victories in a day and a third place finish at 149. Rooney chalked up a pin, a tech fall and two major decisions.
Quick Shots
- Since the 2005-06 season, Kent State is 144-71 in dual meets
- Nine Flashes placed in the Top 6 spots at the Navy Classic (Nov. 19).
- The Flashes' eight straight years with at least one All-American is the 10th longest active streak in the nation.
- The Golden Flashes do not have a single senior on their roster
- Kent State concluded its 2015-16 season with a 16th place finish at the NCAA Championships and two All-Americans.
- The NWCA honored Kent State for having fifth highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.325
Two Scholar Athletes of the Week
Sophomore 133-pounder Anthony Tutolo was named MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week following a sixth place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Tutolo's four wins were highlighted by a 9-8 comeback victory over No. 4 Earl Hall of Iowa State. A communications major, Tutolo carries a 3.6 cumulative grade point average.
Just a few weeks later, Tim Rooney was named MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week after going 6-1 at the Lock Haven Classic. An exercise science major, Rooney carries a 3.9 cumulative grade point average.
Flashes Welcome Transfer
Freshman 125-pounder Harry Feuer joined the Golden Flashes this month. Feuer was a three-time state place winner in high school and spent the fall semester at Notre Dame College.
Up Next
Kent State hosts archrival Ohio on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. inside the M.A.C. Center.
Players Mentioned
