Kent State University
Central Michigan University
Flashes and Chippewas to Battle at Beauty & The Beast
2/8/2019 9:17:00 AM | Wrestling
Free live video of the two competitions can be seen on Boxcast, while live audio can be heard on Golden Flashes Radio on iHeart Radio. Matt Miller will break down wrestling action. Live results can be followed on TrackWrestling.com.
Projected Matchups
125: Jake Ferri (12-14) vs. Drew Hildebrandt (13-7)
133: Tim Rooney (19-11) vs. Brock Bergelin (6-10) or Devon Perez (8-7)
141: Cory Simpson (15-22) vs. Drew Marten (8-11)
149: Kody Komara (17-22) vs. Dresden Simon (5-10)
157: Richard Jackson (7-18) or Joe Andrassy (5-14) vs. Logan Parks (16-10)
165: Isaac Bast (15-17) vs. Bret Fedewa (6-13) or Blake Montrie (4-7)
174: Kade Byland (9-15) vs. Colin Lieber (8-13)
184: Andrew McNally (27-5) vs. Jordan Atienza (13-8)
197: Shane Mast (9-16) vs. Landon Pelham (7-11)
285: Spencer Berthold (14-16) vs. Matt Stencel (20-4)
The Opponent
Central Michigan (3-6, 2-3) has dual victories over Maryland, Northern Illinois and SIU-Edwardsville. The Chippewas begin their weekend action Friday night at Buffalo. Four Chippewas are in the latest MAC rankings led by sophomore Matt Stencel (No. 1) at heavyweight. Sophomore Drew Hildebrandt is No. 3 at 125. Junior Logan Parks is No. 4 at 157 and redshirt freshman Collin Lieber is No. 4 at 174. Stencel placed third at the Midlands Championships, while Parks placed seventh.
McNally Exceeding Expectations
Sophomore 184-pounder Andrew McNally (Uniontown, Ohio) ranks tied for third in the nation in pins with 12. A transfer from Eastern Michigan, McNally also leads the Flashes in wins (27), bonus-point victories (22) and major decisions (8). In the Jan. 24 NCAA Coaches Rankings, McNally is No. 18 at 184. He was named MAC Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 20, after winning a 184-pound title at the Cleveland State Open.
McNally is currently on a nine-match winning streak. He was also named MAC Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 7, after winning a Clarion Open title and going 8-0 in his opening weekend. In Kent State's win over Michigan State, McNally pinned previously undefeated Cameron Caffey, who is No. 17 in the latest Coaches rankings.
Quick Shots
- Since the initial 2013 event, the Flashes are 3-1 in home Beauty & The Beast competitions with their only loss coming to No. 1 Oklahoma State in 2017.
- Senior Isaac Bast (165) and sophomore Dylan Barreiro (174) joined McNally with titles at the Clarion Open.
- Bast, the lone active senior on the team, leads the Flashes with 92 career victories.
- Prior to the Buffalo dual, Bast was presented with the Jerry Petrofes Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
- At the South Beach Duals, the Flashes topped a Big Ten opponent (Michigan State) for the first time since 2013.
- Five of the Flashes' losses have come against Top 15 opponents (Penn State, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
- Junior Tim Rooney won a 133-pound title at the Cougar Clash on Dec. 2.
- In November, Rooney was named MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week, after going 5-1 in a third place finish at the Navy Classic. The fourth-year junior carries a 3.833 GPA.
- Spencer Berthold (285) and Cory Simpson (141) each placed sixth at the Cleveland State Open after winning four consecutive consolation bracket matches.
- Berthold recorded his eighth pin of the season at Cleveland State.
- McNally, Bast and Kody Komara (149) all placed fourth at the Navy Classic.
- The NWCA honored Kent State for having the second highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.497, trailing only Harvard.
- Since 2005-06 (Jim Andrassy's third season), Kent State is 165-102-1 in dual meets and 52-31-1 in MAC duals.
- Freshman Tim Wallace has won a pair of open tournament crowns, competing unattached at 184. He's also placed second and third at open tournaments this year.
History vs. Central Michigan
Central Michigan leads the all-time series with Kent State 28-22. The longtime rivals have met every year since 1979. The 51st meeting also marks the 16th matchup with Tom Borrelli and Jim Andrassy as head coaches. The Chippewas have won 17 of the last 21 meetings, but the Flashes have won two of the last three meetings and three of the last four duals in Kent. Sunday marks the second straight season the teams are meeting at the M.A.C. Center. Last year, the Golden Flashes celebrated their 2018 Senior Day with a 21-13 victory over the No. 16 Chippewas. Kent State claimed two overtime wins, including one by Tim Rooney.
Last Time Out
Kent State needed to win each of the final three matches to complete a comeback victory over Cleveland State (23-20) last Friday at Woodling Gym. The Vikings led 20-9 after seven bouts. Redshirt freshman heavyweight Spencer Berthold ended the night with a first period cradle for a pin. Andrew McNally earned a 20-5 tech fall and the Golden Flashes got decision victories from Jake Ferri, Tim Rooney, Cory Simpson and Shane Mast.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes return to the M.A.C. Center on Friday, Feb. 15, hosting Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
