Kent State University
SIU Edwardsville
Wrestling Hosts SIU-E in Fieldhouse on Tuesday
1/6/2020 9:57:00 AM | Wrestling
KENT, OHIO- Â Kent State Wrestling opens up the 2020 portion of their schedule with their first of three January home meets on Tuesday, as they host the Cougars from Southern Illinois at Edwardsville.
The MAC dual will take place at noon at the Kent State Fieldhouse next to Dix Stadium. This is a pivotal dual for both teams, as each are searching for their first MAC dual win of the season. Kent State fell at home to Edinboro and dropped a close road dual to Northern Illinois. SIU-E lost to Old Dominion at home. Tuesday is a busy day for the Cougars, who are scheduled to match-up with Kent State at noon and again at Clarion on Tuesday night.
ABOUT KENT STATE
This will be the first action for the Golden Flashes since they closed the 2019 calendar year with duals against Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. In the last MAC wrestling poll, the Flashes checked at 13th, one spot behind the Cougars. In the latest MAC wrestler rankings, Kent State boasts a pair of ranked wrestlers with Tim Rooney currently ranked 4th at 133 pounds and Andrew McNally sitting fourth at 174. McNally is coming off a 2-0 week against the Huskies and Badgers, and earned his second MAC Wrestler of the Week as a result.
PROJECTED LINEUPÂ Â Â
Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy has issued Tuesday's projected lineup
125    Earl Blake                  Frederick, MD.Â
          -or-Tomas Gutierrez  Arvada, Colo
133    Tim Rooney               Columbus, OH
141    Cory Simpson            Mogadore, OH
149     Kody Komara             Freedom, PA
157    Brady Chrisman         Medina, OH
          -or-Conan Becker       Mansfield, OH
165     Kade Byland              Salem, OH
174     Andrew McNally        Uniontown, OH
184     Shane Mast               Wadsworth, OH
          -or-Tyler Bates              Columbus, OH
197     Colin McCracken        Waynesburg, PA
285     Spencer Berthold       Grafton, OH
ABOUT SIU-E
The Cougars are 1-4 in traditional duals this season and are ranked 12th in the latest MAC Wrestling rankings. They are coming off competing at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois.
Justin Ruffin led the Cougars at the tournament, placing seventh at 157 pounds. Ruffin is currently ranked sixth in the MAC at 157 pounds, one of three Cougars that earned a conference ranking. Â Joining the sophomore in the rankings are teammates Tyshawn Williams (sixth at 149) and Colton McKiernan (second at 285).
PROJECTED LINEUP
SIU-E head coach Jeremy Spates has issued the following projected lineup for Tuesday
125     Gage Datlovsky          R-Senior                    Ingleside, Illinois / Grant Community HS
133     Jacob Blaha               R-Sophomore            Collinsville, Ill. / Collinsville HS
141     Saul Ervin                  R-Freshman              Morganfield, Ky. / Union County HS
149     Tyshawn Williams        R-Senior                    Baltimore, Md. / Archbishop Curley HS
157     Justin Ruffin              Sophomore               McDonough, Ga. / Union Grove HS
165     Chase Diehl               Freshman                  Johnson City, Tenn. / Science Hill HS
174     Kevin Gschwendtner  Junior                       Pontiac, Ill. / Wisconsin-Platteville
184     Ryan Yarnell              Sophomore               Imperial, Mo. / Windsor HS
197     Jake McKiernan          R-Senior                    Richmond, Mich. / Richmond HS
HWT   Colton McKiernan      Sophomore               Richmond, Mich. / Richmond HS
SERIES HISTORY
Kent State owns a narrow 2-1-1 lead in the all-time series. The two schools last met up in 2017 at Kent State, a 31-3 victory for the Golden Flashes.
FOLLOW ALONG
We will be live tweeting the results from tomorrow's dual. Follow @KentStWrestling for the live updates.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Flashes will head to the Virginia Duals this weekend. The two-day event will start on Friday morning and run into Saturday. Kent State is back at home on Friday the 17th for a dual with the Ohio Bobcats at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
