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Vikings Travel to Edinboro

Vikings Travel to Edinboro
Posted: Jan 27, 2011

Jan. 27, 2011

Contact: Dan Carr

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State wrestling team faces its first conference road test of the season when the Vikings travel to Edinboro on Saturday (Jan. 29) for a 7:00 p.m. meet. CSU is 0-1 in the EWL after a close 21-18 loss to Lock Haven on Sunday (Jan. 23). Edinboro owns a 1-1 conference mark, with a win over Lock Haven and a loss to Clarion.

LAST TIME ON THE MAT: The Vikings opened Eastern Wrestling League competition at home, losing to Lock Haven, 21-18, with the meet being decided in the final match of the day. After falling into an 18-0 hole, Lawrence Cavello, Matt Donohoe and Robbie Michaels each pinned their opponents to tie the meet. The deciding match was the 174 bout, where Aric Thurn had a 1-1 tie in the third round before being taken down in the final minute to drop a 3-1 decision.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: A strong mixture of experienced veterans and talented newcomers have led the Vikings this season. Senior Robbie Michaels (wrestling at 165) has emerged as one of the top grapplers in the Eastern Wrestling League, having won two open titles and 17 matches this season. Junior Lawrence Cavello (149) has 11 wins on the season while fellow junior Josh Palivoda (141) and sophomore Aric Thurn (174) each have four dual meet victories. A pair of true freshmen have had a big impact: Matt Donohoe (157, 12 wins) has pinned three opponents while Nick Flannery (133, 11 wins) leads the team with four major decisions.

CSU ALL-TIME VS. EDINBORO: This will be the 26th meeting between Cleveland State and Edinboro, with the Fighting Scots owning a 20-5 series advantage. Edinboro has won the last five meetings. Robbie Michaels has won matches in the last two contests, including a 17-5 major decision over current Scot Chris Hrunka in 2009 and a 5-0 decision against Hrunka in 2010.

DOUBLE DIGIT VICTORIES: Five CSU wrestlers have at least 10 wins on the season, surpassing the number of Vikings who accomplished that feat last season (four). Brandon Sommers leads the team with 21 victories, while Robbie Michaels has posted 17 wins. Matt Donohoe has 12 wins this season while Lawrence Cavello and Nick Flannery each have 11.

AMONG THE BEST IN THE EWL: Cleveland State is represented well in the current EWL individual win standings. The highest ranked Viking is Brandon Sommers (21-12 on the season), who is tied for fourth overall in the conference and leads the 149 division in wins. Robbie Michaels (17-6) has the fourth most victories in the 165 class. Aric Thurn is tied for fifth at 174 with eight wins while Matt Donohoe (12 wins) ranks eighth in the 157 class.

PIN IT TO WIN IT: With three pins against Lock Haven on Sunday, the Vikings have now won 20 matches by fall this year, compared to only 11 last season. Robbie Michaels leads the team with four pins while three CSU wrestlers (Lawrence Cavello,Matt Donohoe and Brandon Sommers) each have three apiece.

TRIPLE FALL: Sunday's meet with Lock Haven marked the first time since Nov. 24, 2009 that the Vikings had recorded three pins in a single dual meet. Zachary Zupancic, Robbie Michaels and Chris Weber each won by fall as Cleveland State defeated John Carroll, 31-13.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Sunday's meet with Lock Haven proved to be one of the Vikings' closest losses in years, as all seven of LHU's wins came by decision. The last time CSU lost a meet in which it only gave up decisions was on Feb. 3, 2007, when Bloomsburg won six matches in an 18-13 victory.

PHENOMENAL FRESHMEN: The most recent Viking recruiting class is turning out to be a strong one, as four true freshmen have made an immediate impact. Brandon Sommers leads the squad with 18 wins and three pins and is third with two major decisions, wrestling mainly in tournament competition. Ben Willeford has started at 125 in every meet this season, compiling eight wins. Matt Donohoe and Nick Flannery, with 11 overall victories each, have also been solid dual meet competitors, combining for six wins this season.

DUAL MEET SUCCESS: Eleven different wrestlers have won matches in dual meets this season. This is a step up from last year, when only nine Vikings recorded dual meet victories. A Viking has won a match at every weight class this year, with two CSU wrestlers winning at 197. The most noticeable improvement has been at 133, the one weight class in which Cleveland State failed to win a dual meet last season. This year's starter at 133, Nick Flannery, has won four dual meet matches, including one by pin and one by major decision.

TESTS AGAINST THE BEST: Cleveland State is wrestling against one of the toughest schedules in the country, with six dual meet opponents currently ranked in the top 30 of the Jan. 24 NCAA rankings. The Vikings have already faced Rutgers (7th), Indiana (18th), Northwestern (23rd) and Kent State (30th) and have matches upcoming against, Pittsburgh (21st) and Edinboro (29th).

SOMMERS IN WINTER: Brandon Sommers has had a fantastic season, wrestling mainly against tournament competition. The freshman has won 21 matches this year, highlighted by a fourth place finish at the Simonson Open, a fifth place result at the Purple Raider Open and a fifth place finish at the Harris Open.

ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S BEST: Robbie Michaels has broken into WrestlingReport.com's Atlantic Regional Division I rankings He is the 20th best wrestler at 165 pounds in the most recent rankings, released Jan. 1. Michaels joins Pittsburgh's Ethan Headlee (eighth), Clarion's Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (12th), Bloomsburg's Josh Veltre (18th) and West Virginia's Donnie Jones (21st) as ranked EWL wrestlers at 165.

NEXT UP: The Viking wrestling squad will be back at Woodling Gym next Saturday (Feb. 5), continuing its EWL slate with a home meet against Bloomsburg. The match is scheduled to start a 1:00 p.m.