Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Contact: Kevin Zeise

Feb. 11, 2004

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State University Wrestling team continues Eastern Wrestling League action this week with a pair of matches. On Thurs., Feb. 12, the Vikings will host Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. at Woodling Gym before facing Clarion on Sun., Feb. 15, in Clarion, Pa.

About the Vikings: Cleveland State (7-8, 1-3 EWL) enters the week coming off a split of a pair of EWL matches last weekend. On Sat., Feb. 7, the Vikings defeated Lock Haven, 18-15, but fell at Bloomsburg a day later by a 23-17 count. Senior Russ Davie (Perrysburg, Ohio) leads the Vikings with a 19-5 mark on the season, while fellow senior Matt DePolo (Bellevue, Ohio) has a team-high 25 wins on the year.

Scouting the Hokies: Virginia Tech enters Thursday's match with a 7-7 mark on the year, including a 1-3 record in the EWL. The Hokies are coming off a 39-9 loss to West Virginia on Sun., Feb. 8. Chris Stith at 165 and Steve Borja at 174 picked up the two wins for Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech and Cleveland State are currently tied for fifth place in the Eastern Wrestling League with identical 1-3 league marks. Stith is the league's top-ranked wrestler at 165, while David Hoffman is also on top of the EWL at 133, according to the latest rankings, released on Jan. 27.

Scouting the Golden Eagles: Clarion lost a 19-13 decision to Pittsburgh on Tues., Feb. 10, dropping them to 2-7 on the year, and 0-4 in the EWL. The Golden Eagles have not won since Dec. 14, when they defeated Drexel and Pitt-Johnstown at the Clarion Duals. While Clarion has lost six straight matches, three of those have come to nationally-ranked opponents. The Golden Eagles are stronger in the lower weights, as Pete Derstine is ranked second in the EWL at 125 and Frank Edgar is ranked third in the league at 141. Clarion will host Virginia Tech a day before battling the Vikings.

Series Notes: Cleveland State leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 5-1, with the lone defeat coming in the 2000-01 season in Blacksburg, Va. The Vikings have scored 26 points in each of the last two meetings, winning 26-11 in 2001-02 and 26-15 last season in Blacksburg. Clarion holds a 20-10 edge in the series with Cleveland State, though the Vikings did take last year's match, 21-12 at Woodling Gym. Since the arrival of Jack Effner at CSU, the Vikings are 3-2 against the Golden Eagles.

Head Coach Jack Effner: In his sixth season as head coach at Cleveland State, Jack Effner is well on his way to bringing the Viking wrestling program back to the being among the nation's elite. He has a record of 45-51-3 while at Cleveland State, and an overall mark of 132-93-8 including the nine seasons he spent at Army before coming to Cleveland State. Effner guided the Vikings to a 13-6 mark in 2002-03, the most wins since the 1978-79 season, and took a school-record-tying six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Effner is assisted by Brian Keck, Gerald Harris and Phil Mansueto.

Cleveland State's Probable Starters

Davie's Domination: There's more to Russ Davie's 19-5 season record than the stat sheet shows. Of Davie's 19 wins this season, one was a forfeit and six were the result of pins, with the fastest time in 0:41 over Bloomsburg's Aaron Ferrance on Feb. 8. Of the 12 remaining wins, 10 of them have been shutout victories, with Davie allowing just one point in both of the other two bouts. Davie has won eight of his last 10 matches.

Phillips Likes 2004: Junior Joe Phillips (Maple Heights, Ohio) has enjoyed the season since the calendar turned to 2004. Since the beginning of January, the junior has posted an 8-2 mark, including three straight wins entering this week's action. He also posted a win over the Eastern Wrestling League's top-ranked wrestler at 197, Matt Daddino of West Virginia, during the National Duals on Jan. 17. His two losses during that span have come from Minnesota's Damion Hahn, the reigning national champion at 197, and Josh Birt of Pittsburgh, who is ranked second in the EWL.

Coleman's Roller Coaster Season: Prior to the season, senior Anthony Coleman (Bellevue, Ohio), a returning NCAA qualifier at 149, was asked to move to down to 141. The senior did so, and opened the season with a 12-1 mark, he began to struggle, going through a stretch of eight losses in 10 matches. Coleman kept fighting, and picked up a pair of wins last weekend against Lock Haven and Bloomsburg to raise his season record to 16-9.

Up Next: The Vikings conclude the dual meet portion of the season, hosting West Virginia on Sun., Feb. 22, at 2 p.m.