2017 UWW Cadet and University NationalsJun 1, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad
Five Matchups We Want To See At University Nationals
Five Matchups We Want To See At University Nationals
University Nationals in Akron provides the opportunity to see some matchups we might never get to see during the collegiate season
This weekend's University Nationals will be one of the biggest ever, with over 600 wrestlers registered. And there's no University Worlds this year, so it's not even for a world team spot!
Our own Andrew Spey did a full length preview for each and every weight yesterday, and today we're going to dive into some big time matchups we'd love to see. These are based on the weights where guys are currently registered on FloArena (this link will soon turn into brackets).
Before we get to the juicy matchups, a friendly reminder is necessary: #FloZone returns this weekend! Greco starts Friday, June 2nd at 9:00am eastern time, with freestyle starting the same time on Saturday the 3rd.
Our own Andrew Spey did a full length preview for each and every weight yesterday, and today we're going to dive into some big time matchups we'd love to see. These are based on the weights where guys are currently registered on FloArena (this link will soon turn into brackets).
Before we get to the juicy matchups, a friendly reminder is necessary: #FloZone returns this weekend! Greco starts Friday, June 2nd at 9:00am eastern time, with freestyle starting the same time on Saturday the 3rd.
74kg: Chance Marsteller vs Joey Lavallee
At this point isn't any match with Chance Marsteller intriguing? He is still not as of yet on a Division 1 collegiate roster, but still has eligibility left and people looking to pick him up. Marsteller is qualified for next week's World Team Trials by way of his seventh place finish at the U.S. Open. Lavallee is coming off an NCAA finals appearance and Akron is somewhat where he made a name for himself. Back in 2011, Lavallee was on the original world team the first year Cadet worlds was reinstated. Lavallee was incredible this year in folkstyle and is a tremendous athlete, so the wrestling community at large wins either way if this match happens. Either an NCAA finalist proves he has freestyle chops, or we all get excited once again that Marsteller can beat an NCAA finalist.70kg: Jason Tsirtsis vs Brandon Sorensen
Similar to Marsteller, but for different circumstances, aren't we all curious to see where Tsirtsis is at after some time off? A past NCAA champ who had some success at Fargo and Akron in high school, this will be a great litmus test of what we can expect for Arizona State next season. Yes, it is freestyle, but Sorensen has finishes of 4th, 2nd and 3rd, and is exactly the caliber of guy Tsirtsis will have to beat to make a big impact in Tempe. Freestyle will also hopefully allow these two to open up a little more and be more willing to take risks with their shots.65kg: Chad Red vs Kaid Brock
This one is interesting for a couple reasons. First of all, they're both exciting and young, with Brock still having three years of eligibility left and Red having four years. Second, their styles are more suited to freestyle, which is faster paced, favors risk takers and gets bogged down less on the mat. Third, Brock is coming up in weight, having been a 133 these past two years. Whether it happens in the finals or the semis or even the quarters, I highly recommend tuning in and seeing how many points these two can throw up.86kg: Myles Martin vs Pete Renda
A past NCAA champ against a third placer coming off redshirt, count me in. Martin has won Fargo and made the UWW Junior finals before, so he is a known commodity in freestyle on an age level basis. Renda spent the majority of his redshirt season wrestling freestyle, and will likely continue on the senior level. These two should very likely be among the early contenders for NCAA titles, and beyond that will only add depth to Team USA's 86kg roster once their college days are over.70kg: Kevin Jack vs Max Thomsen
Similar to Kaid Brock, Kevin Jack is jumping up a bit in weight here. As a 141 during the season, is the NCAA third placer looking to test himself at a bigger weight because he's going 149 this year? Or is he just not cutting weight and trying to focus on getting better at an offseason event. Jack doesn't have much experience in freestyle, so this will be fun to see how his neutral game looks. Thomsen was a third placer in Fargo who just got on the podium at 149 in March.Bonus: Teammate Matchups!
If any of you folkstyle centric types out there need a reason to watch this weekend, it is to potentially live matches of guys on the same team who are at the same weight. Dennis Gustafson vs Dom Latona at Virginia Tech, Brock Rathbun vs Philip Laux at Iowa, Chad Red vs Colton McCrystal at Nebraska, the Morris brothers and Robbie Rizzolino at NC State, and Christian Pagdilao vs Niko Villareal at Arizona State are just a few that come to mind.Related Content
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