Low-ranked wrestling team squares off with WVU, Pitt

By JONATHAN BOMBULIE
Collegian Sports Writer

When the wrestling team takes on West Virginia and Pittsburgh in dual meets tomorrow, it will come in ranked lower than any Penn State squad in recent memory -- No. 23 with a 5-10 record.

The Lions will tangle with West Virginia at noon tomorrow in Morgantown, W.Va., and meet Pitt at 7:30 p.m. that night at Chartiers Valley High School near Pittsburgh. The Lions are ranked behind eight Big Ten teams and five teams from Pennsylvania, including No. 21 Pitt (12-9).

"I don't know how we even got as high as 23rd," Coach John Fritz said with a laugh. "I think we might be overranked. But I just think about the years we were No. 1 all year and finished third, fourth, fifth. There's a lot of wrestling to go."

Junior Kerry McCoy, who has been No. 1 at heavyweight all season, has not felt the sting of low rankings. But he is motivated by the expectations placed on the team.

"It's really just someone's opinion," he said. "What really matters is what happens in March. I think some people will be eating their words then."

The Lions have a lot of problems to iron out before the Big Ten Championships and NCAA tournament to make McCoy's predictions come to fruition. First, they have to get healthy.

For tomorrow's dual meets, the team will be severely banged-up. Redshirt junior Sanshiro Abe, at 126 pounds, remains out with a knee injury. Freshman Clint Musser and redshirt junior John Hughes, at 134 and 142, respectively, were felled by leg injuries within five minutes of each other at practice this week.

"That was a scary moment," Fritz said. "We're getting Rob Neidlinger back, so that's a positive. But right now, we're not sure what our lineup is going to be."

Fritz said Neidlinger, a sophomore who tore the anterior cruciate ligament (knee) at National Team Duals last month, will likely go at 177. He also said that Hughes is more likely to be able to wrestle tomorrow than Musser.

Note:

Fritz will not be acting as head coach in the West Virginia match in order to serve his one-match suspension. He was suspended as a result of an unsportsmanlike conduct call and subsequent comments about the officiating in last Thursday's loss to Lock Haven. Assistant Coach Hachiro Oishi will assume the head coaching duties and Fritz will be back in the helm against Pitt.