Wrestling Notebook 12/19/06

Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 CSUB Sports Information News Release

THE WEEK AHEAD: Cal State Bakersfield heads to Nevada for the second time in 18 days for another huge tournament with the Roadrunners taking part in the Reno Tournament of Champions on Wednesday at the new Reno Events Center.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: While wrestlers like Matt Schumm, Brandon Doyle and Daniel Atondo will continue to try to rack up important wins against some top competition, there is even more at stake for wrestlers at 125, 133 and 184 pounds. Those wrestlers will be looking for starting spots in the hectic schedule of January dual meets. This will be a perfect opportunity for one of the two wrestlers competing at those weights to step up and take away the starting spot from the opposition.

TICKET INFORMATION: Advance single match and season tickets are available now. Contact the CSUB Ticket Office (661) 654–BLUE for more information.

ON DECK: The Roadrunners open their 2006-07 home schedule with four duals in six days, opening with Oregon on Jan. 2 and continuing with Embry-Riddle on Jan. 4 and Columbia and San Francisco State on Jan. 7.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Cal State Bakersfield dropped a heartbreaker in its season-opening dual meet in a 21-18 loss to Boise State at Centennial High School in Meridian, Idaho. The dual came down to the final match of the night at heavyweight, where Boise State’s Andy Patrick edged the Roadrunners’ Eric Parker on riding time, 9-8.

That doesn’t downplay a couple of huge wins for Bakersfield in the dual, though. The Roadrunners started the night off right when Brandon Zoetewey knocked off then Pac-10 No. 6 Cory Fish by a 6-2 decision. Later in the dual, Daniel Atondo proved that his No. 5 ranking in the Pac-10 might be a little low after jumping to a 8-4 lead midway through the second period against then No. 3 Luke Smith. Atondo then proceeded to pin his opponent, which gave Bakersfield an 18-8 lead at that point with four matches to go. But the Broncos then won the final four matches, including the close heavyweight battle, to earn the team win.

WRESTLERS REWARDED FOR BIG WINS: Zoetewey and Atondo were rewarded for their big wins last week by either moving into the Pac-10 rankings or moving up in those rankings. Zoetewey jumped into the No. 6 position at 125 pounds after his win, while Atondo moved up one spot to No. 4 at 165 pounds.

SCHUMM CONTINUES TO FACE TOP COMPETITION: Senior Matt Schumm might be the best wrestler to ever be ranked No. 4 at his weight in the Pac-10. At 10-3, Schumm already has plenty of quality wins this season, but the competition at 141 pounds this season in the Pac-10 is fierce. This weekend won’t be any easier. Not only will the top three wrestlers from the Pac-10 be competing, but the top three wrestlers in the nation will also be in attendance.

PAC-10 RANKINGS SLIGHT SHAKEUP: There were few changes to the Pac-10 rankings this week. Only Bakersfield’s dual at Boise State and four other duals were on the schedule, but there was enough to keep things interesting heading into Reno on Wednesday. The biggest jump would have come at heavyweight, where Cal Poly’s Cody Parker jumped into the No. 2 position after he defeated No. 16 Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State and No. 12 Wade Sauer of Cal State Fullerton on the same day. Cal Poly and Oregon State each have nine ranked wrestlers, while UC Davis has eight, Oregon and Boise State have seven, and Stanford, Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State each have five.

HUGE CHANGES IN STORE?: This week’s Reno Tournament of Champions will be the final time this season that the majority of the Pac-10 teams will be in one place until the Pac-10 Championships at the Icardo Center on Feb. 24-25. Nine of the 10 Pac-10 teams will be at Reno (Portland State will not be there), which means there will be plenty of head-to-head clashes between Pac-10 wrestlers throughout the day on Wednesday. While there are plenty of dual meets left this season, Wednesday’s Reno Tournament of Champions will be crucial for Pac-10 rankings as well as seeding for the Pac-10 Championships.

ATONDO STAYS HOT: There is little doubt that junior Daniel Atondo has to be considered Bakersfield’s hottest wrestler heading into Reno. After a slow start at the Fullerton Open, Atondo is 5-2 in his last seven matches with wins over Eric Connolly of West Virginia, Mark Ring of UNC-Greensboro, Frank Coletta of Harvard, Shawn Kitchner of Brown, and the pin against Luke Smith of Boise State.

BIG(BOY) PIN POSSIBILITIES: With Zack Bigboy joining Brandon Zoetewey at 125 pounds this week at Reno, watch for some pinning possibilities when he hits the mat. Despite wrestling only at the Fullerton Open so far this year, Bigboy is tied for the team lead with three pins. What’s more impressive about Bigboy’s three pins, is that they come on just four wins.

NEED MORE INFO?: For all of the most up-to-date information about Cal State Bakersfield men’s soccer and all other Roadrunner sports, check out the CSUB Athletics Web site at: www.gorunners.com. Not near a computer? Dial up the Roadrunner Sports Hotline by calling (661) 654-3071 and selecting option “1” to hear the current scores and schedule information for your Roadrunners.