MSU Announces 2005-2006 Wrestling Schedule
6/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
June 29, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State wrestling kicks off the 2005-2006 season with competition in three tournaments, before facing a demanding dual-meet schedule including seven home meets.
The Spartans will compete in the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 5, before returning home to host the Michigan State Open on Nov. 12-13. Freshman and sophomore Spartans will compete at the Ashland Open in Ashland, Ohio, on Nov. 19.
MSU will begin dual-meet competition at home against two-time defending national champion Oklahoma State on Nov. 27.
"Facing Oklahoma State early in the season is good for us for a number of reasons," said 14-year head coach Tom Minkel. "Wrestling against them gives our fans the opportunity to see the best wrestling in the country. It's great for our wrestlers from a competitive standpoint to see where they stand, and it is a tradition that means a lot to our program."
The Spartans will travel to State College, Pa., where they will compete at the Penn State Open in an all-day event on Dec. 4. Another dual-meet will follow, vs. Central Michigan on Dec. 7.
Two teams on the schedule for the first time are the University of Pittsburgh and Edinboro University; they will face the Spartans on Jan. 20 and Jan. 22, respectively.
"These schools are both traditional powerhouses," said Minkel. "What we do in our schedule is rotate in teams that we don't normally compete against to see some new competition."
Big Ten match ups will follow, with MSU competing against Penn State Jan. 27, followed by NCAA runner-up Michigan on Jan. 29. The following weekend the Spartans host Purdue on Feb. 3 and Iowa on Feb. 5. State will then head to Illinois, where they will face Northwestern on Feb. 10 and 2005 Big Ten Champion Illinois, on Feb. 12. Finishing off its conference meets, MSU will return to East Lansing and compete against Wisconsin Feb. 17 and Minnesota Feb. 19.
"The Big Ten continues to be a marquee conference in college wrestling, and it doesn't look like that is going to change anytime soon," said Minkel. "Michigan took second in the NCAA tournament last year, and is returning most of its wrestlers."
The grapplers close out the regular season at Oklahoma on Feb. 23.
Indiana will host the Big Ten Championships on March 4-5. The 2006 NCAA Championships will be held at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., from March 16-18.