Franklin Gomez Earns Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 14, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Franklin Gomez (Brandon, Fla.), MSU's 133-pound sophomore starter, was tabbed the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday, Nov. 14, as announced by the conference office. Gomez kicked off the 2007-08 season with five-straight wins, including an upset over then-ranked No. 3 Andrae Hernandez of Indiana. His weekend success also resulted in jumping four spots in the national rankings, moving up to sixth at 133 pounds. In addition to Gomez's appearance in the rankings, senior teammate Joe Williams (Orange, Calif.) also made the polls, ranking 14th at 197 pounds.
In Friday's dual against Old Dominion, Gomez earned three team points for the Spartans by defeating ODU's Kyle Hutter. After tallying two takedowns in the first period and settling for a scoreless second, Gomez escaped Hutter's hold and forced a stall point from the Monarch in the third. Gomez clinched the match 8-3 with another takedown in the third.
Gomez picked up four additional wins in the MSU Open en route to claiming the title at 133 pounds for the second-straight year on Sunday; Gomez won the 125-pound title in 2006. After earning a 15-2 major decision in the first round, Gomez faced Hutter for the second time in three days, this time besting the ODU starter in the semifinals with a 4-2 victory. In the championship bout, Gomez knocked off Hernandez, 5-2; Hernandez has since fallen in the polls to No. 7.
Last year, Gomez started the season winning 17-straight matches and concluded the year with a 31-8 overall mark, the second most wins on the 2006-07 team. Additionally, Gomez lead the team in technical falls (seven) and was second in major decisions (eight).
Gomez and the Spartans return to action Saturday, Nov. 17 at the ACC-Big Ten Clash hosted by the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. Michigan State will wrestle UNC, Virginia and North Carolina State at 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Live updates for the tournament will be available at www.tarheelblue.com, while final MSU results will be posted at www.msuspartans.com.
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