MOUNT PLEASANT - No. 7 Central Michigan travels south this weekend for a pair of duals at No. 15 Virginia Tech and No. 25 Old Dominion.
The Chippewas (10-2 overall) meet Virginia Tech Friday at 7 p.m., then visit Old Dominion Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
"Both of them are very good teams, so we know it's going to be a challenge," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "We're going down there and expecting some good competition."
Virginia Tech enters the weekend 14-3 overall and having won seven of its last eight duals. Two of the Hokies' three losses have come against Mid-American Conference opponent Kent State: 20-18 in the season opener in Blacksburg, and 25-18 in the fifth-place match at Virginia Duals.
The Hokies' 14 dual victories are tied for the third most of any team in the country entering the week.
Old Dominion is 8-3-1 overall entering Sunday's dual, including 4-0-1 in its last four matches. James Nicholson's pin at 125 pounds, which improved his record to 22-1 overall, was the difference in a 19-16 win over Bucknell last weekend.
Nicholson is one of two top-15 ranked opponents awaiting CMU's Matt Steintrager this weekend. Steintrager, ranked ninth nationally at 125 pounds, will face No. 14 Jarrod Garnett on Friday and No. 7 Nicholson on Sunday. Steintrager is the only Chippewa who will face a pair of top-20 opponents this weekend.
"It's a big weekend for Matt," Borrelli said. "Hopefully he can do well and move himself up in the rankings. I know he's excited for the challenge."
Steintrager enters the weekend 14-2 overall. Among his victories is a 4-2 decision over Garnett at Midlands last month.
CMU has won its last two duals by a combined score of 67-9. The Chippewas opened MAC competition with a 34-3 win at Eastern Michigan last Thursday.
In the Rankings: CMU, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion each appear in this week's InterMat top 25 and have several individuals ranked among the top 20 nationally in their respective weight classes.
| No. 7 Central Michigan |
No. 15 Virginia Tech |
No. 25 Old Dominion |
| No. 9 Matt Steintrager, 125 pounds |
No. 14 Jarrod Garnett, 125 pounds |
No. 7 James Nicholson, 125 pounds |
| No. 9 Scotti Sentes, 133 pounds |
No. 10 Chris Diaz, 141 pounds |
No. 14 Chris Brown, 165 pounds |
| No. 11 Tony D'Alie, 149 pounds |
No. 4 Jesse Dong, 157 pounds |
No. 13 Jesse Strawn, 197 pounds |
| No. 13 Steve Brown, 157 pounds |
No. 19 Tommy Spellman, 184 pounds |
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| No. 17 Tyler Grayson, 165 pounds |
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| No. 10 Ben Bennett, 174 pounds |
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| No. 14 Mike Miller, 184 pounds |
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| No. 3 Jarod Trice, 285 pounds |
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CMU vs. Virginia Tech: The Chippewas are 1-1 all-time against Virginia Tech. The Hokies won a 19-12 decision in Mount Pleasant last season. The Chippewas won by a score of 44-(-1) at Northeast Duals in 2005.
CMU vs. Old Dominion: CMU is 2-0 all-time against Old Dominion, with both victories coming last season. The Chippewas won 24-12 in the second round at Virginia Duals and also defeated ODU, 19-14, in a dual at Rose Center.
CMU vs. the Top 25: CMU is 3-2 this season against opponents ranked in the InterMat top 25. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, the Chippewas are 24-9-2 against ranked opponents.
Coming Up: Three of CMU's five duals during the month of February are at home, beginning with a nonconference matchup with Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Courtesy: Robert Barclay/CMU
