The Virginia wrestling team will take a break from the fierce competition of dual meets to celebrate individual achievements at the Nittany Lion Open tomorrow in State College, Pa. The Cavaliers will have a chance to compile personal stats against some of the best wrestlers in the nation before a short vacation from competition until after Christmas.
The Lion Open presents an opportunity for the Cavaliers to wrestle some of the premier talent in the country and to judge their progress since the beginning of the season. Pennsylvania is one of the top prep-wrestling states, and more than a third of Virginia's wrestlers hail from the Keystone State?.
Pennsylvania universities highlight the participants of the tournament as well. Bloomsburg, Lehigh, Edinboro and Penn State are all sending wrestlers. Penn State and Edinboro are currently nationally ranked No. 6 and No. 15, respectively, and both boast six wrestlers ranked among the top 20 of their respective weight class.
Bloomsburg received consideration votes in the last poll, while Lehigh began the season ranked No. 26 but dropped down after several losses, including one to Virginia. Notable out-of-state schools include No. 12 Cornell, No. 24 Maryland, No. 20 Navy, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 15 Old Dominion and Virginia Tech.
"The Nittany Lion Open is really a tough tournament," Virginia coach Steve Garland said. "It's an open tournament but you've got teams like Michigan State, Penn State, and Maryland, who just beat Michigan and match up well with us."
The Nittany Lion Open is a chance for Virginia's wrestlers to boost their national rankings and gain experience against some of the top ranked wrestlers in the East. After a tough five-game streak of dual meets against big-name squads capped by a loss to Michigan, the tournament will be much less intense.
"The cool thing about an open tournament this time of year is [that] we've wrestled so many duals," Garland said. "It's not even December and we've wrestled eight times, so it's nice to take the pressure off a little bit because individual tournaments are just that, they're individual. You go out there and say 'Hey man, beat somebody good.'"
Virginia's freshmen and sophomores hope to do just that. The Nittany Lion Open will offer extra mat time to some of the younger wrestlers, because there are no limits to how many wrestlers each school can enter in each weight class. Virginia should expect positive results from sophomore Ross Gitomer, who, at 125 pounds, is coming off two solid wins against Michigan and Lehigh, redshirt sophomore Brent Jones, who finished runner-up in his weight class at the Binghamton Open, and sophomore Kellon Balum, who has accrued an 4-0 record in duals and went 5-1 in a third place finish at the Binghamton Open.
Freshmen Nick Nelson, Shawn Harris, Chris Henrich and Michael Chairesalso look to go far in their brackets. At 165 pounds, Chaires carries a 5-1 record -- and his only loss came to the now-No. 1 wrestler -- and looks forward to the open to gain experience against some of the best competition.
"It's going to be tough," Chaires said. "It's another step to prove myself as a freshman and put myself up with the top guys in the country, so I just go out there, wrestle and just see how it goes."
Garland hopes this composed mentality will equate to strong personal performances before the team breaks from action for exams and the holidays.
"It's actually fun for the team," Garland said. "We relax a little bit. I seriously lose about four or five clumps of hair every dual meet. It's nerve-wracking. Every match you're in there going crazy so I'm actually excited for the tournament."
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