January 20, 2006

Opponent: Western Wyoming
Location: Laramie, Wyoming
Date: Saturday, January 21st
Time: 10:00am MST

Opponent: Wyoming
Location: Laramie, Wyoming
Date: Saturday, January 21st
Time: 1:00pm MST

What's on Tap ...
Utah Valley State is in Laramie, Wyoming for the Cowboy Duals on Saturday, January 21st. The Wolverines will open with Western Wyoming at 10:00am before taking on the University of Wyoming at 1:00pm.

"I'm optimistic about where we're headed," said Utah Valley coach Cody Sanderson. "Even though we ended up on the wrong end of it last week, we have made great progress and I expect to work hard to compete in both matches on Saturday."

Utah Valley is 2-8 following Monday's tough loss to Northern Colorado. In that dual with UNC the Wolverines won four of the seven matches that took place, but were forced to forfeit two matches which proved costly. 

Erkin Tadzhimetov continued his string of success, winning his 7th straight match when he pinned Adam Garcia 1:51 into the contest. Surprisingly, Tadzhimetov has dropped out of the national rankings despite wins over three opponents who are currently ranked. He has made appearances this year at #17 (Intermat/NWCA) and #20 (Amateur Wrestling News).

Daniel Polkowske, Tanner Cowan and Ivan Bigney also picked up wins on the mat against Northern Colorado. Polkowske won his after scoring a takedown with just :25 seconds left to win 7-6. 

Scouting the Opposition ...
Western Wyoming is a school that features eight wrestlers from the state of Utah on its roster. Utah Valley defeated Western Wyoming 24-13 in the Wolverines' first year of existence in 2003-04.

Wyoming is 2-4 following a split last week in Oregon. They beat Oregon 30-12 before dropping a 30-10 contest to Oregon State. 

Utah Valley State lost to the Cowboys during the 2004-05 season in Orem, 33-15. Tanner Cowan and current assistant Wayne Watts were the only Wolverines to win that day with Cowan's victory coming over Kyle Dye, 2-1.

Up Next ...
Utah Valley State will wrestle at 9th ranked (Division-II) Adams State next Saturday night in Alamosa, Colorado. The Wolverines' next home dual will be February 4th against South Dakota State at 7:00pm.