Jan. 26, 2012
UVU Notes
OREM, Utah - The Utah Valley University wrestling team will welcome Northern Iowa to the Activity Center for a Western Wrestling Conference dual Friday at 7 p.m.
The contest will be UVU's (3-6, 0-2 WWC) final home match in the Activity Center this season as the Wolverines upcoming home duals against North Dakota State and South Dakota State on Feb. 10 and No. 2 Penn State on Feb. 11 will be held in the UCCU Center.
Friday's match will feature live video and live results that can be accessed online. To view the live video stream Click Here and to view the live results Click Here.
Despite the fact that UVU and UNI (4-3, 2-0 WWC) have been in the same wrestling conference since the 2006-07 season, Friday will mark the first time that the Panthers have been to Orem. It will also be just the second all-time meeting between the two clubs with the Wolverines leading the series 1-0 after the two wrestled one another in Laramie, Wyo., on Jan. 30, 2010. In that previous meeting, the Wolverines defeated the then 24-time Western Wrestling Conference/NCAA West Regional Champion Panthers 19-16.
Utah Valley will enter Friday's contest coming off of two WWC dual losses on the road last week. The Wolverines dropped their conference opener at Air Force on Jan. 19, 26-15, and then fell to No. 12 Wyoming two nights later, 36-6.
The Wolverines were led by redshirt freshman Colby Christensen (125 pounds) last week, as he picked up two wins over AFA's Greg Rinker and Wyoming's Kasey Garnhart. For the season however UVU has been led by junior 149-pounder Josh Wilson, who is currently ranked 12th by InterMat. Wilson is 12-6 on the year and 4-2 in duals.
The Panthers will enter Friday having won their last three duals. Two of the wins were over fellow conference schools Air Force and Northern Colorado while the other was over Big Ten member Wisconsin.
UNI is led on the mat by sophomore 184-pounder Ryan Loder and sophomore 133-pounder Joe Colon. Loder is ranked sixth in the nation and holds a 23-1 record, while Colon is currently ranked 12th and is 15-2 this season.
Following Friday's dual with the Panthers, the Wolverines will hit the road to take on Cal Poly and Stanford on Feb. 3 in Palo Alto, Calif.
