Utah Valley (RV) vs. Boise State Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015 | 4 p.m.
Orem, Utah | PE BuildingLive Video | Live Results | UVU Match Notes
WOLVERINES WELCOME BOISE STATE TO TOWN FOR 2015-16 HOME OPENEROREM, Utah – Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Utah Valley University wrestling team will welcome Boise State to town for its 2015-16 home opener on Saturday, Nov. 28. The Big 12 vs. Pac-12 showdown will begin at 4 p.m. at UVU's PE Building.
The Wolverines (2-3, 0-0 Big 12) will enter the contest fresh off of an upset win over the No. 18 Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Oregon last weekend. UVU and OSU both won five bouts apiece in the contest but the Wolverines managed to pull out three of theirs out by bonus points, including a six-point fall from senior 174-pounder
Ross Taylor, to record just their second win over a nationally ranked opponent in program history.
By knocking off the 18th-ranked team in the nation last Saturday, Utah Valley is receiving votes for the USA Today/NWCA Top 25 Coaches Poll for the first time in program history. The Wolverines sit just outside of the top-25 with two votes by dropping the Pac-12 Beavers five spots in the rankings as Oregon State now finds itself ranked 23rd after losing to UVU on its home mat last weekend.
Besides the fall from the senior Taylor, Utah Valley also received big wins from fellow seniors
Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) and
Derek Thomas (197) in the victory over OSU. The then 12th-ranked Tolbert managed to hold on to his lead down the stretch to defeat No. 10 Ronnie Bresser by a score of 4-3, while Thomas was dominant en route to a 10-1 major decision victory over No. 15 Cody Crawford. With the wins, Thomas now finds himself nationally ranked for the first time in the top-20 polls as he debuts at No. 19 at 197 pounds while Tolbert becomes just the third Wolverine in school history to move into the top-10 (Benjamin Kjar & Flint Ray) as he'll enter Saturday's dual ranked eighth in the nation at 125.
Tolbert and Thomas lead UVU on the season with identical unblemished 5-0 records, while Taylor is next with a 3-2 clip.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITIONThe Boise State Broncos will come to town on the heels of a 22-21 criteria win over fellow Pac-12 foe Arizona State last Sunday. BSU is 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Pac-12 action after recording the tie-breaking win over ASU in Tempe, Arizona last weekend. The Broncos also hold a victory over Midland on the season while their lone setback came to No. 15 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa on Nov. 12.
The 18th-ranked 149-pound sophomore Geordan Martinez leads the Broncos with a 7-3 record on the season while 125-pound junior Rami Haddadin is right behind him at 6-1.
Saturday's dual will mark the 10th all-time meeting between UVU and BSU. Boise State holds a 6-3 all-time series advantage, but one of the Wolverines' three victories was when Boise State was ranked eighth in the nation on Feb. 5, 2010 in Orem.
UP NEXT FOR UVUUtah Valley will take a break from dual competition to take part at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 4-5 at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas. Following the CKLV Invite, the Wolverines will continue tournament action at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20 in Reno, Nevada.
