Utah Valley vs. Arizona State (RV) 
Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016  |  7:30 p.m. MT
Orem, Utah   |   PE Building
TV: UVU TV
Live Video  |  Live Results  |  UVU Match Notes  |  ASU Match Notes  
 

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WOLVERINES HOST SUN DEVILS THURSDAY AT 7:30 P.M.
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team will take on its third straight Pac-12 Conference foe on Thursday, Jan. 21 when Arizona State comes to town. The Big 12 versus Pac-12 showdown will begin at 7:30 p.m. MT in the PE Building and will be televised locally on UVU TV.
 
UVU will enter the contest with a 3-5 overall record (0-0 Big 12) after falling on the road to both Stanford and CSU Bakersfield last week. The Wolverines opened the trip with a 37-5 setback to the Cardinal before dropping a hard fought 27-19 match to the Roadrunners.
 
After winning just one of the 10 bouts against the Cardinal in Palo Alto on Jan. 15, UVU responded the following night in Bakersfield as it took five of the 10 matches at CSUB. A forfeit proved to be the difference in the dual however, as it gave the 'Runners a decisive six points in the final bout of the contest.
 
Senior 133-pounder Jade Rauser led the Wolverines at both Stanford and Bakersfield last week by going 2-0 with a pair of bonus-point victories. The three-time NCAA qualifier was rewarded for his efforts by being named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday.  The weekly award marks Rauser's first Big 12 honor of his career and UVU's second of the season as fellow senior Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) was tabbed the league's wrestler of the week in early December.
 
The 19th-ranked Tolbert leads Utah Valley on the season with a 13-4 record while Rauser is right behind him with a 12-4 clip. Fellow senior 197-pounder Derek Thomas is also currently ranked 19th in his weight class with a 9-3 ledger.
 
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State will come to town with a 7-6 overall record and a 0-1 clip in Pac-12 duals. ASU finds itself receiving votes for the top 25 poll after upsetting No. 14 Iowa State in Tempe by a score of 23-18 last weekend. The Sun Devils also hold wins over No. 24 Old Dominion, Campbell (twice), Drexel, Northern Colorado and SIU Edwardsville in 2015-16.
 
Three ASU grapplers are currently ranked in the latest InterMat poll, and 2015 All-American and eighth-ranked Blake Stauffer leads the way with an 11-2 record at 184 pounds. Tenth-ranked Tanner Hall is next with a 17-7 mark at heavyweight, while No. 15 Matt Kraus will come to town with a 17-5 record at 149.
 
Thursday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Sun Devils. ASU holds a 4-1 series advantage after defeating UVU by a score of 22-15 a year ago in Tempe. Utah Valley's lone win of the series came on Jan. 18, 2013 when the Wolverines defeated Arizona State 26-15 thanks to back-to-back first-period pins from Jade and Val Rauser.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will remain home to welcome fellow Big 12 affiliate members North Dakota State and South Dakota State to town on Friday, Feb. 5. The contests will mark UVU's inaugural Big 12 Conference dual meets.