Utah Valley vs. South Dakota State 
Friday, Feb. 5, 2016  |  5 p.m. MT
Orem, Utah   |   PE Building
TV: UVU TV
Live Video  |  Live Results  |  UVU Match Notes  |  SDSU Match Notes  

Utah Valley vs. North Dakota State 
Friday, Feb. 5, 2016  |  CANCELLED
Orem, Utah   |   PE Building
TV: UVU TV
Live Video  |  Live Results  |  UVU Match Notes  |  NDSU Match Notes  
 

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UTAH VALLEY HOSTS SDSU AND NDSU FRIDAY FOR INAUGURAL BIG 12 DUALS 
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University wrestling team will welcome fellow Big 12 Conference foes South Dakota State and North Dakota State to the PE Building on Friday for its inaugural Big 12 dual meets. The Wolverines will first take on SDSU at 5 p.m. before closing the historic evening against NDSU at 7 p.m. (as of Friday afternoon, the UVU vs. NDSU dual has been cancelled due to travel complications for North Dakota State. UVU will now just wrestle SDSU on Friday at 5 p.m.).  
 
The Wolverines, Jackrabbits and Bison are three of six teams that joined the Big 12 Conference as affiliate members for the sport of wrestling this past summer. The three of them, along with Air Force, Northern Colorado and Wyoming, have joint forces with core members No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 16 Iowa State and West Virginia to form the now 10-team wrestling league.
 
UVU will enter Friday with a 3-6 overall record (0-0 Big 12) after dropping a tightly contested contest to Arizona State of the Pac-12 Conference on Jan. 21 by a score of 24-16. The Wolverines won four of the 10 bouts against the Sun Devils, including two by bonus points, but it wasn't enough as ASU managed to leave Orem with the eight-point victory. 
 
Seniors Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) and Jade Rauser (133) led the way for UVU against the Sun Devils by both collecting bonus-point wins. Tolbert pinned ASU's Mikel Perales in 1:33, while Rauser recorded a dominant 11-0 major decision triumph over Tyree Owens. Fellow senior Ross Taylor (174) and redshirt freshman Raider Lofthouse too recorded wins for the Wolverines in the dual, as they each won their respective bouts by scores by decision.
 
The 18th-ranked Tolbert leads Utah Valley on the season with a 14-4 record, while Rauser is right behind him with a 13-4 mark. Senior 197-pounder Derek Thomas follows with a 9-3 ledger.
 
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
The Jacks (10-5, 3-1 Big 12) will come to town red-hot as of late, as they have won nine straight duals. During the streak, SDSU has defeated Air Force (23-15), North Dakota State (24-15), Northern Colorado (34-3), Wyoming (22-15), CSU Bakersfield (23-10), SIU Edwardsville (34-12), Augustana (31-9), Dakota Wesleyan (48-0) and Northern State (36-12). In South Dakota State's most recent match against Wyoming in Brookings last weekend, the Jackrabbits claimed six of the 10 bouts en route to a seven-point victory over the Cowboys.
 
Seventh-ranked three-time NCAA qualifier Cody Pack (157) leads the Jacks with a 21-2 record, while 12th-ranked sophomore Nate Rotert (197) will enter Friday with a 20-7 clip.
 
Friday will mark the 11th all-time meeting between UVU and SDSU. The Wolverines will enter the contest with a commanding 8-2 series advantage despite falling to the Jacks in Brookings last year by a score of 27-10.   
 
ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA STATE
The Bison will enter Friday's nightcap with a 2-5 overall record and a 2-1 clip in Big 12 action. North Dakota State's two wins have come over conference foes Air Force (23-14) and Northern Colorado (29-13) while their losses have come to South Dakota State (24-15), Wyoming (27-13), Boise State (19-18), No. 6 Virginia Tech (23-13) and Virginia (25-14). NDSU won the now defunct Western Wrestling Conference title last season by going a perfect 5-0 in league duals.
 
Sixth-ranked senior and 2015 NCAA All-American Hayden Zillmer (184) leads the way for NDSU with a 25-3 record. Sixteenth-ranked junior Josh Rodriguez (125) is next with a 26-7 record this season.
 
Friday's contest against North Dakota State will also be the 11th meeting in the series history between UVU and NDSU. The Bison hold a 9-1 all-time advantage. UVU's lone win over North Dakota State came on Feb. 7, 2009 when the Wolverines pulled out an 18-15 contest in Fargo.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will continue conference action next week when they head to the Front Range to face Air Force on Feb. 11, Northern Colorado Feb. 12 and Wyoming Feb. 13. UVU will then close its regular season on Feb. 20 when Grand Canyon comes to town.