UTAH VALLEY at #23 NORTH DAKOTA STATE
Fargo, N.D.  |  Scheels Center
Friday, Feb. 3  |  6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT
Live Video  |  Live Results  |  UVU Match Notes  |  NDSU Match Notes    

UTAH VALLEY at #19 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Brookings, S.D.  |  Frost Arena
Saturday, Feb. 4  |  6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT
Live Video  |  Live Results  |  UVU Match Notes  |  SDSU Match Notes    
 

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UVU HEADS TO DAKOTAS FOR BIG 12 DUALS AT NDSU & SDSU
OREM, Utah – After spending the past month at home, the Utah Valley University wrestling team will head to the Dakotas for a pair of tough Big 12 Conference dual meets at No. 23 North Dakota State and No. 19 South Dakota State. The Wolverines will first face NDSU on Friday at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT in Fargo, North Dakota, before closing the trip at SDSU on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT in Brookings, South Dakota.
 
Live video will be streamed for both contests, as fans can catch the North Dakota State dual on GoBison.com/Watch (subscription required) and Saturday's against the Jackrabbits on FloWrestling.org (subscription required). Live results will also be available for both duals by visiting TrackWrestling.com.
 
UVU will enter the trip with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 ledger in Big 12 Conference action. After pulling out tightly contested dual meets against both Air Force (18-15) and CSU Bakersfield (21-17), the Wolverines dropped a hard fought decision to Wyoming by a mere point last week (17-16). Despite splitting the contest at five matches apiece and winning the final two bouts to end in a 16-16 tie, criteria was the difference as the Cowboys received an extra team point thanks to holding a 42-37 individual match point edge to break the tie.
 
Jarod Maynes (133 pounds), Kimball Bastian (174), Will Sumner (184), Tanner Orndorff (197) and Dustin Dennison (heavyweight), all won their respective matches against Wyoming to help the Wolverines nearly knock off the wrestling power Cowboys for the first time since 2006. With the contest starting off at 197 pounds, Orndorff, Dennison and Maynes gave UVU an early 10-3 lead. After four straight wins by Wyoming, Bastian and Sumner then pulled out must-win matches in the final two bouts of the night to tie the team score at 16-all before the additional team point was awarded to the Cowboys via criteria.
 
After going 2-1 during the month-long homestand, the Wolverines now hold a 3-1 record at the newly named and renovated Lockhart Arena (formerly UVU's PE Building) and are looking to finish the year with a .500 or better record overall for the first time since 2012-13 when they went 6-4.
 
Orndorff, who was UVU's lone grappler to win by major decision last weekend versus Wyoming, will enter this weekend's duals ranked 24th in his weight class as well as holding one of the best win-loss records on the team with an 18-10 clip. Heavyweights Jordan Karst and Dustin Dennison top the team with respective 21-5 and 18-6 respective records, while Bastian is 17-9 on the year and ranked 31st in his weight class.
 
ALL THREE RANKED IN MID-MAJOR POLL
Not only are both NDSU and SDSU ranked 23rd and 19th, respectively, in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll, but they along with UVU are also all ranked in the NWCA Mid-Major Poll. The Jacks come in at No. 5 on the poll, while the Bison are seventh and the Wolverines are 20th.
 
ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA STATE
The 23rd-ranked Bison are 12-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference duals on the season. NDSU most recently defeated both CSU Bakersfield (32-8) and Cal Poly (30-6) in California last weekend and also holds wins over a pair of ranked foes in the then No. 14 Iowa State Cyclones (25-16) and No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers (27-13). North Dakota State will enter Friday's meeting having won 11 of its last 13 duals.
 
Five Bison will enter Friday's contest ranked in the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel rankings. Two-time NCAA qualifier and fourth-ranked Josh Rodriguez (17-1) leads the way at 125 pounds, while fellow two-time NCAA qualifier Clay Ream (18-3) comes in at No. 8 at 157, Andrew Fogarty (19-6) is 20th at 165, and both 133-pounder Cam Sykora (10-2) and heavyweight Ben Tynan (14-3) are 25th.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NDSU
Friday's contest against North Dakota State will mark the 11th all-time meeting in series history between the Wolverines and Bison. NDSU will enter the match holding to a 9-1 series lead. UVU's lone win came on Feb. 7, 2009 when the Wolverines edged the Bison by a score of 18-15 in Fargo.
 
Feb. 7, 2015 – #24 NDSU 24, UVU 13 – Fargo, N.D.
Feb. 7, 2014 – #20 NDSU 33, UVU 11 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 8, 2013 – #25 NDSU 18, UVU 15 – Fargo, N.D.
Feb. 10, 2012 – NDSU 24, UVU 18 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 19, 2011 – NDSU 25, UVU 10 – Fargo, N.D.
Feb. 7, 2009 – UVU 18, NDSU 15 – Fargo, N.D.
Jan. 28, 2008 – NDSU 23, UVU 10 – Orem, Utah
Jan. 19, 2007 – NDSU 46, UVU 0 – Fargo, N.D.
Feb. 6, 2006 – NDSU 19, UVU 16 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 18, 2005 – NDSU 25, UVU 10 – Greeley, Colo. (UNC Duals)
 
PROBABLE MATCHES
125 – Mitch Brown (13-9 overall, 5-2 duals) OR Tyler Scott (2-8, 0-0) vs. #4 Josh Rodriguez (17-1, 14-1)
133 – Jarod Maynes (10-12, 3-4) vs. #25 Cam Sykora (10-2, 8-0)
141 – Trevor Willson (6-11, 1-5) OR Chase Call (9-10, 0-1) vs. Taylor Nein (8-11, 5-9)
149 – Grant LaMont (13-11, 3-4) vs. Mitch Friedman (13-8, 7-5) OR Kyle Gliva (9-4, 2-2)
157 – Raider Lofthouse (13-9, 3-4) vs. #8 Clay Ream (18-3, 13-1)
165 – Koy Wilkinson (12-12, 3-4) OR Dalton Harmon (2-4, 0-0) vs. #20 Andrew Fogarty (27-4, 7-1)
174 – #31 Kimball Bastian (17-9, 5-2) vs. Dylan Urbach (10-6, 5-3)
184 – Will Sumner (11-11, 3-4) vs. Tyler MuNutt (8-11, 0-6) OR Logan Paxton (9-2, 0-0)
197 – #24 Tanner Orndorff (18-10, 6-1) vs. Cordell Eaton (12-9, 8-7)
285 – Dustin Dennison (18-6, 5-2) OR Jordan Karst (21-5, 0-0) vs. #25 Ben Tynan (14-3, 11-3) OR Dan Stibral (7-6, 1-0)
 
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
The 19th-ranked Jackrabbits are 10-3 on the season and in second place in the Big 12 standings with a 4-1 conference mark. South Dakota State will first host No. 15 Oklahoma on Friday before welcoming the Wolverines to town on Saturday. SDSU has won 10 of its last 11 duals. Its lone loss during the streak came to the top-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys two week's ago in Stillwater.
 
Five Jacks are also currently ranked, and sophomore 133-pounder and 2016 NCAA qualifier Seth Gross (21-1) leads the group as he comes in as the second-ranked grappler in the nation. Fellow former NCAA qualifiers Nate Rotert (16-3), David Kocer (16-5) and Alex Kocer (20-5) are next as they are currently ranked No. 7 at 197, No. 15 at 174 and No. 19 at 149 by InterMat, respectively, while Luke Zilverberg (17-5) comes in at 17th at 165 on the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel ranking.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SDSU
Saturday's matchup will mark the 12th all-time meeting between UVU and SDSU. The Wolverines will enter the contest holding to an 8-3 series lead, despite the fact that South Dakota State has won the past two meetings.
 
Feb. 5, 2016 – SDSU 28, UVU 13 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 6, 2015 – SDSU 27, UVU 10 – Brookings, S.D.
Feb. 6, 2014 – UVU 18, SDSU 15 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 6, 2013 – UVU 22, SDSU 18 – Brookings, S.D.
Feb. 10, 2012 – UVU 21, SDSU 18 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 18, 2011 – UVU 40, SDSU 6 – Brookings, S.D.
Feb. 12, 2010 – UVU 38, SDSU 6 – Orem, Utah
Feb. 6, 2009 – UVU 35, SDSU 14 – Brookings, S.D.
Jan. 3, 2008 – UVU 39, SDSU 4 – Orem, Utah
Jan. 20, 2007 – SDSU 34, UVU 6 – Brookings, S.D.
Feb. 4, 2006 – UVU 25, SDSU 16 – Orem, Utah
 
PROBABLE MATCHES
125 – Mitch Brown (13-9, 5-2) OR Tyler Scott (2-8, 0-0) vs. Ben Gillette (11-11, 7-6)
133 – Jarod Maynes (10-12, 3-4) vs. #2 Seth Gross (21-1, 11-0)
141 – Trevor Willson (6-11, 1-5) OR Chase Call (9-10, 0-1) vs. Henry Pohlmeyer (9-7, 2-3) OR Isaac Andrade (10-9, 5-3)
149 – Grant LaMont (13-11, 3-4) vs. #19 Alex Kocer (19-5, 11-2)
157 – Raider Lofthouse (13-9, 3-4) vs. Logan Peterson (16-10, 6-3)
165 – Koy Wilkinson (12-12, 3-4) OR Dalton Harmon (2-4, 0-0) vs. #17 Luke Zilverberg (17-5, 10-2)
174 – #31 Kimball Bastian (17-9, 5-2) vs. #15 David Kocer (16-5, 11-2)
184 – Will Sumner (11-11, 3-4) vs. Martin Mueller (10-9, 6-6)
197 – #24 Tanner Orndorff (18-10, 6-1) vs. #7 Nate Rotert (16-3, 9-2)
285 – Dustin Dennison (18-6, 5-2) OR Jordan Karst (21-5, 0-0) vs. Alex Macki (6-10, 5-8)
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Utah Valley will return home for its final two home duals of the season next weekend when it welcomes No. 22 Stanford to town on Friday, Feb. 10 and Big 12 foe Northern Colorado on Saturday, Feb. 11. The Stanford dual will begin at 7 p.m. and be televised locally on UVU TV, while Saturday's regular season finale against the UNC Bears will begin at 3 p.m.