Hokies Wrestling 2020: #5 Virginia Tech (4-0) at #24 Central Michigan (2-1)

Match Information
Location: McGuirk Arena - Mount Pleasant, MI
Day & Time: 03 JAN 20 at 7:00pm
Viewing: ESPN+ and in-person
Updates: Twitter @HokiesWrestling, and Trackwrestling

The Opponent: Central Michigan Chippewas

2018-2019 Season and Now

Central Michigan's dual record last year was 5-8 (3-4 MAC) which placed them in 5th for the Mid-Atlantic Conference during the regular season. The Chippewas would go on to improve by finishing third in their conference tournament though. This year's Central Michigan squad is quite experienced with six upperclassmen which earn the majority of the team's points. There are currently three ranked wrestlers for CMU: 125lber Drew Hildebrandt (#11), 157lbs Logan Parks (#16), and heavy weight Matt Stencel (#5). All three opponents that the team has faced were all ranked. They won against Lock Haven (#25) and Rider (#20). Their only loss was against Michigan (#19). This will be the first time, this season, that any Virginia Tech wrestler has faced a Central Michigan opponent. The Hokies are currently 2-0 of all time versus Central Michigan, with the last win coming in 2017.

Coach: Tom Borrelli

Coach Borrelli is the embodiment on Central Michigan wrestling and has been a figure within the wrestling community for decades. He has coached for an outstanding 31 years, 22 of which are with Central Michigan. Within his tenure he has won 13 regular season Mid-Atlantic Conference titles and placed 1st 11 times in the MAC tournament. He has coached only one national champion, Casey Cunningham at 157lbs in 1999, and 41 All-Americans.

Tom Borrelli's 329 dual wins currently places him 2nd among active coaches and earns him 17th all time within the NCAA. His best years seem to between 2002-2011, being the premier team in the MAC and earning himself National Coach of the year in 2008. Prior to coaching, he wrestled for Citadel from 1975 to 1979. His collegiate wrestling record is 58-27-2.

The Line-Up

125lbs: #11 Drew Hildebrandt (r-JR, Granger IN)
A stout wrestler with a 17-3 record. His only three losses have come against top 10 opponents, two of which just happened at the Midlands Tournament. He has only qualified for the NCAA tournament once, 2018, and has yet to become an All-American. His overall record is 79-39.

133lbs: Brock Bergelin (r-SO, Denmark WI)
Bergelin did not wrestle in CMU's first dual, but has taken the starting spot in the last two and winning both. Currently at 9-9 this season and 24-29 overall.

141lbs: Dresden Simon (r-JR, Dansville MI)
A wrestler that has been between 133lbs and 149lbs, finally splitting the difference in the 141lbs weight class. He is currently 18-9 this season and typically wrestles to seed and rank throughout. He is just outside of ranking on some sites. His career record so far is 65-47.

149lbs: Corbyn Munson (r-FR, Chelsea MI)
This is Munson's first regular season in the starting line up and is currently 13-7, winning all of his dual meets. Adding his redshirt win-loss record from last year, where he wrestled 149lbs, he is 29-16 so far in his career.

157lbs: #16 Logan Parks (r-SR, Taylor MI)
The lone senior starter in the Chippewas' line-up and known for his aggressive style. Last year he qualified for his first NCAA Tournament, going 1-2. His 2019-2020 record is 13-6, but against top 15 competition, he is 1-3. His overall record is 82-63.

165lbs: Tracy Hubbard (r-FR, Macomb MI)
Also in his first attached season for Central Michigan, Hubbard is more suited for 157lbs, but bumped up do to Parks being cemented at that weight. He currently sits at 10-8 this season and in total has a 24-19 record.

174lbs: Jake Lowell (r-SO, Glencoe IL)
Is the incumbent at the 174lb weight class, with a current record of 3-8. All three wins though have come against D2 level opponents. He has wrestled at 184lbs before. His collegiate record is 19-27. Overall, CMU does not have any good options at this weight class.

185lbs: Ben Cushman (r-FR, Flushing MI)
Cushman is the chosen starter as he has wrestled in all three dual meets, but he has lost each one. His season record is 8-10 while his career record is 23-21 including his redshirt record.

197lbs: Landon Pelham (r-JR, Tecumseh MI) or Aaron Bolo (r-SO, Iron Mountain MI)
Pelham is a starter, as he too has wrestled in all three of Central Michigan's dual meets. He does not have any upset wins, but his current record stands at 11-8 and a career record of 49-44.

Bolo's 2019-2020 record is 10-7, but does not account for how tough he has wrestled in his losing matches. He can pull off he occasional, low rank upset. He very well could be called upon.

HVY: #5 Matt Stencel (r-JR, Oregon, OH)
The star of this Chippewas team. He is a two time NCAA tournament qualifier and earned his first All-American status last year. His season record is 17-4, three of these losses came to Mason Parris of Michigan (#3) and one to Anthony Cassioppi of Iowa. (#4). For a big man, he has an impressive 11 pins thus far. His career record stands at 89-28.

Match Thoughts

Virginia Tech goes into this match with five ranked wrestlers, but not all will be wrestling: #12 Joey Prata (125lbs), #19 Mitch Moore (141lbs), #4 David McFadden (165lbs), #3 Hunter Bolen (183lbs), and #18 John Borst. Both Moore brothers will not be going to this dual, Mitch needs to heal up from an injury and Brent needs to figure it out that is causing him not to wrestle at his best. At 141lbs Josh Baier, a Roanoke native and graduate of Cave Spring High School, will be making his dual debut. For 149lbs Bryce Andonian will continue his quest to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The first match to pay attention too is obviously Prata vs Hildebrandt, as they could swap rankings. The two have different styles and it will be fun to see who imposes their will more. Secondly, I'm interested in watch LaPrade vs Parks. Laprade is always an upset waiting to happen, but Parks has yet to be blown out in any of his losses; also Parks has a few upsets under his belt.

Predictions

125: #11 Hildebrandt dec. #12 Prata (3-0 CMU)
133: Gerardi dec. Bergelin (3-3 tie)
141: Simon maj dec. Baier (7-3 CMU)
149: Andonian. dec. Munson (7-6 CMU)
157: #16 Parks dec. LaPrade (10-6 CMU)
165: #4 McFadden maj. dec. Hubbard (10-10 tie)
174: Hughes dec. Lowell (13-10 VT)
184: #3 Bolen maj dec. Cushman (17-10 VT)
197: Smeltzer dec. Pelham (20-10 VT)
285: #5 Stencel maj dec. #18 Borst (20-14 VT)

Virginia Tech is by far the superior team, but sometimes duals are closer when you account individual matches. Injuries and line up mismatches are gonna keep this dual close in my opinion. I think Prata's defensive style will not be useful against Hildebrandt high power offense because if he falls behind, that's it. Also, if Baier can prevent anything higher than a decision loss, Virginia Tech can breath easy the rest of the dual. Hughes has another great chance going against a lesser skilled opponent and being able to wrestle loose. The 197lbs match is a toss up where I'm more confident that Smeltzer can squeak it out. But I'm pessimistically predicting Stencel to major Borst, since he is much bigger and is able to turn guys easily, meaning lots of points.