This weekend the Bobcats head into a familiar situation - a tournament crammed with top-20 Division I schools.
Ohio has competed in two of the toughest tourneys in the nation its last couple meets. The Bobcats held their own in each, placing in a tie for fourth at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20 and sixth at the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 30.
But despite finishing ahead of several top schools in both events, Ohio's success has yet to show in the rankings.
With a solid showing today and tomorrow at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., the Bobcats could nudge their way into the national conversation.
It's a big opportunity
said junior Germane Lindsey. Upset a guy get yourself ranked get our team ranked. We get pretty excited about it.
Ohio won its first six matches before the tournament schedule began in Reno. The team has three athletes ranked in the top 20 nationally, according to Intermatwrestle.com. Lindsey is ranked 14th at 141 pounds, redshirt sophomore Nick Purdue is 20th at 184 pounds, and junior Erik Schuth is 14th at 197 pounds.
Despite these performances, the Bobcats as a team have not cracked the top 20 in any of the online rankings.
Fifth-year senior Jacob Ison said he appreciates the Bobcats simply being in position to attain such a feat.
If we do well this weekend
we can possibly see our name (in the top 20) as a team
which I haven't seen since I've been here
Ison said
We're definitely on the rise
that's for sure.
Fellow fifth-year senior Clay Tucker also was glad to see the team off to a strong start.
It's great to see how well we did against some of the toughest teams in the country
Tucker said. The way we've been wrestling
hopefully we can get a big win (at the Virginia Duals) and get national recognition.
Coach Joel Greenlee is happy his players are putting the work in and not worrying so much about winning or losing.
If you wrestle as hard as you can, the wins and losses will take care of themselves, he said.
It's hard to say how well we're going to do or not do (this weekend)
but I know this
Greenlee said. We've placed ahead of a bunch of ranked teams and done real well in tournaments (this season).
It's at the point of the year where you're a little beat up and things aren't going your way so much. Now we can find out what we're made of.
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30098,2010-01-07 22:47:00,Womens Basketball: Freshman ready to lead Ohio offense,Being the starting point guard as a freshman might appear to be a daunting task.
But considering where Ashley Fowler comes from
