Ohio (1-3, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) will end nearly a three-week break when it travels to Parkersburg, West Virginia, on Friday to take on West Virginia in its fifth dual meet of the season. It will be the fourth consecutive event that the Bobcats are on the road.
Here is the information for Friday:
Opponent: West Virginia (0-4)
Meet Location: Memorial Field House
Meet Date: Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.
What’s Happened so far:
Ohio has struggled in its dual meets so far. With the exception of their stomping of Long Island, the Bobcats have seen disappointing overall results despite some strong individual performances. Ohio’s most recent loss came from Chattanooga, who barely won 19-15.
Match Information:
The Mountaineers have struggled even more in dual meets than the Bobcats have. West Virginia has lost all of its dual meets, and it wasn’t even close to winning any of them. The closest that it came to winning was an 11-24 loss to Buffalo on Dec. 8.
West Virginia’s best wrestler is Noah Adams of the 197-pound weight class. Adams is undefeated this season and also leads his team in technical falls (2) and major decisions (4). Either Jake Walker or Aaron Naples will wrestle Adams, both of whom will need to have their best performance of the season in order to come out victorious.
Brandon Ngati (HWT) is also a respectable opponent for Ohio. He is 7-5 this season and is the only other Mountaineer besides Adams to have a .500 record or above in duals. Ngati leads his team in decisions as well. Ohio’s Jordan Earnest (HWT) is 2-2 in duals this season, and a victory against Ngati will be a boost to his resume to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in March.
West Virginia leads Ohio in the all-time series, 18-35-1. The two teams last met on Nov. 6, 2016, when the Bobcats defeated the Mountaineers 25-11.
