Ohio (6-8, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) will end its regular season this weekend when it hosts three opponents, one of which being a MAC team.
Here is the information for this weekend:
Opponents: Utah Valley (2-10) | Buffalo (7-10, 3-6 MAC) | Gardner-Webb (5-7)
Meet Location: The Convo
Meet Dates: Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. | Feb. 23 at noon and 3 p.m.
What’s happened so far:
The Bobcats are coming off a bye week following two tough losses to Northern Illinois and South Dakota State the weekend prior. While Ohio seemed it was getting its season together with a win streak against three MAC opponents, that traction has slipped as it has lost three of its last four duals.
Dual information:
Utah Valley has struggled all season and it recorded only its second win on Feb. 14. In many of its duals, it has been completely blown out by the opponent, including a 45-0 loss to Iowa State. The Wolverines’ only wins have come against teams that currently have losing records.
Ohio has an easy opportunity to start the weekend off on a high note against Utah Valley and give itself momentum heading into the double header on Sunday.
Buffalo will be Ohio’s last conference opponent of the season. The Bobcats and the Bulls are currently tied for No. 9 in the MAC and both teams have plenty of ranked wrestlers in the conference.
Derek Spann (133-pounds) and Troy Keller (165-pounds) are the Bulls’ most threatening wrestlers, both being ranked at No. 1 in their weight class. The only Bobcats ranked in either of those classes is Joe Terry at 165-pounds.
The dual between Ohio and Buffalo can be expected to be a close one.
Gardner-Webb hasn’t had the best season, but it is currently on a four-dual win streak. None of its wrestlers have been completely dominant this season, but given that the Bobcats will be coming off of a likely close dual with the Bulls, the Runnin’ Bulldogs may end up being a tougher team that anticipated.
Since it’s the end of the regular season, many Bobcats will use the weekend to make one last final impression to get a better seeding in the MAC Tournament.
