Jan. 10, 2013

THIS WEEK: The Stanford wrestling team (4-6, 0-1 Pac-12) hits the road for four duals this weekend. The Cardinal will face Brown (2-1), No. 21 Maryland (6-4) and Harvard (1-0) on Saturday, Jan. 12 in College Park, Md. Stanford will wrap-up the weekend against American (1-2) in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Jan. 13.

Stanford's Probable Line-Up:
125: Evan Silver, RS FR (15-9)
133: Alex Manley, SO (0-3)
141: Josh Lauderdale, SO (4-10) OR Peter Russo (4-9)
149: Donovan Halpin, JR (4-7)
157: Kyle Meyer, JR (4-5) OR Timmy Boone, SR (15-12)
165: Bret Baumbach, JR (11-8)
174: Thomas Kimbrell, FR (10-10)
184: Ryan Davies, FR (7-9) OR Alan Yen, JR (1-7)
197: Michael Sojka, RS FR (10-9)
HWT: Dan Scherer, JR (12-6) OR Brendan Ter Wee, SO (4-4)

CATCH THE CARDINAL: Fans can keep up with Stanford throughout the season by liking the team on Facebook (Stanford Wrestling) or following them on Twitter (@CardWrestling) for updates and unique content. All home Stanford wrestling duals are free to the public.

ABOUT BROWN: The Bears are 2-1 this season and will take on Cleveland State and George Mason on Friday, Jan. 11. Brown owns wins over Franklin & Marshall and Johnson & Wales, while falling to Rider last weekend. Brown is led by sophomore Ophir Bernstein and junior Billy Watterson. Bernstein was one of the top rookie wrestlers in the nation last year, as tabbed by Amateur Wrestling News. A 2012 NCAA qualifier, he is 8-2 so far this season at 184 pounds. Watterson is 9-7 for the Bears at 125 pounds.

ABOUT MARYLAND: Former Stanford head coach Kerry McCoy (2005-08) has been at the helm of the Maryland program since 2008. He has led the Terrapins to a 6-4 record this season, including one-point wins over Nebraska and Purdue and a two-point victory against American. Maryland boasts five ranked wrestlers led by senior Josh Asper who is No. 5 at 174 pounds. Also nationally ranked for the Terrapins are junior 184-pounder Jimmy Sheptock (No. 7), sophomore 133-pounder Geoffrey Alexander (No. 14), junior 125-pounder Shane Gentry (No. 17) and junior 197-pounder Christian Boley (No. 19).

ABOUT HARVARD: Harvard is 1-0 in dual competition this season, defeating Rider (24-17) on Jan. 5. The Crimson are led by eighth-ranked Walter Peppelman at 157 pounds and 10th-ranked Steven Keith at 141 pounds. A two-time All-American, Peppelman has twice finished eighth at the NCAA Championships (2011 & 2012). Keith, who is a two-time NCAA qualifier, also captured All-America honors in 2012.

ABOUT AMERICAN: The Eagles are 1-2 this season with a dual win over George Mason. The squad finished 15th at the Southern Scuffle tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 1-2. Redshirt freshman David Terao leads the team with a 15-1 record at 125 pounds. Redshirt junior Blake Herrin is 14-5 at heavyweight, while senior Kevin Tao has also racked up 14 wins for the Eagles at 149 pounds.

LOOKING AHEAD: Stanford returns home next week for a dual against Air Force on Friday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. The Falcons will wrestle Menlo College in Burnham Pavilion following the dual with the Cardinal. Stanford will also travel to Corvallis, Ore., next weekend for Pac-12 competition at Oregon State on Jan. 19.

STANFORD DUALS RECAP: The Cardinal fell to Arizona State (30-7), Penn (27-6) and Rutgers (33-3) last weekend in the Stanford duals. Junior 165-pounder Bret Baumbach led the Cardinal with a major decision over ASU's Hans Rasmusson and a decision against Penn's Brad Wukie. Redshirt freshman Evan Silver also secured two wins for the Cardinal. At 125 pounds, he tallied a decision over ASU's Dalton Miller and claimed a 6-4 sudden victory against Rutger's Joseph Langel III. Junior heavyweight Dan Scherer picked up a sudden victory decision over Penn's Steven Graziano.

NCAA TOP-10: Three-time Stanford All-American Nick Amuchastegui has been announced as one of 10 student-athletes who will be honored in January 2013 as Today's Top 10 Award winners by the NCAA. The award recognizes student-athletes, who completed their athletic eligibility during the 2011-12 academic year, for their success during competition, in the classroom and within the community. Award recipients will be recognized at the Honors Celebration on Jan. 18, 2013, during the NCAA Convention in Grapevine, Texas. A mechanical engineering major with a 3.91 cumulative GPA, Amuchastegui completed his career as the only wrestler in school history to reach the NCAA finals twice. He ranks fourth in all-time wins at Stanford with 118, was named the 2011-12 Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year and captured two Pac-12 championships during his career. He was also a three-time Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American, including a two-time Men's At-Large Academic All-American of the Year.

HEAD COACH Jason Borrelli: Stanford is under the guidance of a fifth-year head coach Jason Borrelli. During his time on The Farm, Borrelli has accrued a 40-43-3 record and sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships a total of 12 times. Borrelli, a former Central Michigan standout, first came to The Farm as an assistant coach in 2007 and quickly helped guide the Cardinal to one of its most successful seasons in school history. Since then, Stanford has finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships the past two seasons, including a program-best 11th at the 2011 tournament in Philadelphia, Pa.