Dec. 15, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: The Stanford wrestling team hosts the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Friday, Dec. 17. The squads will face off at 6:30 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal will also be making the trip to Reno, Nev., for Sunday’s Reno Tournament of Champions.

ABOUT UTC: Chattanooga enters this week’s dual with a 4-5 overall record, including wins over Liberty and Gardner-Webb. The Mocs boast two wrestlers ranked in the top-20 - 2008 All-American Cody Cleveland at 141 pounds (No. 7) and Jason McCroskey at 184 pounds (No. 20).

NORTHEAST DUALS RECAP: Despite coming up winless at the Northeast Duals on Nov. 27, three Cardinal wrestlers went undefeated. Junior Nick Amuchastegui (174 pounds) and sophomore Ryan Mango (125 pounds) were 4-0 with two major decisions apiece, while senior Zack Giesen (197 pounds) finished the day 2-0. Another highlight for the Cardinal was senior Lucas Espericueta’s 4-3 upset over eighth-ranked Scott Winston of Rutgers.

UP NEXT: The Cardinal will wrap up the month of December at the 48th annual Midlands Championships, held Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. Last season, Stanford placed 16th (28.5 points) at the two-day 54-team tournament. Zack Giesen was the highest Cardinal finisher, placing eighth at 184 pounds.

IN THE RANKINGS: Senior Zack Giesen, junior Nick Amuchastegui and sophomore Ryan Mango are listed among the top-10 in this week’s InterMat rankings. Amuchastegui is the highest ranked Cardinal, coming in at No. 4 in the 174 pound weight class. Giesen and Mango remain at No. 10 at 197 pounds and 125 pounds, respectively. As a team, Stanford is listed at No. 29.

FOR THE RECORD: Senior Zack Giesen, currently ninth all-time in career wins at Stanford, needs just eight victories to move into sixth place. He currently totals 91 career wins and will continue to climb the list in his final season on The Farm. Fellow senior Lucas Espericueta is eight wins away from breaking into the top-10 with 77 career victories.

NWCA All-STAR CLASSIC: For the first time in program history, two Stanford wrestlers participated in the NWCA All-Star Classic. Junior Nick Amuchastegui won his featured bout, 4-0, against Illinois’ Jordan Blanton at 174 pounds. Senior Zack Giesen was declared the winner of his exhibition bout over Cal Poly’s Ryan Smith at 197 pounds. Giesen built a 7-2 lead before Smith was forced to default in the final period due to injury.

TOP NOTCH RETURNERS: Stanford’s 17 returners are highlighted by five NCAA qualifiers, which is the most the Cardinal has ever had entering a season. Last year, Stanford sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb. - Nick Amuchastegui, Zack Giesen, Ryan Mango and Justin Paulsen. Amuchastegui placed fourth at 165 pounds to pick up his first career NCAA All-America honors. It also marked the highest finish by a Stanford wrestler since 2004.

FRESH FACES: Stanford has seven newcomers on its roster this year. Highlighting the rookies are three state champions in Oregon’s Luke Amuchastegui, Hawaii’s Galen McCleary and Missouri’s Dan Scherer. Additionally, the new faces on the Cardinal roster include Donovan Halpin (Petaluma, Calif.), Garrett Schaner (Big Rapids, Mich.), Matt Schneider (Atlanta, Ga.) and Alan Yen (Saratoga, Calif.).

HEAD COACH Jason Borrelli: Stanford is under the guidance of third-year head coach Jason Borrelli. In his first two seasons on The Farm, Borrelli has accrued an 20-26-2 record and sent a total of six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. 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.