Many Ducks will close their wrestling careers at McArthur Court at 7 p.m. against rival Oregon State. The senior class heads out of Oregon with 311 wins and two defending Pacific-10 Champions. The Ducks look to break a string of six straight Beaver wins.
“The civil war in wrestling is a big deal because most of the kids on both teams are from Oregon,” Oregon coach Chuck Kearney said.
The Ducks are back from a weekend in California and want to move back to .500 with a win over Oregon State.
The team has struggled with the disadvantages of dual meet scoring this season.
“In dual meet scoring you are punished more for having weak spots,” Kearney said. “In tournament scoring you are rewarded for having good wrestlers.”
The Ducks will look to redshirt freshman Ryan Dunn to hype everyone up against the Beavers, who they lost to 20-18 Dec. 9 in Corvallis.
“Dunn is wrestling as well as he’s ever wrestled,” said Kearney, noting the freshman’s 17 takedowns during the weekend.
Justin Pearch controlled his matchup against Jake Gonzales in the first meeting with the Beavers, but the Ducks are unsure whether the standout junior’s ailing knee will be ready for tonight’s match.
With a win, senior leader Skyler Woods will have equaled his past three seasons of win totals in just one year. In the last meeting he was unable to pull off the win, losing 8-2 against Oregon State’s Kyle Larson.
The Ducks 165-pound All-American Joey Bracamonte will look to finish the remainder of the season undefeated. He was upset last Friday at Stanford, but bounced back for a solid win against UC Davis.
“All of a sudden the undefeated season is over,” Kearney said. “He doesn’t have to worry about the ’72 Dolphins. You just has to go out and wrestle now.”
This will give Bracamonte a chance to show critics around that nation that he can respond to his loss last weekend.
Shane Webster wrestles for his 31st win of the season, which would move him within one win of second place at Oregon in career victories. More importantly to Webster is a team victory to send the Ducks seniors out of Mac Court with a win and send the Beaver seniors out with a loss.
The Ducks will face three top-20 wrestlers in No. 16 Tony Hook at 157-pounds, No. 18 Jeremy Larson at 174-pounds and No. 17 Ty Watterson for heavyweights.
Challenged with taking on the Beavers top-20 wrestlers are Cyle Hartzell at 157-pounds, Chet McBee at 174-pounds and Chris Dearmon.
This will be the last match at Oregon for other seniors Johnny Lugo and Martin Mitchell. The three have been a big part of the Oregon team for the last five years.
“We want it to be a deal where we do something we’re not supposed to do,” Kearney said.
If the Ducks pull off the upset tonight, it will set the tone for the upcoming Pac-10 tournament, where they finished third last season.