With only two more dual meets remaining in their schedule before the Pacific-10 Championships begin March 2, the Oregon wrestling team is looking to finish the regular season on a high note at home.
The 7-7 Ducks (3-4 Pac-10) host Oregon State today at 7:30 p.m. at McArthur Court before finishing with Portland State on Feb. 20.
In the first edition of the wrestling Civil War on Dec. 12, the Beavers (11-7 overall and 6-1 in the Pac-10) escaped with a win in the 16-16 meet. A new rule for the 2001-02 season states that no dual meet shall end in a tie, and a list of criteria were established to determine a winner. In the Dec. 12 meet, a winner was not determined until the seventh criteria level. Oregon State had two near fall points to Oregon’s zero, which gave them the win based on criteria “g.”
Both schools have recently competed against the same three opponents. The Ducks are coming off a 2-1 weekend where they lost to Cal Poly and defeated Cal State-Bakersfield and No. 21 Fresno State. Oregon State’s weekend included a win over Bakersfield and a loss to Fresno State. The previous weekend on Jan. 27, the Beavers defeated Cal Poly.
Arizona State is ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10 with the Beavers in second. Oregon holds the No. 4 spot with Boise State sitting between the two Oregon schools.
Oregon State has had its way with the Ducks, historically leading the series 72-22-2, but if the Dec. 12 meeting between the two schools is any indication of how the latest edition of the Civil War will transpire, fans at Mac Court will be on the edges of their seats.
“I hope it’s not going to be as exciting for the fans this time as it was last time,” Oregon State head coach Joe Wells said. “You want to get on a roll this week. It’s a great chance for guys to improve their position for the Pac-10 meet and to get things going or keep things going.”
In the latest rankings, Oregon State has five wrestlers in the top-25 while Oregon has four. In the heavyweight class, Oregon’s No. 19 Eric Webb will compete against No. 7 Jason Cooley. Webb picked up three victories last weekend despite lingering pain in his right big toe, which caused him to miss dual meets on Jan. 25.
“Eric Webb is knocking some of the rust off from being laid-up for basically the last five weeks,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said before the weekend meets.
The 141-pound weight class also will feature two ranked opponents facing each other — Oregon’s No. 20 Brian Watson against the Beavers’ No. 11 Casey Horn. Horn defeated Watson 6-4 in the last dual meet.
Oregon’s 174-pounder Shane Webster (12-7) has been wrestling well lately and is coming off a tough loss to Cal Poly’s No. 13 Steve Strange. Against the Beavers, Webster will face No. 12 Nathan Coy (11-5). In their previous meeting, Coy defeated Webster 10-1 in a decision that included the two near fall points that awarded Oregon State the criteria “g” victory.
In the 165-pound class, No. 5 Eugene Harris (25-3) will face Jed Pennell (15-9), who has won eight of his last 11 matches. In their last meeting, Harris won by major decision, 20-7. Scoring a team-high 85 points, Harris has eight major decisions and
two pins.
E-mail sports reporter Chris Cabot
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