It doesn’t matter to Oregon’s wrestlers that they’ve got two meets tonight at McArthur Court – to the Ducks and their coaches, it just means a longer day at the office.
“Its always good to be back home,” head coach Chuck Kearney said. “You just get yourself up to compete and you approach it like a tournament format. It’s an easy adjustment.”
Kearney would know: he was an All-American for the Ducks and a Pacific-10 Conference champion in 1988.
Redshirt freshman heavyweight Charlie Alexander lets it roll right off his back, too.
“Not really,” Alexander said with a chuckle when asked if doubling up meets made an impact. “We’ve had early duals this year, you just have to start your day a little earlier.”
Oregon (9-9, 0-6 Pac -10) will host its final conference meets for the season – and possibly in program history – tonight when they host UC Davis at 3:30 p.m. and Stanford at 7 p.m. at Mac Court. Both meets will be crucial for many of the Ducks’ top wrestlers, as Pac-10 Championship seeding will be on the line.
The Ducks will have to improve the form that saw the team drop both meets on its road trip last weekend at Boise State (a 34-3 loss) and Arizona State (a 26-16 loss). Kearney and his team know they must improve, and that a return to Mac Court could be just the spark needed to earn Oregon its first conference dual meet win this season.
“We wrestled better against Arizona State, but we didn’t wrestle the way that we want to,” Kearney said.
UC Davis (3-5, 1-5) faces Oregon in the first meet. The Aggies will provide an interesting matchup for the Ducks, as three matches – at 125, 157 and 174 pounds – are for position according to the current Pac-10 standings. Stanford (10-2, 3-1) has returning All-Americans at the 125 and 157 pound classes, and returning NCAA Championship qualifiers at 174 and 184 pounds.Redshirt sophomore Ron Lee will be facing very tough opposition in both meets tonight, but isn’t daunted by the challenge in the least.
“I’m always focusing one match at a time,” Lee said. “I’m focusing on UC Davis right now, and once that match ends I’ll focus on Stanford.”
UC Davis junior Tyler Bernacchi currently sits fourth in the Pac-10 at the 174 pound weight class, right behind the third-placed Lee. Cardinal sophomore Luke Feist is right ahead of Lee in the current standings, and also qualified for the NCAA meet last season.
“My goal before nationals is to win Pac-10s,” Lee said. “They’re both really good guys and I just got to go out there and get somebody tired.”
Kearney understands the challenge.
“It’s going to be a good intense match for Ron,” Kearney said. “A good matchup and a good test.
“(Feist is) a (NCAA) qualifier, he’s a tough wrestler. Ronnie beat him in the All-Star Classic exhibition match, but it’s going to be another day and another opportunity to go out and do the things necessary to be successful.”
Though Lee and Alexander aren’t looking past their remaining dual meets – including next week’s non-conference matchup against Oklahoma State and the meet at Oregon State – they understand that the conference tournament is near.
“You’ve got to know that Pac-10s is coming up. Just have to start preparing,” Alexander said.
Added Kearney: “When you get to this time of year, every match you wrestle is important.”
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