 | The Cavalier daily Tuesday, September 12, 1972 |  |
All Mat Spots Open
As Tryouts Begin
By FLETCHER THOMPSON
"Our squad is wide-open at
this point; nobody has it
made," says wrestling coach
George Edwards of his 1972-73
mat team.
Lest this remark should be
construed as a prediction of a
poor season it should be noted
that five of the ten starters
from last year's 6-2 edition
will return, in addition to
several veterans with some
varsity experience.
Edwards has also turned in
a solid recruiting year, landing
several varsity prospects. It is
too early, though, he says, to
say anything for sure about the
up-coming season until
work-outs begin. A lot, he says,
depends on who comes out for
the team and is willing to pay
the price of staying on.
The five returning starters
are Dave Wendell, Denis
Bittenbender, Tom Derrickson,
Kevin Michaels and Bill
Farrell. Of this group, Michaels
is clearly the stand-out, having
captured two consecutive ACC
titles at 190 and 177 along with
last year's Outstanding Wrestler
Award.
Wendell, a regular at 118 last
season as a freshman, who
figures to move up to 126,
Bittenbender, a third-year
150-pounder, Derrickson,
entering his second year at 158,
and fourth-year heavyweight:
Farrell all finished second in
the conference and figure to be
tough to beat out for starting
spots in the '72-'73edition.
In addition to these five,
third-year 142-pounder Don
Drew and second-year men
Steve Schmidt and Bill Voliva,
who wrestled at 134 and 167,
respectively, are expected to be
strong contenders for three of
the remaining positions.
Challenging the veterans
will be a bevy of first-year
recruits. Strongest appear to be
Greenville, Pennsylvania's Mike
McGonnigal, a runner-up in his
region, Jeff Kruzi, a
177-pounder from New Jersey
who placed in the state
tournament, and Ken Mahon, a
Virginia state champ from
Yorktown H.S. who will
probably help out at 190.
| The Cavalier daily Tuesday, September 12, 1972 | |