In the first team scored match of the season, Ohio will look for a total team effort to take them to victory.
For the first time in this young season, the Bobcats will compete in a dual match as a team.
The Bobcats will travel to face Appalachian State (1-4) in Boone, North Carolina.
The dual will offer a different challenge for the Bobcats, as the outlook of the entire weekend changes from tournament play to dual matches. Ohio (2-1) has competed in strictly tournaments this season, where more emphasis is placed on individuals.
“I think it’s easier because you can focus on one guy,” coach Joel Greenlee said. “It’s pretty tough to go to say, the Eastern Michigan duals, and focus on one guy when you really have three matches.”
A tournament puts more focus on individual weight classes and typically consists of numerous teams, whereas a dual is one team against the other, and team scores are decided by individual matches.
Although the change in format is coming, the team will look to keep its normal routine.
“I’m a big believer in do what you do, and don’t worry too much about what they do,” Greenlee said. “You do need to be a little bit aware if a guys got a headlock or something like that, but we don’t change a whole heck of a lot up.”
Redshirt junior Cody Walters echoed his coach’s sentiment for keeping things the same and trying not to be phased by its differences.
“For a dual, it’s only one match, and you only have one hour as compared to two (for tournaments),” Walters said. “The mentality throughout the week is the same.”
The incredibly passionate Walters will try to keep his same mindset heading to this Friday’s match.
“I wanna go out there and just dominate the guy,” said Walters. “I wanna get bonus points, I wanna put my team ahead and do everything I can to go for the fall.”
He also will try to continue on his team second-best 12-1 season to this point and is looking for his sixth-consecutive victory this weekend.
“Sometimes I get scared out there, that I’m not in shape, but it’s crazy to think about,” Walters said. “When I’m at practice I go two hours as hard as I can, I’ll get tired, but that’s two hours … I’m in great shape, I can go seven minutes as hard as I can.”
The change in scenery could offer a challenge for the Bobcats, but Greenlee hopes that it will help bring the team together.
“Tournament style we try to get our guys to go after bonus points and I think it’s a little bit harder in a tournament because you’re not necessarily thinking about the team score, you’re thinking about yourself,” Greenlee said. “Now everyone is gonna be sitting together. I like it, every match each point counts.”
The Bobcats are confident in their abilities to succeed, believing that if they wrestle well, they’ll leave Boone with a victory.
“These guys are pretty tough, they’re not gonna back down from us,” Greenlee said. “But if we go out there and impose our will on them, and do the things we were trained to do we should go out there and beat them pretty handily.”
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