OU Wins First of Two on the Weekend

Jan. 18, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 17 Oklahoma topped No. 19 UT-Chattanooga (5-5) Friday night at the Howard McCasland Field House in Norman by a final of 21-13, knocking off its second straight Top 20 opponent.

The Sooners have now won seven straight duals on the season and own an 11-1 record. OU extended the streak in front of special guests Steve "Dr. Death" Williams and WWE icon Jim Ross.

Oklahoma, who beat No. 20 Pittsburgh last Saturday, gained an 8-0 lead out of the gate thanks to dominant performances by freshman in the two opening weights classes.

Joey Fio put OU on the board first after beating No. 9 ranked Javier Maldonado by a 16-4 major decision. Johnny Starzyk took down the second ranked Moc opponent of the night, recording a 12-2 major decision over No. 19 Steve Hromada.

"Freshmen Joey Fio and Johnny Starzyk wrestled magnificently for us tonight," head coach Jack Spates said. "They were certainly bright spots in this match after putting us up 8-0 to begin the dual."

Cody Cleveland put UTC's first points on the board with a major decision over 141-pound Sooner Zack Bailey to make the team score 8-4. No. 20 Joey Knox defeated Will Rowe at 149 pounds to get the Mocs within one, 8-7.

OU's 157-pound Chad Terry broke the Chattanooga run by posting an 8-1 decision over No. 20 Seth Garvin. Nick Davis took down 165-pound Sooner Max Dean to get the Mocs back to a one point deficit.

No. 14 Lloyd Rogers won in a 6-4 decision over Jeff James in the 174-pound weight class to give UTC its first team lead of the evening, 11-13.

For the second straight match, the Sooners squad looked to their undefeated seniors to put them in the lead for good. Once again, Joshua Weitzel (18-0) and Joel Flaggert (17-0) did not disappoint.

Weitzel blanked Josh Edmondson by a 13-0 major decision to put the Sooners back on top, 15-13. Flaggert extended the lead by recording a 5-2 decision over No. 14 Matt Koz.

Heavyweight Nathan Fernandez then defeated Matt Lettner by a 3-1 decision to close the match, giving the Sooners a 21-13 victory.

The Sooners get little rest after the victory as they will compete for their eighth straight win on the season versus No. 13 Wisconsin this Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City at 6 p.m.

"Wisconsin is a great squad and we are going to need to bring our best effort on Sunday," Spates said. "We encourage Sooner fans to come out and give this team a lot of support."

No. 17 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Wisconsin
Event	ESPNU Wrestling Invitational
Date	Sunday, Jan. 20 \| 6 p.m. CT
Location	Ford Center \| Oklahoma City
Tickets	Ticketmaster.com
TV	ESPNU
More Info	Oklahoma Match Notes \| Media Guide

The match is set to be televised nationally by ESPNU with play-by-play man Dave Armstrong and analyst Jeff Blatnick covering the telecast. Blatnick was a heavyweight gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics.

Oklahoma has five wrestlers in its lineup ranked heading into the Sunday showdown. Zack Bailey is No. 11 at 141 pounds and Will Rowe is No. 9 at 149 pounds. Max Dean is No. 20 at 165 pounds, Joshua Weitzel is No. 7 at 184 pounds and Joel Flaggert ranks a season-best No. 3 nationally at 197 pounds.

Wisconsin boasts seven ranked wrestlers in its lineup, led by 157-pounder Craig Henning, ranked No. 2 in the country. Collin Cudd and Kyle Ruschell and both ranked eighth at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively. Zach Tanelli is ranked No. 12 at 133 pounds, Trevor Brandvold is No. 14 at 184 pounds and 197-pound Dallas Herbst is sixth. Heavyweight Kyle Massey rounds out the list at No. 13.

The Sooners lead the all-time series over the Badgers by a 10-9-1 mark. OU dominated the match by a score of 37-3 the last time the two schools met in 1999. Oklahoma went on to win the Big 12 conference title that season.

Oklahoma State and Nebraska will also be squaring off in a Big 12 showdown alongside OU Sunday afternoon.

"This is a great double-header for fans to come out and enjoy," Spates said. "There is going to be some great competition among the teams and it is going to be a real battle. We are looking forward to the challenge."

MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
125: Joey Fio (OU) maj. dec. No. 9 Javier Maldonado (UTC), 16-4
133: John Starzyk (OU) maj. dec. No. 19 Steve Hromada (UTC), 12-2
141: Cody Cleveland (UTC) maj. dec. No. 11 Zack Bailey (OU), 14-6
149: No. 20 Joey Knox (UTC) dec. No. 9 Will Rowe (OU), 6-0
157: Chad Terry (OU) dec. No. 20 Seth Garvin (UTC), 8-1
165: Nick Davis (UTC) dec. No. 20 Max Dean (OU), 3-1
174: No. 14 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) dec. Jeff James (OU), 6-4
184: No. 7 Joshua Weitzel (OU) maj. dec. Josh Edmondson (UTC), 13-0
197: No. 3 Joel Flaggert (OU) dec. No. 14 Matt Koz (UTC), 5-2
HWT: Nathan Fernandez (OU) dec. Matt Lettner (UTC), 3-1

FINAL SCORE:
OKLAHOMA 21
TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA 13

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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