Looking Back At A Solid Season
March 25, 2008 | Wrestling
The 2007-08 wrestling season was one that showed hard work and determination pay off in the end. It was a year to remember as student-athletes sacrificed at times for the greater good for the team for a total team effort.
Eddie McCray and Dustin Porter capped off the first year of the Scott Shipman era with appearances at the NCAA Championships. McCray, a transfer who arrived on campus at the start of the spring semester, won his first round match, pinning his opponent in a staggering 1:19 while Porter made his second consecutive trip to the prestigious event.
It was not a bad way for Shipman to begin his first season at the helm of the talented Bulldogs' squad. Picked to finish at the bottom of the East Regional, Shipman's team overcame all the odds and adversity thrown at them throughout the preseason and season, finishing second in the tough region.
Helping the team finish second at the regional was Porter, who won the 197 lb. division for the second straight year. McCray took third in his weight class, but won the at-large bid to the NCAA Championships because of his dominance on the mat, pinning virtually every opponent he took on.
Shipman's team won seven matches on the season while dropping 16 and tying one. However, from the get-go, GWU had to overcome adversity before the season started – and it continued throughout the year. Despite having to overcome numerous injuries, which caused Shipman and his staff to shuffle the line-up on numerous occasions, the team was always competitive and gave fans a reason to go out and cheer.
The Bulldogs' first wins under Shipman came at the NC State Duals, where the team knocked off both Campbell (21-19) and Anderson (37-13). After 10 days off, GWU came back to travel to Davidson and take down the Wildcats by a 25-23 margin. The first home win came against Spartanburg Methodist on Jan. 25 as the Bulldogs came through with a 31-19 victory. Other victories followed soon thereafter.
Before the season started, Shipman and his team lost its returning starter at heavyweight – Nick Roehrick - due to an injury, forcing the line-up to change. Not too long after Roehrick went down, so did 125 lb. specialist Cortney Roberts. Rob Tate also missed time during the season. However, many student-athletes stepped up to fill in the gaps and competed well, although it didn't always show in the win column. Some that were going to redshirt were prematurely forced into action but gained valuable experience by doing so.
Porter was one of four grapplers to record at least 20 wins – and he won a team-best 28 matches. Tate, despite missing nearly a month of the season, won 24 matches versus just five losses. Matthias Piasecki and Chas Franz each reached the 20-win plateau.
More wins are on the horizon for Tommy Bennett, who was second on the team with 25 near falls. Multiple other student-athletes had opportunities throughout many of their matches to win, but were unable to do so on some occasions. Regardless, the GWU squad began wrestling better as the season went on, which gives fans great hope for next year when virtually everyone returns.
The Bulldogs will lose a few student-athletes due to graduation,
but with the amount of talented returners and the influx of superb
grapplers that will be added to the roster for the 2008-09 season,
Shipman and his staff are focused first on winning the region,
which would also send more of the team to the NCAA Championships.
Under the coaching staff's guidance, combined with the experience
the McCray and Porter had at the NCAA Championships – to go
along with several team members that traveled to the event to get a
first-hand look – look for the Bulldogs to qualify more
grapplers for the NCAA Championships next year while picking up a
few more team victories.
