Gardner-Webb Announces 2008-09 Wrestling Schedule
July 02, 2008 | Wrestling
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Head wrestling coach Scott Shipman, in conjunction with the Gardner-Webb athletics department, has announced the upcoming 2008-09 schedule.
"We are excited about our schedule," Shipman said. "It is one of the toughest we've ever put together. At the same time, we have programs like NC State coming to Gardner-Webb for the first time. It's a very competitive schedule that should prepare our team for the NCAA East Regionals, which we will host.
"I appreciate Derek DelPorto of Eastern Michigan and Rocky Bonomo of Lock Haven," Shipman said. "They both agreed to come to Boiling Springs this year which is great for our schedule.
"Overall, as many as eight teams could be nationally ranked that are on our schedule. Our top guys will see great competition while we try to prepare for the regional meet and the NCAA National Championships. Our depth has improved, so we should be a better dual meet team."
The schedule highlights home competition on four regular season dates, two of which will feature the Bulldogs in action with more than one opponent. The biggest part of the slate, however, is the NCAA East Regional Championships that GWU will host on March 7. That competition will determine the region's NCAA qualifiers.
The Bulldogs open the 2008-09 schedule with four consecutive contests away from Paul Porter Arena. Shipman begins his second season at the helm with a dual at Liberty on Nov. 11. After that, GWU will face Appalachian State for the first of two times during the season on Nov. 16. Two days later, the Bulldogs take on the Spartans of UNC-Greensboro before making the trek to Annapolis, Md., on Nov. 22 for the Naval Academy Classic.
On Dec. 4, Bulldog Nation will get to see the grapplers make their home debut. With two starters that have NCAA Championship experience in addition to arguably the best recruiting class in the program's history, GWU fans can get a glimpse of the squad at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs square off with VMI.
After taking a break for finals, GWU returns to the mat on Dec. 17 in Lebanon, Tenn., to face off against UT-Chattanooga and Cumberland. Just prior to the new year, the Bulldogs will take part in the highly coveted Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30.
On Jan. 3, Shipman and his team will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to face Cleveland State, Buffalo and Northern Iowa in a homecoming of sorts for Dustin and Travis Porter and Richie Spicel, among others on the GWU team.
One week later, GWU will host the Bulldog Duals beginning at 1 p.m. Lock Haven, The Citadel and Davidson will come to town for the competition. It also marks the first of two multiple match days that GWU will host on the season.
On Jan. 18, the Bulldogs once again head to Bloomington, Ind., for the second consecutive season. There, GWU will take on the host Hoosiers in addition to American and Clarion.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Atlantic Coast Conference foe NC State will venture into Boiling Springs for a 7 p.m. showdown. Ten days later, the Bulldogs will once again play host to three schools at the GWU Duals. This time, Eastern Michigan, the Mountaineers of Appalachian State and ACC foe Duke will be on hand with matches starting at 10 a.m. That will also mark the last regular season home match for Shipman's team.
The Bulldogs will be road warriors for the month of February. First, GWU heads to Buies Creek on Feb. 3 for a 7 p.m. match-up with Campbell. Just a few days later the Bulldogs will take part in the East Regional Duals in Pittsburgh, Pa., in preparation of the NCAA East Regional Championships. The duals should give each squad a sense of where they are for the upcoming postseason competition.
On Feb. 19, the Bulldogs head to Carson-Newman, which GWU defeated at home on Feb. 14, 2008. The final regular season contest is Feb. 24 at The Citadel, which begins at 7 p.m.
The March 7 NCAA East Regional Championships marks the second time that the Bulldogs have hosted the prestigious event since moving to Division I. The last time GWU put on the event, four student-athletes earned their way to the NCAA National Championships with superb backing from the home crowd.
After having two student-athletes earn bids to the NCAA National
Championships the past two seasons, Shipman and his squad will be
looking for more to qualify for the March 19-21 event in St. Louis,
Mo.
