Virginia Tech’s win over Ohio State vaults Hokies into top five; Rider enters Top 20 after win at Minnesota
July 2, 2020 | News | No Comments
Manheim, Pennsylvania – Several upsets sparked a shake-up in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.
Virginia Tech (3-0) made a significant jump, rising seven spots to come in tied at No. 4 this week after the Hokies defeated then-No. 3 Ohio State 21-15 in Columbus. Rider (2-0) entered the Top 25 this week at No. 20 after beating then-No. 6 Minnesota (1-1) in Minneapolis on Friday. The loss dropped the Golden Gophers six spots to No. 12, tied with Pittsburgh (1-1).
Penn State (1-0) remained No. 1 for the 36th straight poll, while No. 2 Iowa (1-0) opened up its dual meet schedule with a 39-0 win over Chattanooga, witnessed by 10,466 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Nebraska comes in No. 3, the highest that program has been ranked since February 17, 2009. Tied at No. 4 with Virginia Tech, Wisconsin (5-0) was last ranked in the top five on February 1, 2011, when the Badgers were ranked sixth. The Badgers peaked at No. 3 during the 2010-11 season.
Lehigh (1-0) moved up three spots to No. 7 after beating then-No. 4 Oklahoma State 21-20 on criteria in Bethlehem on Saturday. Oddly enough, the Mountain Hawks find themselves tied, again, with Oklahoma State as the Cowboys slid three spots to sit in a tie at No. 7 with Lehigh. NC State (4-0) won four duals over the weekend, beating Old Dominion 22-11 on Friday before dominating three non-Division I opponents at home a day later. With the movement inside the top 10, Arizona State slid to No. 10 after a pair of wins over Division II opponents at home.
Iowa State (1-0) moved up a spot to No. 11 after a win at home against Bucknell.
Princeton didn’t compete, but again with all the movement, the Tigers crept upward. With the move to No. 14, Princeton holds its highest ranking in school history. Northwestern (1-1) evened its record after Sunday’s win over then-No. 14 Northern Iowa (0-1). Missouri (0-2) slid to No. 18 after a loss to unranked Illinois on Thursday. North Carolina (1-1) fell to Stanford, dropping the Tar Heels two spots to No. 19. Despite ranked victories this week, Illinois, Stanford and Michigan State received votes but didn’t enter the poll. Michigan State (2-0) won weekend duals over Kent State and then-No. 20 Oklahoma, which fell out of the poll this week.
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Ranked duals this week: Top-ranked Penn State puts its dual meet streak of 60 wins in a row on the line on Friday at No. 10 Arizona State; No. 9 NC State will face No. 15 Cornell, while No. 7 Lehigh will face No. 14 Princeton and No. 12 Pittsburgh on back-to-back days. No. 3 Nebraska faces No. 17 Northern Iowa, No. 12 Minnesota takes on No. 7 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, while No. 2 Iowa heads to Ames to take on No. 11 Iowa State.
Methodology: The NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 for a third-place vote and so on through to one point for a 25th-place vote.
NWCA Division I Coaches Poll
November 19, 2019
Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 38, Rutgers 25, Oklahoma 24, Campbell 20, Illinois 18, Michigan State 15, Old Dominion 13
Dropped Out: No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 25 Campbell.
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