|
Dear Friends of Stanford Wrestling,
It has been an amazing few weeks for the Stanford wrestling team. The guys are training harder than I
have ever seen and we are starting to show all the signs of a championship program. From the intensity
in our workouts to the attitude while doing them, the 25 members of the Stanford wrestling program have
done nothing but impress the coaching staff as they strive to take this program to new heights.
We have done some very grueling workouts including dish sprints and plate workouts just to name a few.
As much as the coach in me likes to torture the guys, its more about putting the team through as many
mentally challenging situations as possible. Thats a big reason why we do these at 6:30am and another
huge reason why we run a timed 3-mile on the track (12 grueling laps). Speaking of the 3-mile, it is
worth mentioning that 16 of the 21 runners (4 were injured) made under a 19:30, which is the minimum
requirement for the run. Of those 16, 12 of them improved upon their previous best. Additionally, the 5
guys that did not make the minimum time improved their overall times by 2-4 minutes. Needless to say, the
guys are getting in great shape. Redshirt freshmen Spence Patrick led the way with a time of 17:04--quite
impressive considering Spence wrestles at 174 pounds.
Amidst of all the sweat and pain, the guys found time to give back to the local community. On Saturday,
October 3rd, your Stanford wrestlers volunteered their time at Saint Anthony's Soup Kitchen in Menlo
Park. Giving back to the community is a big part of our goals as we move this program forward. If you
would like to read about our volunteer efforts and see pictures from the day, please click here. Likewise, if you have
ideas of other opportunities for the wrestling team to give back to the local community, we would love to
hear about them.
I hope all of you are as excited as I am for this season. I strongly encourage you to make plans to
attend a few Stanford meets this season. As I have mentioned a few times already, the January 9th event is
one we have tagged as "Alumni/Reunion Weekend" and we are really hoping for a great turnout. Please
make your plans now to attend as we would love to see as many of you as possible. Additionally, you can
follow the program on our facebook page (Stanford Wrestling) or through twitter (username: SUWrestling).
Always moving Stanford Wrestling forward,
Jason
Former Cardinal assistant coach
Jason Borrelli has been named the new Stanford
head wrestling coach, as announced by Jaquish &
Kenninger Director of Athletics Bob Bowlsby today.
"Jason
Borrelli is bright, hardworking and very
enthusiastic about Stanford Wrestling," said Bowlsby.
"We did a national search to find a successor for
Kerry McCoy and ultimately one of Kerry's
assistants demonstrated he was the right choice. I
am looking forward to working with Jason to continue
the growth of the Stanford program."
"I am extremely excited and honored!" said
Borrelli. "The opportunity to coach at one of the
top institutions in the world is very intriguing.
The Stanford wrestling program has made some great
strides over the past years and I am thrilled to be
a part of its continued success."
"I would like to thank Athletic Director Bob
Bowlsby and Associate Athletic Director Earl
Koberlein for providing me with this opportunity,"
he said. "I would also like to thank my family and
fiancé, Jenna, for their continued support
throughout this process; you don't get places on
your own. Finally, I would like to thank Tom
Borrelli and
Kerry McCoy for giving me the opportunity to
learn from two of the best college wrestling coaches
around."
A former Central Michigan standout, Borrelli came
to The Farm as an assistant coach in 2007 and
quickly helped guide the Cardinal to one of its most
successful seasons in school history. Working with
the lower weights, Borrelli helped the Cardinal win
13 duals, post its highest Pac-10 finish in school
history, its second-highest national finish and send
a program-best five wrestlers to the NCAA
Championships.
Under Borrelli's
guidance, 125-pounder
Tanner Gardner captured his second consecutive
Pac-10 title, became the school's first three-time
All-American with a fifth-place national finish and
broke both Stanford's career and single-season win
records. Another lightweight, freshman
Lucas Espericueta, qualified for the NCAA
Championships and finished his rookie season as one
of the five winningest freshmen in school history.
As a team, Borrelli and the staff led Stanford to
a 19th-place finish nationally, matching the
program's second-highest finish in school history
and just its third all-time top-20 finish. Owning
two of the conference's four All-Americans, the
Cardinal's 19th place finish was the best in the
Pac-10.
Prior to coming to Stanford, Borrelli served as
an assistant coach at Central Michigan and ran a
youth wrestling club. In his first year on the
staff, he helped the Chippewas to their ninth
consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship.
The squad finished the season ranked fifth in the
final dual meet rankings and finished 15th at the
NCAA Championships in Detroit, Mich. Borrelli also
helped guide three CMU wrestlers to All-American
honors during the 2006-07 season.
A Mt. Pleasant, Mich. native, Borrelli was a
two-time Michigan State Champion in high school
before beginning his career at Central Michigan in
2001. A four-year starter at 125 and 133 pounds, he
was part of five consecutive team Mid-American
Conference (MAC) championships. As a junior in 2005,
he captured the 133-pound MAC title. Borrelli
qualified for the NCAA Championships at 133 pounds
twice, in 2005 and 2006, and captained the Chippewa
team as a senior. A four-year NWCA All-Academic
selection, Borrelli graduated from Central Michigan
in December 2005 with a degree in Business
Administration.
Cardinal wins 13 duals and
posts highest Pac-10 finish in school history.
With the 2007-08 wrestling season officially at an end,
Stanford can look back on one of its most successful
years in history. In the course of the season, the
Cardinal squad won 13 duals, posted its highest Pac-10
finish in school history, its second-highest national
finish and sent a program-best five wrestlers to the
NCAA Championships.
Stanford opened its season with an impressive showing
in the Midwest, beating Fort Hays State in its first
dual meet before having four placers and two champions
at the Central Missouri Open. Over the remainder of the
preseason, nine more wrestlers placed and senior
Tanner Gardner won two more 125-pound titles,
including one in a field of ten ranked wrestlers at the
Las Vegas Invitational. At the Reno Tournament of
Champions, senior
Josh Zupancic became the fifth wrestler in school
history to reach 100 wins.
At the start of the new year, Stanford headed east to
compete in five duals in a three-day span. The Cardinal
won four of them, and capped the weekend with its first
shutout in recorded history, a 52-0 demolition of Wagner
at the New York Athletic Club.
When the Pac-10 season began in mid-January, Stanford
already had six wins and was racing towards one of its
best dual records in history. The Cardinal matched its
win total from the previous two seasons (8) with an
exciting win over Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 24, and
tied its second-highest dual win total in school history
(10) the very next day with wins over Menlo College and
Portland State. The team continued to run, and capped
its regular-season with the program's first-ever win
over Arizona State on Feb. 17. The victory boosted
Stanford's win total to 13, the most in over three
decades, and the second most in school history.
On Mar. 2, ten Cardinal wrestlers began competition
at the Pac-10 Championships in Eugene, Ore. Nine of the
competitors placed, and the team edged defending
conference champion Oregon State for the runner-up spot,
the highest Pac-10 finish is school history.
Gardner pinned two opponents
and beat a top-20 wrestler in the title match to become
the Cardinal's first back-to-back conference champion in
more than two decades. In his second bout, the senior
shattered two program records in one fell swoop, pinning
Marcos Orozco of UC Davis to best both the school's
career win record and single-season pin record. At the
conclusion of the tournament, the senior was named the
event's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Three Stanford wrestlers earned automatic bids to the
NCAA Championships, and two more were awarded a Pac-10
wildcard spot. With five wrestlers earning a spot at
NCAAs, Stanford matched the most in program history, a
feat the Cardinal has now accomplished four times.
A number of other accomplishments followed at the
national championships.
Luke Feist and
Zack Giesen won their first NCAA matches, and Giesen
upended the first ranked opponent of his career.
Lucas Espericueta ended his rookie season as the
fourth winningest freshman in school history with 25
wins.
Zupancic topped three consecutive ranked opponents to
advance to the national semifinals at 157 pounds. The
senior finished sixth nationally to garner his second
consecutive All-America honor and become just the third
wrestler in school history to earn multiple All-America
honors. He finished his career with 120 wins, the third
highest total in program history.
Gardner took fifth nationally at 125 pounds and
became the school's first three-time All-American. He
continued to build on his school win record, finishing
with a program-best 145 career wins. Gardner also became
the first Cardinal wrestler to post more than one 40-win
season, and broke his own single-season win record in
his final collegiate match (43 wins).
As a team, Stanford took 19th nationally, matching
its second-highest national finish in school history and
just its third all-time top-20 finish. For just the
third time in program history and the second time in two
years, Stanford produced two All-Americans in the same
season.
Owning two of the conference's four All-Americans,
the Cardinal's 19th place finish was the best in the
Pac-10.
All in all, Gardner won four titles and placed in
every tournament he competed in, leading a combined 28
tournament placers and five tournament champions on the
year. As a team, Stanford wrestlers combined to win 289
matches, pin 64 opponents and beat 13 ranked
individuals.
The squad now bids farewell to two of the best
wrestlers in school history, but the landmarks the
Cardinal reached this season are merely a starting point
for next year.
"We had an incredible year," says Head Coach
Kerry McCoy. "A lot of records were broken, a lot of
standards were raised and we're very happy about that.
Although there was some disappointment, when you step
back and look at what we accomplished - two
All-Americans, finishing second at Pac-10s, nine
conference placers, 13 dual wins, five NCAA qualifiers,
a top-20 NCAA finish - it's all pretty good. We have a
lot of good, young guys coming back, as well as three
NCAA qualifiers, which gives us a great mixture of
experience and youth. We look forward to having a good
summer and will pick up where we left off."
Led by seniors Josh Zupancic and Tanner Gardner, we
split the first two Pac-10 duals. We came up short in
an exciting battle with Boise State, 21-15, but ended on
a good note, topping UC Davis for the first time since
2004, 30-9.
Zupancic defeated the top-ranked wrestler in the
Pac-10, and added a technical fall in his second match.
Gardner picked up two wins, including his 14th pin of the
year.
The first dual played out in a series of tight
decisions, with seven of nine bouts determined by three
points or less.
With Boise State up 9-0, Gardner halted the Bronco
momentum. The defending Pac-10 Champion earn a fall in
5:35. The pin was Gardner's 14th of the year, matching the
career-best total he racked up last season.
In the most anticipated bout of the night, Zupancic
pulled off his second win over a top-10 wrestler this
month. The Cardinal senior scored a two-point nearfall in
the third period, upending the 10th-ranked wrestler in the
nation, 3-1. Zupancic, who is No. 13 nationally, earned
his 24th win of the season.
Stanford was given a six-point boost to start the dual
with UC Davis, taking an early lead on an Aggie forfeit at
184 pounds. Johnson then padded the Cardinal lead at 197
pounds, with a 5-2 decision.
Gardner dominated a 2007 NCAA qualifier in the
125-pound bout on his way to an 11-1 major decision.
Redshirt freshman Lucas Espericueta continued to roll
with a 12-2 major decision. Zupancic then stepped in and
sealed the win for the Cardinal with a decisive 19-4
technical fall.
Miller (13-7) continued the trend, posting his first
career technical fall at 165 pounds. The sophomore scored
seven points in the first period en route to a 17-2
technical fall.
At 174 pounds, Feist battled back from an early deficit
and put an exclamation point on the Stanford win with a
9-6 decision over the 3rd ranked wrestler in the Pac 10.
We will have our first home matches of the season this
weekend. We will meet 2007 Pac-10 runner-up Cal State
Bakersfield in a 7 p.m. dual Thursday night. On Friday, we
will battle Menlo College and conference foe Portland
State in a pair of contests starting at 5 p.m. Both duals
will be held in the Ford Center.
5 duals , 4 locations, 3 days....
The Stanford wrestling team will compete in five duals
in three states in a three-day span this weekend, taking
on Drexel, Lehigh, East Stroudsburg, Princeton and Wagner
during an East Coast swing.
We will face Drexel at noon on Friday Jan 4th in
Philadelphia, Pa, then travel to Bethlehem, Pa and compete
against Lehigh at 7pm.
The first dual of the weekend will have national
implications, as Stanford's two ranked wrestlers are
slated to take on Drexel's two ranked wrestlers. At 125
pounds, fourth-ranked Gardner will battle No. 20 Steve
Mytych, the first of two returning NCAA qualifiers for the
Dragons. At 157 pounds, No. 14 Zupancic will meet No. 7
Ryan Hluschak in a rematch of last year's NCAA seventh
place match. In that bout, Zupancic claimed an 11-10
overtime victory to finish seventh.
The Cardinal then heads to
Lehigh for a 7 p.m. dual on Friday, looking to avenge last
year's 34-9 loss to the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh returns
four of its seven 2007 NCAA qualifiers. Senior
157-pounder David Nakasone is one of the team's returning
NCAA qualifiers, while junior 149-pounder Trevor Chinn
leads the squad with 10 wins on the year.
On Sunday, the Cardinal begins a full day of wrestling
with a noon dual against East Stroudsburg at Dillon Gym on
the Princeton campus. The East Stroudsburg squad is led by
sophomore heavyweight Chris Birchler's 15 wins.
The Cardinal continues action against the host
Princeton Tigers at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Tigers are
led by freshman 125-pounder Tony Comunale and senior
heavyweight Sam Ritter so far this year.
The weekend concludes at the New York Athletic Club in
New York City, where Stanford will square off with Wagner
College at 6 p.m. Sunday. The Seahawks are led by junior
157-pounder Sean Quinn (7-6) and senior 141-pounder Mike
Tutunjian (7-6). Tutunjian graduated from Longwood, which
is my HS Alma Mater.
This is a great opportunity for us to see some good
competition and challenge ourselves before the Pac 10 dual
season.
After the duals we will spend Monday in New York City.
Tanner Gardner wins the Cliff
Keen Invitational
Viva
Las Vegas!!!!!Tanner
Gardner continues to roll as he won is 3rd
tournament of the season. Entering
the tournament as the 2nd seed we hoped
Tanner would get a chance to face the 1st
seed, the top ranked 2007 NCAA Champion from
Nebraska.
The match up never materialized as he withdrew
from the tournament after his quarterfinal win.
Although disappointed the match up would not happen he
stayed focused and captured the championship. Overall,
Tanner dominated the field. He won 5
matches en route to the title including 2 pins and a
major decision.
For full results go to:
gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/120207aaa.html
Josh Zupancic featured in this
months Amateur wrestling News
Senior Josh Zupancic is featured in this months issue of
AWN. The article's title "Mind over Matter or Brian over
Braun? Stanford AA Zupancic Utilizes both"
Visit gostanford.com to see the article. It is located in
the Cardinal Clips section.
Matt Gentry set for Olympic trials
After a lot of preparation the time has finally arrived.
Next weekend Matt will be competing in the Olympic team
trials for Canada. He will be competing on Saturday Dec
15th. He currently sits on top of the ladder. Everyone
else will battle for a chance to challenge him in a best
of 3 series to determine the Olympian.
For more information visit mattgentry.com/blog
Things are slowing down for the next
few days while the team gets ready for finals. We will
return to action on Dec 18th at the Reno Tournament of
Champions.
Schedule Update
We have added a dual meet our east coast trip. Sunday Jan.
6th after the duals in Princeton we will be heading to NYC
to compete against Wagner College at the New York Athletic
Club . The dual will begin at approximately 6pm.
The 2007-08 season is upon us and it is going great.
We have a room full of hard working dedicated wrestlers
and it feels so good to “go to work” everyday. We began
official practices on Monday the 8th after 3 weeks of
“pre season” conditioning. This time was spent building
our conditioning base and helping the team bond as the
new were able to get to know the old. With 17 new comers
in the room, the process is still taking place.
I have attached a PDF version of our Fall Newsletter,
which will be getting mailed out soon, but I wanted to
get the info about the program out as soon as possible.
I realize some of you are not on our mailing list, so
you may not receive information through regular mail. If
you would like to be added to the list, please send me
your address.
There are a few things in the newsletter that I wanted
to point out. First, I know its short notice, but the
annual Meet the Team Tailgate is scheduled for this
Saturday, Oct 13th at 12pm. The location is different
from previous years. This year we will be located
between the pool and the baseball stadium. The area is
called “Pac 10 Plaza or Poolside Party Plaza”. This is
always a fun time where the coaches and team get to
mingle with alums and other supporters of the program.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact
me.
Also this weekend’s practices will be open to the
public. Actually all of our practices are relatively
open, but with this being reunion weekend, I like to
encourage as many alums and supporters to stop by and
see what we are up to. Practices are Friday at 3:30pm
and Saturday at 10am in the Weintz Family Wrestling room
in the basement of Arrillaga Family Sports Center.
Another event that is announced in the newsletter is our
Fall Banquet and Auction. This event was started as a
fund raiser last year, and was a big hit. This year the
event is going to be on campus so it may be a little
easier logistically for everyone planning on attending.
The event is held in conjunction with our wrestle offs
on October 27th. The wrestle offs are at 2pm and the
banquets social hour/silent auction will begin at 6pm
with dinner starting around 7pm. The theme of this
year’s banquet is “Returning All-Americans”. This is the
first time in 40 years that Stanford Wrestling has had
multiple All-American returning to compete. To help
celebrate this, we have invited all Stanford Wrestling
All-Americans to share their experiences with the team
and supporters.
If you did not receive and invitation for the banquet,
then we probably do not have your current contact
information. If you would like to be on our mailing
list, please send me your updated information.
There is a lot of additional info in the newsletter, so
I will not go on too much about it, but the last thing I
want to mention is the new structure of fund raising.
The department has done a tremendous job meeting our
needs financially. The transition from us doing all the
fund raising to Buck/Cardinal taking the bulk is such a
great thing; I cannot express how much it means to our
program. Anyone who wrestled for Stanford can attest
that having the department support the program is not
something to be taken for granted. Because of this, I
encourage you to direct your annual giving to the
Buck/Cardinal Club in the name of wrestling. If you are
considering a large gift, we would like you to direct
that towards one of our program endowments. If you have
questions or concerns about donations, please contact me
by phone or email and if I cannot answer your questions,
I will direct you to someone who can.
Again, please read the newsletter and get caught up with
the program. We have high goals for this year and I know
with your support, we will reach our goals.
2007-08 Season Outlook
Stanford
wrestling has been making a steady climb over the past
few years, reaching milestone after milestone as the
program aims to establish itself as a national
competitor and a regional powerhouse. In 2007-08, the
Cardinal has everything it needs to be successful: a
two-time Olympian head coach, two returning All-
Americans, four returning NCAA qualifiers, eight
returning starters and 17 eager newcomers. It doesn’t
get any better than this.
Two years ago, Kerry McCoy took the helm of the
Stanford wrestling program and immediately began
implementing a plan to take the Cardinal to the top. In
his first season, he returned the program to its winning
ways and helped it begin an ascent up the Pac-10 ladder.
Last season, the team made even bigger leaps. Zack
Giesen, one of McCoy’s first recruits, stormed into the
collegiate wrestling world and was named the
conference’s top freshman. Five Stanford wrestlers
placed in the Pac-10 and all five earned a spot at the
NCAA Championships. Tanner Gardner matched the school’s
single-season win record and claimed Stanford’s first
individual conference title since 2004. And for the
first time in four decades, two Cardinal wrestlers
earned All- American honors in the same season.
This year, McCoy and the athletes that made all of
that happen are ready to pick up where they left off. “I
am very excited about this season,” said McCoy. “On
paper we have one of the best teams Stanford has ever
had. We made huge strides last season and our guys have
been working hard to improve on that. It’s going to be a
great year.”
The promise for 2007-08 does not end with Stanford’s
strong foundation of returners. This year, McCoy has
landed a freshman class that has combined for nine prep
state titles. Moreover, he has added a pair of promising
new assistant coaches to his staff, former Central
Michigan standout Jason Borrelli and former Oregon State
standout Matt Ellis. McCoy is confident that the new
faces will be valuable additions to the program. “I
believe we have one of the best groups of newcomers you
can ask for,” said McCoy. “They are all committed to
being the very best at everything they do and that goes
along with what we want at Stanford. Our new assistants
bring a lot of experience and knowledge to our program.
Jason will focus on our light weights and Matt will be
working with our upper-middle weights. The energy that
they add is going to have a big impact on our success. ”
Stanford begins the 2007-08 campaign in senior
Tanner Gardner’s home state of Kansas, meeting Fort Hays
State for a dual meet on Nov. 9. The team will then
compete in two tournaments, the Central Missouri State
Open and the Fullerton Open, before taking on San
Francisco State in San Francisco on Nov. 21. The team
will return to the Las Vegas Invitational, Nov. 30-Dec.
1, where two Stanford wrestlers placed in one of the
most competitive fields in the nation last year. The
Cardinal will also return to the Reno Tournament of
Champions this season, which takes place Dec. 19. The
Cardinal heads east to start the new year, with four
duals over three days in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Stanford will compete against Drexel, Lehigh, Princeton
and East Stroudsburg University.
Pac-10 action begins on Jan. 18, when the Cardinal
will take on Boise State and UC Davis at the UC Pavilion
in Davis. Six days later, Stanford will look to defeat
2007 Pac-10 Championship runner-up Cal State
Bakersfield, taking on the Roadrunners in its first home
dual of the year. Just a day later, the Cardinal will
face Menlo College and Portland State on home turf.
Stanford continues conference action the first two
weekends of February, taking on Oregon, defending Pac-10
Champion Oregon State, Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton
on the road. The regular season concludes in Tempe,
Ariz., when the Cardinal meets Arizona State.
This year’s Pac-10 Championships will be hosted by
the University of Oregon in Eugene, Mar. 2-3. The 2008
NCAA Championships will be held Mar. 20-22 in St. Louis,
Mo.
“I have always believed in challenging our
guys during the season to prepare them for the
postseason,” said McCoy. “This year is no different. We
have a few teams on our schedule that are ranked
nationally and we compete in some of the toughest
tournaments in the nation. It’s going to be tough, but
it’s going to make us better and help us reach our
goals.”
|
