Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Bakersfield; San Francisco State
Where: Icardo Center – Bakersfield, Calif.; Main Gymnasium – San Francisco, Calif.
When: Today at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior Marcos Orozco went 3-0 at the Stanford Duals and has caught national attention in the 125-pound weight class.
Orozco is currently ranked No. 16 in the country after leading UC Davis in its three-dual winning streak against Drexel, Columbia and Stanford last week.
The Vacaville High School product finished fifth in his class at the Las Vegas Invite – which hosted 44 teams – and then placed fourth at the 30-team Reno Tournament of Champions. He looks to continue his winning streak this weekend against the Roadrunners and Gators.
Did you know? San Francisco State is currently ranked No. 20 in Division II. Orozco will be going up against Curtis Schurkamp, who is currently ranked No. 1 in Division II play.
Preview: The Aggies are coming off a strong road trip at Stanford where they improved their record to 2-1 in Pacific-10 duals and 6-2 overall.
UC Davis will need to wrestle just as well this weekend to keep its winning streak alive. The Aggies will have their work cut out for them tonight, as the Roadrunners have a top-15 wrestler in three weight classes: 125-pound, 197-pound and heavyweight.
UC Davis will then travel to San Francisco tomorrow night to take on the Gators. Coach Lennie Zalesky is concerned about injuries for the long weekend.
“It’s going to be tough going to Bakersfield without a full lineup,” he said. “They’re a very tough team with a solid lineup. I’d say they’re favored in most of the weights.
“San Francisco State is always a solid squad and we’ll have to wrestle well to beat them.”
UC Davis will have to battle through their injuries this weekend if they want to pick up a pair of road wins.
–Kyle Hyland