Teams: UC Davis vs. Oregon State; Cal State Fullerton
Where: The Pavilion; Titan Gym – Fullerton, Calif.
When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Sunday at noon
Who to watch: Sophomore Barrett Abel has been perfect for the Aggies this year, posting a 10-0 record at the 149-pound weight-class.
The Placerville, Calif. native has been stellar all year long, and last weekend was no different as Abel earned a major decision at Cal State Bakersfield and then pinned his opponent at San Francisco State.
Did you know? The dual this Friday will be a Zalesky-Zalesky matchup, as UC Davis coach Lennie Zalesky welcomes his brother, Jim, and Oregon State to the Pavilion.
They have met each other four times in their coaching careers, with Jim posting a 3-1 record over Lennie.
“I don’t think a lot about [the sibling rivalry]. I always pull for him except when we face off,” Zalesky said. “There’s always that little bit of competitiveness, but it’s always done with a smirk.“
Preview: The Aggies are coming off of a rough weekend where they dropped a pair of road duals to Cal State Bakersfield and San Francisco State.
A banged-up UC Davis team looks to have its full lineup against conference rivals Oregon State and Cal State Fullerton this weekend.
“If we have a full lineup, I expect to be very competitive. The injury bug is really hurting us right now. We have a chance to win at every weight if healthy,” Zalesky said. “We’ll just need to compete and try to pull off the upsets in some of the weights we’re not favored in.“
Oregon State beat the Aggies last year 23-12 in Corvallis, Ore.
UC Davis is riding a two-dual conference win streak, posting a 3-1 Pacific-10 record and 6-6 overall.
On Sunday, the Aggies will travel to Cal State Fullerton for the annual “Beauty and the Beast” promotion against the Titans, as it runs concurrently with gymnastics. The Aggies hosted the event last year and lost to the Titans 29-7.
Cal State Fullerton enters the dual with a 3-1 Pac-10 record and sits 9-5 overall after splitting two conference duals last weekend.
–Kyle Hyland
