MATCH STORYLINES
- The second-ranked Nittany Lions are coming off a two-match home sweep of Illinois and Northwestern. Freshman heavyweight Seth Nevills won the clinching bout in his Penn State debut vs. the Fighting Illini, while Penn State won seven of 10 bouts to take down the Wildcats.
- The Nittany Lions had seven wrestlers compete this past weekend at Millersville's Hitchcock Memorial and five placed, including 285-pound champion Greg Kirkvliet wrestling unattached.
- Penn State returns to action when it travels to face Nebraska at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. .
TODAY'S LINEUP
HEAD COACH CAEL SANDERSON
- Sanderson, the 12th head coach in Penn State history, is in his 11th season in Happy Valley.
- Sanderson has guided the Nittany Lions to eight of the last nine NCAA titles, as well as numerous Big Ten and tournament titles.
- The only NCAA wrestler to never lose a bout over four years, Sanderson is a four-time NCAA champions and four-time NCAA Most Outstanding Wrestler
- Sanderson also was a 2004 Olympic gold medalist and a three-time Hodge Trophy winner
WRESTLER SPOTLIGHT: VINCENZO JOSEPH
Senior // 165 pounds
- A two-time NCAA champion (2017, 2018), Joseph is 5-0 and ranked No. 1 at 165 pounds.
- Joseph was an NCAA finalist last season and has more than 70 career wins, including a career-best 14 pins in 2018-19.
- Arrived at Penn State with nearly 140 wins and two state titles as a four-year starter at Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
REC HALL
Rec Hall is Penn State's busiest and most versatile venue, as five varsity teams which participate throughout all three collegiate seasons, call it home. Construction was overseen by architect Charles Z. Klauder, who also designed the University of Pennsylvania's Palestra, and upon completion, Rec Hall was considered one of the premier field houses in the nation. The facility has been the site of 21 collegiate national championships, 16 international gymnastics meets and five NIT games.
Credits:
Mark Selders, Craig Houtz