Wrestling sweeps weekend on east coast

By Ryan Huber

Published Nov. 13, 2007

The No. 6 Missouri wrestling squad took the day off on Monday following what coach Brian Smith called a "wake-up call" weekend for the Tigers in Hempstead, N.Y.

On Friday evening, MU blew out No. 27 Rider in a 34-4 final. Saturday found the Tigers in need of a five-point contribution from heavyweight Mark Ellis in the final match of dual to capture a come-from-behind victory against No. 13 Hofstra. Ellis followed through with a 21-6 victory by technical fall to give Missouri a 22-21 victory.

"They impressed me," Smith said of Hofstra. "I'm glad we wrestled them because it woke up a few of the guys in our lineup. They learned we have to show up and wrestle hard or they will put it to you."

Ellis, coming off a pin in his match on Friday evening, once again went on the offensive against James Guerin of Hofstra, finishing the match with eight takedowns.

"We always tell him (Mark), 'Those guys won't be able to keep up with you. You are big guy in a little guy's body,'" Smith said. "He is one of our fastest runners and his endurance continues to improve."

Senior Josh Wager had a close bout with All-American Don Fisch of Rider but came up short after holding the lead heading into the third and final period.

"Josh went out, took the kid down, put him on his back and then rode him for a minute or so," Smith said. "He got caught in a high cradle and instead of bailing out, he tried to drive, threw him and the kid was able to flip him. That changed things because it let the kid back in the match. He just made too many mistakes. Against a guy who nearly won nationals last year, you just can't make those mistakes."

Redshirt freshman Tony Pescaglia and junior Emanuel Brooks both made their collegiate debuts and won.