2008 Woodie Awards
Wrestling prepares for East Regionals
By Mike Mallory
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 3/4/05 Section: Sports
The Slippery Rock wrestling team travels to East Stroudsburg Saturday, as it competes in the NCAA East Regional tournament.
The Rock will look to send wrestlers who qualify to represent SRU at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis beginning March 17.
SRU competed against the other four teams in the competition earlier this season, placing second out of five teams in the East Regional Duals on Feb. 5. Millersville won the duals. The other teams in the tournament include Duquesne, Gardner-Webb and Delaware State, three teams the Rock defeated during the match.
Coach Derek DelPorto said he feels the team is physically and mentally prepared for this weekend.
"I think that everyone understands that you have to win it to stay in it, and if they are not thinking that way, they probably aren't going to win it," DelPorto said.
In preparation for East Regionals, DelPorto has kept his wrestlers on a strict practice routine, resting the team for two consecutive days out of every four. He said he feels the strategy will help the Rock be in better condition compared to the other teams as the tournament moves along.
"I don't think anyone is as ready to go as long as us," DelPorto said. "It's a long long season of wrestling hard and cutting weight, and your body takes a beating. I think that we're in the best shape of all the teams in the region."
Following the 10 wrestlers from each individual weight class who win their specific class for the tournament, the coaches will judge who is most suited for the final wild card spot, and those 11 wrestlers would then go to St. Louis for the NCAA Championships.
DelPorto said the magnitude of the East Regionals can actually become negative for some wrestlers because many of them are anxious to get the season over with, and those wrestlers who are often expected to make it to the NCAA's are defeated in the tournament by an underdog.
The Rock will send seven freshmen into the tournament.
The Rock will look to send wrestlers who qualify to represent SRU at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis beginning March 17.
SRU competed against the other four teams in the competition earlier this season, placing second out of five teams in the East Regional Duals on Feb. 5. Millersville won the duals. The other teams in the tournament include Duquesne, Gardner-Webb and Delaware State, three teams the Rock defeated during the match.
Coach Derek DelPorto said he feels the team is physically and mentally prepared for this weekend.
"I think that everyone understands that you have to win it to stay in it, and if they are not thinking that way, they probably aren't going to win it," DelPorto said.
In preparation for East Regionals, DelPorto has kept his wrestlers on a strict practice routine, resting the team for two consecutive days out of every four. He said he feels the strategy will help the Rock be in better condition compared to the other teams as the tournament moves along.
"I don't think anyone is as ready to go as long as us," DelPorto said. "It's a long long season of wrestling hard and cutting weight, and your body takes a beating. I think that we're in the best shape of all the teams in the region."
Following the 10 wrestlers from each individual weight class who win their specific class for the tournament, the coaches will judge who is most suited for the final wild card spot, and those 11 wrestlers would then go to St. Louis for the NCAA Championships.
DelPorto said the magnitude of the East Regionals can actually become negative for some wrestlers because many of them are anxious to get the season over with, and those wrestlers who are often expected to make it to the NCAA's are defeated in the tournament by an underdog.
The Rock will send seven freshmen into the tournament.
