"This is a very tough schedule, especially since we will be a young team this year," Ortiz said. "Every year, I try to put our wrestlers in tough environments against some of the best in the nation to prepare them for the Pac-10 and NCAA Championships and this year is no exception. We will be wrestling in some tough places like Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State and Cornell and facing the best each week. When it comes time for the championship season, I know this schedule will prepare us to contend for another Pac-10 title and another strong finish at the national level."
The Sun Devils, who placed sixth at the NCAA event following the program's 16th Pac-10 title, have scheduled duals on the road against No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Iowa, No. 5 Cornell and No. 13 Iowa State while welcoming No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 9 Lehigh and No. 17 American to Wells Fargo Arena on the ASU campus. The Sun Devils have a chance of also facing No. 8 Edinboro and No. 9 Penn State as all three are on the entry list for the 2007 Virginia Duals.
Of the 19 other teams that placed in the Top 20 at the national champions one year ago, the Sun Devils could face in either dual competitions and/or individual tournaments 17 of those squads. ASU will once again head to the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 1-2) and the Reno Tournament of Champions (Dec. 20) where many of the top teams in the nation compete. ASU will see competitors from No. 7 Michigan, No. 11 Hofstra, No. 12 Penn and No. 15 Missouri in Las Vegas while the Reno event will feature No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Northwestern.
The season opens Nov. 12 with the Sun Devils playing host to conference foe Portland State and intrastate rival Embry-Riddle at 2 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena. After competing in the Fullerton Open in Fullerton, Calif., on Nov. 18, the Sun Devils jump back into dual action with their first tough road swing of the season as they face No. 4 Iowa (Nov. 25) and No. 13 Iowa State (Nov. 26) on back-to-back nights in Iowa.
After closing out the 2006 calendar year with the Las Vegas and Reno tournaments, the Sun Devils again hit the road for another tough contest, this time heading to No. 2 Minnesota on Jan. 2 in Minneapolis. Back at home, ASU will play host to the Sun Devil Duals on Jan. 7 with the hosts taking on No. 9 Lehigh, No. 17 American and Pac-10 rival Cal State Fullerton.
After competing in the Virginia Duals on Jan. 12-13 in Hampton, Va., the Sun Devils return home to face their third Pac-10 foe, Cal State Bakersfield, on Jan. 19 in Tempe before heading back across the nation to take on No. 5 Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. The following weekend, the Sun Devils travel to the state of Oregon where they will meet Oregon State (Jan. 26) and Oregon (Jan. 28) in Pac-10 action.
The month of February will bring about the final three duals of the season for the Sun Devils, starting with a Feb. 2 showdown in Tempe with No. 3 Oklahoma. The following weekend, ASU will play host to Cal Poly (Feb. 11) in the final home dual of the season. The Sun Devils then close out the dual season on the road on Feb. 16 when they return to Palo Alto, Calif., and the site of their 2006 Pac-10 title to face Stanford.
With the dual season behind them, the Sun Devils will travel to Bakersfield, Calif., on Feb. 25-26 as the team fights for its 17th Pac-10 title and third in a row. The tournament also will be used to select the qualifiers for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 15-17 at the Palace of Auburn Hills outside of Detroit, Mich.
The 2006-07 season will mark the 45th year of varsity competition for the Sun Devil program. Last year, ASU finished the dual season 14-7 overall and posted an 8-0 mark against the Pac-10 for the second year in a row.
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