The Mustangs are ranked as high as No. 19 in the preseason polls and have as many as seven ranked wrestlers while Cal State Fullerton is unranked as a team but has three matmen in the individual rankings. Cal Poly beat the Titans 26-13 in last year’s dual meet at Fullerton.
Cal Poly sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and four of them return. Two captured All-American honors -- Chase Pami finished second at 157 pounds and Boris Novachkov was seventh at 133 pounds. Pami is gone, but back for another season of competition are Boris Novachkov and three other national qualifiers -- Filip Novachkov, Ryan DesRoches and Nick Fisher.
The 2010-11 roster features eight returning Pac-10 Conference Championship placewinners, including 133-pound champion Boris Novachkov.
“Coming off the success we had last season, we have high expectations for this group of guys,” said Perry. “We’re right there to win the Pac-10 and that will be our main sight this year, to win the conference title.
“There are a lot of positives carrying over to this year and we want to put as many All-Americans and National Champions on the podium in March,” Perry added. “We have the talent to do it. We just need to have self belief and our wrestlers have to believe in the system they’re in.”
Added Azevedo, entering his eighth season as head coach, “We definitely are looking to be one of the top teams in the Pac-10, realizing that Boise State is ranked No. 2 in the country. We have a group of guys who could be right up there. Our goal is to win the conference and get six or seven wrestlers to the nationals.”
The Novachkov brothers will switch weight classes this year, with Boris taking the 141-pound slot and Filip dropping to 133.
Boris Novachkov finished his sophomore season with a 28-5 overall record, a Pac-10 title and a seventh-place national finish. He was 8-2 in dual meets and notched four pins on the year.
Filip Novachkov, now a senior, was 25-8 a year ago, finishing second in the Pac-10 finals and posting a 2-2 mark at the nationals. He was 11-1 in dual meets and recorded seven falls for the season.
Other returning Pac-10 placewinners are Fisher (second at 149 pounds), Ryan Smith (second at 197), Ryan DesRoches (third at 174), Steven Vasquez (sixth at 165), Kelan Bragg (sixth at 184) and Jim Powers (seventh at 197).
DesRoches (pictured above) led the Mustangs with 17 falls a year ago, finishing the season 34-10 overall and 9-2 in dual meets. Fisher was 17-8 a year ago with seven falls while Smith was 19-11 with a pair of falls. Vasquez notched a 17-14 record and Bragg was 9-14.
DesRoches will drop one weight class to 165 this year while Vasquez takes over at 174. Bragg has slimmed down to 184 to make room for Smith at 197.
The Mustang roster also is bolstered by the addition of three transfers -- 157-pounder Barrett Abel and 184-pounder Stephan Hampton from UC Davis and 285-pounder Atticus Disney from Minnesota. Abel was a Pac-10 champion a year ago and finished the season 21-9.
Cal Poly’s lineup for Saturday’s dual meet is expected to include Jake Tanenbaum at 125, Brandan Rocha at 133, Boris Novachkov at 141, Geoffrey Doss at 149, Abel at 157, DesRoches at 165, Vasquez at 174, Bragg at 184, Smith at 197 and Disney at 285.
Filip Novachkov is ranked as high as No. 5 at 133 while Boris Novachkov is ranked as high as No. 9 at 141. Other ranked Mustang wrestlers in the preseason include No. 15 Fisher at 149, No. 16 Abel at 157, No. 25 DesRoches at 174, No. 25 Smith at 197 and No. 25 Disney at 285.
Cal State Fullerton’s trio of ranked wrestlers are 125-pounder Andre Gonzalez (16th), 141-pounder Adin Duenas (No. 10) and 285-pounder Kurt Klimek (No. 17).
Duenas, the Pac-10 champion at 141 last year and a two-time NCAA qualifier, is not slated to wrestle Saturday. Gonzalez and Klimek both were fourth in the Pac-10s a year ago.
Cal State Fullerton head coach Dan Hicks (Oregon State ‘80) is in his ninth season and has compiled a 70-66-1 dual meet record.
In addition to Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly has 10 other dual meets on the schedule, including home dates with Wyoming and Cal State Bakersfield, and also will compete in the Fullerton Open, Midlands Open, Las Vegas Invitational, the Reno Tournament of Champions and the All-California Open.
The 2011 Pac-10 finals are slated for Feb. 27 at Oregon State and the NCAA Championships will be held March 17-19 in Philadelphia.
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