Stanford (1-2, 0-0 Pac-10) begins the weekend with is first Pac-10 dual and fourth overall dual of the season. The Cardinal will square off with the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Friday at 2:30 p.m at Titan Gym in Fullerton. Junior captain Tanner Gardner, who remains undefeated this season and claimed the Bison Open Championship at 125 pounds last weekend, will lead Stanford into action. The Cardinal is coming off of a successful weekend, after posting a combined 17 pins in competition on Saturday.
The dual will open the season for the Titans, who finished ninth at the conference championships last season and posted a 6-12 overall record. Cal State Fullerton returns two Pac-10 place-winners, including junior Morgan Atkinson, who qualified for the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds in 2006 and is currently ranked 15th nationally. Last season, Stanford claimed a 26-11 victory over the Titans at Burnham Pavilion.
"This dual is important because it is the first conference competition of the season," said Head Coach Kerry McCoy. "We're going to have to face these guys later in the year to go to Nationals so we need to have a good showing and get back to our winning ways. Fullerton has a great team and a great coach so it will be a battle in every weight class. We can't take anything for granted."
On Saturday, the Cardinal will compete in the Fullerton Open, which features wrestlers from six of the ten Pac-10 schools. Two ranked teams, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 17 Cal Poly, highlight the 16-team field, which also includes Cal State Fullerton , Arizona State, Cal State Bakersfield, UC Davis, Embry-Riddle, Pima Community College, Utah Valley State, Bakersfield College, Cerritos College, Santa Ana College, East Los Angeles College, Palomar Community College and Cuesta College.
"The Fullerton open will be an important competition because we get to see some opponents from our conference," said McCoy. "We have some momentum from last week's competition, so we plan to use that to continue to build and get better."
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