Rutgers 133 lber Sammy Alvarez (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)
Like I said, Week 1 is always the hardest.
Not every wrestle-off has been completed, there are still wrestlers who have an unknown starting weight, and tournaments are back with assumed, but ultimately unknown entrants.
Let's get this out of the way now. It's a 16 week season and you're going to have a down week or two in that time. You're going to get upset, you're going to question your team, you're going to get a visit from Captain Hindsight. Just remember, it's week 1, and there is plenty of time to right the ship. If this is your first time playing #FantasyCollegeWrestling, think of it as a learning opportunity and try to look past the wins and losses.
This weekend you'll get to see the madness and excitement that Fantasy College Wrestling can offer, and not even every team will be wrestling (like Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Penn State, etc.). Instead of watching a team or two, or maybe focusing on just one tournament as you have in the past, you'll be checking each stream, each forum, and each team's Twitter page to check on your guys and how they are doing. It's going to be madness, but in a good way. We really need to get something like the NFL Redzone for it all (wink wink, nudge nudge).
Right now is the "calm before the storm." Everything is at peace; there hasn't been any real drama, any bad ref call, any ducking controversies… yet. With a full season comes a full slate of topics and discussions to dive into and get reactions from. I look forward to doing that with you here in these Weekly Outlooks for the 2022 #FantasyCollegeWrestling Season (#FCW22).
So in this Week 1 together, enjoy the matches, enjoy the competition…. but enjoy it more by winning the week. And to do that, we need to set some optimal lineups.
This week has 57 of the 78 D1 teams in action, 10 of which finished in the Top-20 last season at the NCAA Tournament. There are several duals on the slate, but like in years past, the bulk of the competition lies with Open Tournaments.
Michigan State Open, Southeast Open (formerly the Hokie Open), The Citadel Open, Menlo Open, Clarion Open, East Stroudsburg Open, etc., etc. I hate to say it again, but Week 1 is the hardest because there are so many unknowns as compared to a couple weeks from now. Hell, we still don't know what weight Yianni Diakomihalis is going!
After reviewing the matchups and tournament entries for the week, the list compiled is to be used as a guide in helping you set the best lineup you can. Remember, it's about matchups, not necessarily getting and setting the highest-ranked wrestler in your lineup.
Tournament entries can change in an instant, so be sure to stay tuned to our Twitter (@FantasyD1Wrestl) for updates and any new information will be added to the comments section of the article.
For a better understanding of why some of these wrestlers were chosen for the Week's Outlook, tune in to the Fantasy College Wrestling Podcast (#FCWpodcast) that will come out each week as well.
Wrestlers I Like This Week
Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score]
125:
Anthony Noto (Lock Haven)- Clarion Open
Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh)- Clarion Open
Gary Steen (Penn State)- Clarion Open
Gage Curry (Pittsburgh)- Clarion Open
Luke Werner (Lock Haven)- Clarion Open
Joey Prata (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open
Ed Ventresca (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Fresh/Soph Division)
Joe Manchio (Columbia)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Brock Hudkins (Indiana)- Vs Bellarmine & SIU-Edwardsville (@BELL) [+7]
Devin Schroder (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+7]
Micah Roes (Binghamton)- Vs Cleveland State & Rutgers (@RUT) [+6]
Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State)- Vs Campbell, Vs Lehigh [+6]
Malik Heinselman (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+4]
Patrick McCormick (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
133:
Joey Oliveri (Rutgers)- East Stroudsburg Open
Lucas Byrd (Illinois)- Michigan State Open
Rayvon Foley (Michigan State)- Michigan State Open
Angelo Rini (Columbia)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Nick Masters (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+8]
Aaron Schulist (SIU-Edwardsville)- Vs Bellarmine & Indiana (@BELL) [+6]
Brian Courtney (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
Kellyn March (North Dakota State)- Vs California Baptist [+4]
Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado)- Utah Valley [+3]
141:
Danny Pucino (Illinois)- Michigan State Open
Dresden Simon (Central Michigan)- Michigan State Open
Kaden Cassidy (George Mason)- Southeast Open (Fresh/Soph Division)
Collin Girardi (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Matthew Kazimir (Columbia)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+10]
Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)- Utah Valley [+4]
Dylan Cedeno (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
149:
Brent Moore (Clarion)- Clarion Open
Shane Van Ness (Penn State)- Clarion Open
Anthony White (Rutgers)- East Stroudsburg Open
Mitch Moore (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open
Alex Madrigal (George Mason)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Luke Nichter (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [+3], East Stroudsburg Open
Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
157:
Kolby Ho (Clarion)- Clarion Open
Andrew Cerniglia (Navy)- Clarion Open
Alejandro Hererra-Rondon (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open
Quincy Monday (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Parker Kropman (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [-3], East Stroudsburg Open
Justin Ruffin (SIU-Edwardsville)- Vs Bellarmine & Indiana (@BELL) [+7]
Kendall Coleman (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+7]
Robert Kanniard (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+7]
Jake Keating (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
Jared Franek (North Dakota State)- Vs California Baptist [+4]
165:
Dalton Harkins (Army)- East Stroudsburg Open
Grant Cuomo (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Alex Facundo (Penn State)- Clarion Open
Peyton Hall (West Virginia)- Clarion Open
Ricky Stamm (Hofstra)- Clarion Open
Holden Heller (Hofstra)- Clarion Open
Danny Braunagel (Illinois)- Michigan State Open
Evan Wick (Cal Poly)- Michigan State Open
Jacob Tucker (Michigan State)- Michigan State Open
Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Job Chishko (VMI)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Evan Barczak (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [+3], East Stroudsburg Open
Luke Weber (North Dakota State)- Vs California Baptist [+4]
Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+4]
Justin McCoy (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley)- Northern Colorado [+3]
174:
Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh)- Clarion Open
Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open
Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Michael O'Malley (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [+3], East Stroudsburg Open
Jackson Turley (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+8]
Donnell Washington (Indiana)- Vs Bellarmine & SIU-Edwardsville (@BELL) [+7]
Ethan Smith (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+3]
184:
Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army)- East Stroudsburg Open
Charles Small (Hofstra)- Clarion Open
David Key (Navy)- Clarion Open
Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)- Michigan State Open
Zac Braunagel (Illinois)- Michigan State Open
Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Tanner Harvey (Oregon State)- Vs Campbell, Vs Lehigh [+7], Menlo Open
Brian McLaughlin (Drexel)- Vs Purdue [-3], East Stroudsburg Open
Max Lyon (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+6]
Michael Battista (Virginia)- @ American [+4]
197:
Jake Koser (Navy)- Clarion Open
Cam Caffey (Michigan State)- Michigan State Open
Jake Woodley (Oklahoma)- Michigan State Open
Tyler Mousaw (VMI)- Southeast Open (Fresh/Soph Division)
Luke Stout (Princeton)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Greg Bulsak (Rutgers)- Vs Binghamton, Vs Cleveland State [+7]
Garrett Hoffman (Indiana)- Vs Bellarmine & SIU-Edwardsville (@BELL) [+6]
Thomas Penola (Purdue)- Vs Drexel, Vs Rider [+6]
Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado)- Utah Valley [+3]
285:
Ryan Catka (Navy)- East Stroudsburg Open
Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra)- Clarion Open
Zach Schrader (Maryland)- Clarion Open
Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)- Michigan State Open
Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech)- Southeast Open (Open Division)
Colton McKiernan (SIU-Edwardsville)- Vs Bellarmine & Indiana (@BELL) [+7]
Tate Orndorff (Ohio State)- Vs North Carolina [+3]
Think there is someone we missed? Let me know!
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