WASHINGTON - The first dual of the calendar year has American University hosting #8 Virginia Tech at home in Bender Arena at 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 8. The Eagles are coming off back-to-back wins over Sacred Heart and Hofstra, while the Hokies lost to #12 Cornell on Friday and will face George Mason on Sunday afternoon before heading to AU.

Enhanced Concessions in Bender Arena

• AU Athletics has partnered with Gregorio's Trattoria to provide an enhanced concessions menu for all home wrestling matches this season in Bender Arena.
• Fans can enjoy Gregorio's favorites including menu selections of pizza, Italian sausage and peppers, hot and cold sub sandwiches and wraps, chicken fingers, hot dogs, chips, desserts and more, as well as a full selection of refreshing Pepsi products.
• Credit cards are accepted.
• NO outside food or beverages are permitted into Bender Arena. 

Inside the Series

• Since 1980, Virginia Tech has an 11-5 lead in the all-time series against American, but the teams have not met in almost 10 years.

What to Know about American

• With four dual wins already in 2022-23, American is showing huge improvement over last year when the Eagles had just one dual victory. Most recently, AU scored a dominant, 41-3 rout of Sacred Heart and a 21-16 defeat of Hofstra—both on the road.
• AU's 41 points at Sacred Heart were the most scored in seven years, and the margin of victory was the highest in eight years.
• Overall, AU has 40 pins this season with 12 duals still remaining, which is four more than last season's overall total of 36 pins.
• Leading the way in total wins is sophomore Maximilian Leete (125) at 15-5, sophomore Jack Maida (133) at 13-4 and freshman Caleb Campos (165) at 11-5.
• Leete (125) placed sixth at the F&M Open on Jan. 6, while Maida (133) and sophomore Carsten Rawls (184) were both eighth. Leete was 5-1 and unable to advance further due to the NCAA daily match limit. He pinned his first three opponents, bringing his season pin total to nine.
• With 15 career pins in less than two full seasons, Leete already ranks 11th all-time at American.
• Campos (165) has won five straight bouts heading into the dual against VT.
• Three Eagles finished as placewinners at the Navy Classic on Nov. 19. Redshirt junior Will Jarrell (HWT) and Leete (125) were both fifth, while Campos (165) placed seventh.
• Campos (165) and redshirt junior Connor Bourne (197) both pulled out dual wins in a tough match vs. Army West Point, with Campos defeating the #28-ranked wrestler, Dalton Harkins.
• Out of 11 placewinners for AU at The Citadel Open on Nov. 13, the Eagles had two champions. Freshman Raymond Lopez went 4-0 in winning at 125 pounds, and Maida was 4-0 on his way to victory at 133 pounds.
• The Eagles have a roster of 25, with 18 of those seeing solid time on the competition mat last season. That's a big change from last year when only seven had previous collegiate experience.
• American's captains for the 2022-23 season are Bourne, Jarrell, and redshirt senior Patrick Ryan.
• The Eagles will face eight total EIWA opponents in dual meets prior to the EIWA Championships on March 4-5 in Philadelphia, hosted by Penn. AU returns nine of 10 wrestlers who competed in the EIWA Championships in 2021-22, including Maida who placed fourth at 133 pounds as a freshman.

Probable Starters for American

• 125 - Maximilian Leete (So., 15-5)
• 133 - Jack Maida (So., 13-4)
• 141 - Ethan Szerencsits (R-So., 7-6)
• 149 - Patrick Ryan (R-Sr., 4-8)
• 157 - Jack Nies (R-So., 8-7)
• 165 - Caleb Campos (Fr., 11-5)
• 174 - Lucas White (R-Fr., 5-11) or Brad Kata (Gr., 5-5)
• 184 - Colin Shannon (Gr., 8-7) or Carsten Rawls (So., 8-10)
• 197 - Connor Bourne (R-Jr., 7-3)
• HWT - Isaac Righter (R-So., 7-4) or Will Jarrell (R-Jr., 9-6)

What to Know About Virginia Tech

• In the first rankings of 2023, Virginia Tech enters the weekend ranked in the top eight across three ranking polls – No. 8 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings, No. 5 on Flowrestling, and No. 10 on Intermat.
• For the fourth week in a row, Tech fields 10 ranked wrestlers including four in the top-10 and none ranked lower than 23.
• Ranked in this week's Intermat polls – No. 18 Eddie Ventresca (125), No. 8 Sam Latona (133), No. 14 Tom Crook (141), No. 11 Caleb Henson (149), No. 6 Bryce Andonian (157), No. 22 Connor Brady (165), No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (174), No. 7 Hunter Bolen (184), No. 21 Andy Smith (197), and No. 23 Hunter Catka (285).
• This season, VT returned All-Americans Sam Latona, Bryce Andonian, Mekhi Lewis, and Hunter Bolen. Bolen enters his last year of eligibility looking to become the Hokies' first five-time NCAA qualifier in program history.
• Other returning NCAA qualifiers are Collin Gerardi, Connor Brady, Drew Nicholson, Dakota Howard, and Hunter Catka.
• AU assistant coach Joey Dance was a two-time All-American at Virginia Tech.

Probable Starters for Virginia Tech (3-2)

• 125 - No. 18 Eddie Ventresca (R-Fr.) or Cooper Flynn (R-Fr.)
• 133 - No. 8 Sam Latona (R-Jr.) or Brandon Wittenberg (R-Jr.)
• 141 - No. 14 Tom Crook (Fr.) or Collin Gerardi (R-Sr.)
• 149 - No. 11 Caleb Henson (Fr.) or Kylan Montgomery (So.)
• 157 - Clayton Ulrey (So.)
• 165 - No. 22 Connor Brady (R-So.) or Ty Finn (R-Fr.)
• 174 - Jordan Florence (R-Sr.)
• 184 - Sam Fisher (R-So.)
• 197 - No. 21 Andy Smith (Jr.) or Dakota Howard (R-Sr.)
• 285 - No. 23 Hunter Catka (R-So.)

*Rankings from Intermat

















Season Ticket Pass To All Regular Season Home Duals

• Save over 40% off the walk up price!  Get behind the team as one of our biggest and best supporters and cheer loud and proud for the AU Wrestling team in Bender Arena with friends, family, and colleagues by purchasing your season ticket pass to all home duals!  Click here to purchase your season tickets.
• Adult - $40
• Youth (17 and below) / Senior (65+) - $20

Borrelli's Season Ticket Give-Back Program – DONATE SEASON TICKETS

• Not in the DMV, but still want to support AU Wrestling?  Purchase a season ticket to support the wrestling program and return any unwanted tickets back to the ticket office and we will donate your ticket(s) to a local youth wrestling club or organization.
• This program will allow the youth wrestlers of the DMV to experience high-quality Division-I wrestling in person.
• For questions on this community give-back program please email clawed@american.edu.  Click here to purchase your donated season tickets.

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