LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In mid-December, the University of Indianapolis hosted the Midwest Classic, which is widely viewed as the top Division II wrestling tournament in the country.
A strong argument could be made that UIndy will be hosting the premier DII conference tournament as well.
Beginning Saturday and continuing through Sunday, Bellarmine University will be one of seven squads competing in the GLVC Wrestling Championship at UIndy's Nicoson Hall. In the two-day festival of wrestling, the Knights will compete in three duals each day against their six GLVC counterparts. The team with the best winning percentage from its six GLVC dual matches will be crowned GLVC champion.
The GLVC has a prominent presence in the national rankings. McKendree is tied for No. 4, Drury and Indianapolis are tied for No. 12, Maryville is No. 15 and Ouachita Baptist is tied for No. 25.
On Saturday, Bellarmine will face Indianapolis at 2 p.m. (ET), Drury at 4 p.m. and Maryville at 6 p.m. On Sunday, the Knights will square off with McKendree at 9 a.m., Ouachita Baptist at 11 a.m. and Truman State at 1 p.m.
"It's a brutal two-day schedule but, as I tell the guys, with challenge comes opportunity," Knights Coach
Spencer Adams said. "The way I see it is that we have a chance to prove that, although we are a very young team, we are tough and able to battle with the best programs in the nation. When looking at it from that perspective, it makes this weekend one to look forward to and to embrace."
Bellarmine is 5-2 in dual competition this season. The Knights went 3-1 in early December in the Newberry Duals, defeated Urbana 30-9 on Jan. 9 and dominated Kentucky Wesleyan 52-0 on Jan. 23. In terms of opponents, the GLVC Championship will be a whole other animal, and Adams said the Knights will find out a lot about themselves.
"I believe in our guys and I know that when we wrestle to our potential we can battle with any team out there," he said. "Dual meets can be deceiving in terms of scoring. We could win or lose every match by a hard-fought decision and still win or lose by 30 points. I'm not looking to the scoreboard this weekend as much as I'm looking at the heart of the team. I want to see us come together and give it all we have. If we go out there and wrestle hard, I'll be happy."
Four Knights have amassed at least 22 wins on the season. Sophomore
Andrew Sams (174) has registered 29, sophomore
Eric Beck (165) has tallied 23 and junior
Gage Branson (149) and freshman
Brian Stears (285) have collected 22 apiece. Sophomore
Brett Bryant (184) and freshman
Brandon Lucas (125) have notched 15 wins apiece.
The NCAA Super Regional will unfold Feb. 23 and the GLVC Championship will represent a valuable measuring stick for the Knights.
"We still have a few weeks until our national qualifying tournament, so this is just another weekend to get better and prepare ourselves for that," Adams said. "I feel that we have some individuals on the team that can pull off some big upsets this weekend. If we are able to knock off the top-ranked guys then it will definitely help our case for top seeds at regionals. On the same note, as a team I feel that we can compete with just about anyone. My challenge for the guys as individuals is to beat someone that they aren't supposed to beat on paper and, as a team, let's come together and beat a team that no one expects us to beat.
"Overall records as a team and as individuals aren't a big concern — at this point in our program I want the guys to see the light and to understand how close we are to being great," Adams added. "Some of the guys are already there and some aren't, but we are now to the point where one big win will change everything. This weekend we have several opportunities to hit that big moment."
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