LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University wrestling team will host Drury in a Great Lakes Valley Conference dual at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday in Knights Hall.

Bellarmine (2-4 overall) and Drury (2-3) are deadlocked at 1-1 in GLVC competition. The Knights edged Maryville 21-20 before falling 19-18 to Indianapolis when a tiebreaker determined the winner. Drury defeated Ouachita Baptist 33-8 and lost 37-9 to current No. 2 McKendree. The Panthers will wrestle at UIndy on Saturday before facing Bellarmine.

"Drury is a tough team and is going to be hard to beat," Knights Coach Spencer Adams said. "The thing about the GLVC is that every team is gritty and wants to win. The coaches are the best around, the programs are supported by their universities and the region is a hotbed for wrestling. There's talent across the board and a lot of these duals just come down to who is feeling it that particular day."

Both the Maryville and UIndy duals were nail-biters. Bellarmine topped the Saints after winning a decision in the final match. The Knights and Greyhounds wrestled to 18-all after the completion of their bouts, but UIndy held a slight 35-34 edge in match points, the third criteria, to secure the winning point.

"The UIndy dual was a heartbreaker, and one that haunts you for days following," Adams said. "There were so many ways to win that dual, but hindsight is always 20/20. We may have lost on criteria, but looking back at the dual our guys wrestled aggressively, which is shown by how we outscored UIndy in takedowns by double. I am proud of the team, and they did everything right; sometimes you just need a little luck. UIndy did its job and came away with the win, so you have to give credit where credit is due."

Bellarmine will honor seniors Gage Branson, Andy Dobben and Daniel Sheridan before the dual.

Branson, who qualified last season for the NCAA Championships and was an All-GLVC performer, is the program's all-time wins leader with 77 and falls leader with 36. Dobben ranks sixth on the all-time wins list with 37. Bellarmine's first season of wrestling came in 2016-17 after the new Knights program essentially absorbed the Saint Catharine College team after the school closed. Branson and Dobben have been foundational members of the program, arriving at Bellarmine after wrestling for Saint Catharine. Sheridan, an Academic All-GLVC mainstay and NWCA All-Academic honoree, has also been with the Knights since the inception of the program.

"These two (Branson and Dobben) have been a part of building two programs and have weathered some storms to get to this point," Adams said. "It's not an easy task to transfer to another school, and it's certainly not easy to transfer and build a program simultaneously. On top of that, they had to adjust to the competition in DII from NAIA and adapt in the classroom to the high standard that we have here at Bellarmine. Asking 19-year-old kids to take on all of those responsibilities is a tall task, but both of these guys made it through and have done so in an exceptional manner. At this point, I have had these guys around me for five years and they feel like family. They will be missed but, at the same time, I am looking forward to seeing what they do in their next steps in life.

"We call Daniel 'Dan the Man.' What he lacks in overall experience, he more than makes up for in heart. He and his parents have been a blessing to our program. He will be missed, but I know he will go on to do great things in life. He always has a positive attitude and gives his all. If he carries that mentality with him throughout his life, he will be successful, there's no doubt about it."

Branson is pacing Bellarmine this season with 19 wins. Freshmen Devan Hendricks and Zach Larue have tallied 17 and 16 victories, respectively, and sophomore Brandon Lucas has recorded 14 for the Knights, who are bracing for their dual with Drury.

"You can't ever relax because the next team up is ready to pounce on you," Adams said. "So far, our team has done a great job preparing mentally and physically. If we do that same thing, I feel that we will come out with the win, but if we wrestle with any less intensity than our last two duals, we will lose. It's imperative that we stay aggressive and hungry."

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