LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University wrestling team will close out the home portion of its 2024-25 schedule this season as the Knights get set to host Southern Conference opponents The Citadel and Davidson in Knights Hall.
The weekend slate will begin on Friday night, February 7 with a dual against The Citadel Bulldogs at 7 pm E.T. before Bellarmine hosts its final home dual of the season on Sunday, February 9 against the Davidson Wildcats at 1 pm E.T. Sunday's match will feature both Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day celebrations.
Last weekend, Bellarmine played host to Appalachian State and VMI, going 1-1. The Knights battled in every match against App State, winning five bouts, but came up just short in the end, falling 23-19. The Knights bounced back quickly though, turning around for a 31-9 victory over VMI, their first SoCon win of the season.
Bellarmine's
Jack Parker (125) and
Daulton Mayer (285) both made their SoCon season debuts last weekend with both men going 2-0. Joining them in the undefeated SoCon ranks is
AJ Rallo (141) and
Devan Hendricks (184).
Last week, Rallo earned the first individual ranking in program history at No. 27 by FloWrestling. After his 2-0 weekend, Rallo now sits at No. 25 in Flo's 141-pound weight class Top 33.
Mayer, ranked No. 3 in the NCAA in wins by fall (11), added another tally to his resume, pinning App State's Stephan Monchery in 0:39 seconds last Friday night.
The Citadel enters Friday's dual at 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs, the third ranked team in the league, are coming off a 19-18 win over Chattanooga last weekend. So far, the Knights and Bulldogs have faced just one common opponent in App State. When The Citadel met the Mountaineers at the beginning of the year, App State came out on top 31-3. The Citadel recently defeated Davidson, Bellarmine's Sunday opponent, 44-0. The Bulldogs have one ranked wrestler in their lineup in Patrick Brophy (197), who sits at No. 28 in FlowWrestling's Top 33. Bellarmine and The Citadel have four times in series history, with the Knights winning just one matchup. In their last meeting, on February 4, 2024, The Citadel claimed a 27-3 win in Charleston, SC. Bellarmine's one win came on February 11, 2023, a 22-14 victory in the series most recent Knights Hall appearance.
Davidson enters the weekend 3-10 overall, 1-3 in SoCon action, and will first take on Chattanooga on Friday before making its way to Louisville for its bout with Bellarmine on Sunday. The Wildcat's lone SoCon win came against Presbyterian in November. Davidson is currently eighth in the league and is coming off a 47-0 loss at Campbell. The Wildcats also feature a single ranked wrestler in its lineup in Tanner Peake, who was recently honored as this week's SoCon Wrestler of the Week. Peake is ranked as the No. 23 wrestler in FloWrestling's 157-pound Top 33. Bellarmine and Davidson have met four times previously with the series being evenly split 2-2. The Knights have won each of the last two meetings however, taking a 27-9 win last season and a 27-12 victory in 2023. Both of BU's wins came on the road in Davidson, NC. In the lone meeting between the two programs in Knights Hall, Davidson claimed a 20-19 win.
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