BEST EVER?
Current Augsburg team may be second to none
If there was any doubt that Augsburg was the team to beat in Division III, you can put those doubts to rest for the time being. In fact, after defeating Nebraska-Omaha in a Jan. 28 dual, you could even argue that the Auggies are the best non-Division I team in the nation.
A week after both Nebraska-Omaha and the Auggies won the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals in their respective divisions, the two teams met in Omaha for a clash for bragging rights between Division II and III.
Matt Shankey and Mark Matzek did what they have been doing all season, and that’s getting the Auggies rolling as they won decisions over their
opponents.Shankey defeated Dustin Tovar, 6-5, one of three top-ranked wrestlers for the Mavericks, before Matzek gave the Auggies a 6-0 lead with his 10-5 victory over Mitch Waite, ranked second at 133 in Division II.
The Mavericks answered right back with a pair of victories including Eli Domingez’s 9-6 decision over Jamell Tidwell at 141 pounds. Dominguez is ranked second in Division II.
It was pretty much all Auggies after that as they put together a string of five straight victories to put the dual away heading into the heavyweight match. The Auggies downed another top-ranked UNO opponent when Ryan Valek downed J.D. Naig at 165.
A week later, the Auggies were back in action, this time against one of the best in their own division, Wartburg. In a rematch of the National Duals finals, the result was the same and the score was nearly identical to that of the first meeting as the Auggies came out on top 16-15.
“It just shows how close the two teams are,” said Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson.
And just like in the first meeting, Marcus LeVesseur’s bonus points at 157 pounds was the difference in the dual as he recorded a major decision over Cory Connell.
Shankey held on to a 3-2 decision over Justin McClintook to give the Auggies the early lead. The match was the closest bout ever between the two wrestlers.
“McClintook is a tough wrestler,” said Swenson. “He took a few things away from Shankey, but Matt still wrestled a good match.”
There were only two matches the whole night that ended with different results and those were the 149-pound and 184-pound bouts. The Knights’ Jacob Naig got revenge over Jared Evans with a 9-6 decision at 149 and the Auggies’ Brad Tupa did the same by defeating No. 1-ranked Scott Kaufman 11-6 at 184 pounds.
“They nipped us at a weight class that we won before and then we did the same back to them,” said Swenson.
Wartburg head coach Jim Miller wasn’t satisfied with his team’s performance.
“I thought we competed hard and wrestled well but some of our wrestlers were too tentative,” said Miller. “I feel we are making progress and we definitely want to be at our best these last few weeks of the season.”
When you defeat two very good teams like this, many questions begin to rise about this being the best Augsburg team ever. Swenson put those questions to rest real quickly after the Wartburg dual.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t even touch that with a ten-foot pole,” said Swenson. “I never compare my past teams seeing as we treat every team differently.”
One big factor in Augsburg consistently being a national title contender is their schedule.
“We just try to wrestle the toughest competition that we can,” said Swenson. “They are the defending champs with almost everyone back.”
Swenson also said that they would continue to dual the Mavericks in the future.
After showing they can compete with the best in Div. II, some fans begin to wonder how well they would do against Div. I competition.
Earlier in the season, they defeated a few respectable Div. I teams in Cal-Poly and Oregon State. However, judging by past performances, Swenson isn’t so quick to say they can compete with Division I’s best.
“We have been at the National Duals before they separated divisions and we weren’t beating the big teams,” said Swenson. “We have a lot respect for those teams.”
As if the Auggies weren’t tough enough, they welcome the returning 174-pound national champion, Joe Moon back into their line-up.
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