WHAT: Duals vs. Davidson and Cleveland State
WHEN:  Saturday, Dec. 2
WHERE:  Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC), Fairfax, Va.
MATCH-UPS:
12 pm – Davidson (0-1) vs. Mason (4-3)
1:30 pm – Cleveland State (0-3) vs. Mason
LIVE VIDEO:  ESPN+
FOLLOW ON TWITTER:  @GMUwrestling
PROGRAM:  LINK

WHAT: 'A Better Way Athletics' Patriot Open
WHEN:  Sunday, Dec. 3
WHERE:  George Mason Field House, Fairfax, Va.

Fairfax, Va. – The George Mason wrestling team is hosting two duals and a tournament this weekend. The Patriots will battle Davidson and MAC opponent Cleveland State in duals on Saturday at the RAC, beginning at Noon. On Sunday, Mason will host A Better Way Athletics Open at the Field House.
 
George Mason is off to a 4-3 start, while Davidson is 0-1 overall, and Cleveland State (0-3) is looking for its first dual match win of the season.
 
History with Davidson (7-0):  The Patriots have won all seven meetings against the Wildcats. Mason and Davidson are the only two Atlantic 10 schools that compete in wrestling. The Wildcats compete in the SoCon where they are predicted to finish sixth. The Patriots largest margin of victory in the series was 41-3, on Dec. 6, 2019. The closest match was, 25-18, in the most recent win by the Patriots on Dec. 19, 2021.
 
History with Cleveland State (3-5):  The Patriots and Vikings have met eight times in the program's history, dating back to the initial match, a CSU 20-15 win on Jan. 11, 2013. Tiebreakers were needed to determine last season's dual winner after the teams were deadlocked at 18-18. Cleveland State won the first tiebreaker, which was individual matches won, 6-4. The Patriots last defeated CSU, 26-19, on Jan. 10, 2019.
 
Ranked:  The Vikings and Patriots each have three top 30 wrestlers. The Patriots #21 Nate Higley will wrestle for the second time this season in the 141-pound weight class. Cleveland State's #22 Dylan Layton (5-2) is also ranked in the 141-pound weight class. After beginning the season 9-0 with decisions against two ranked opponents, the Patriots DJ McGee is ranked #22 on FloWrestling. The heavyweight match includes ranked wrestlers, Mason's #31 Chad Nix and Cleveland State's #22 Daniel Bucknavich (6-2).  The Vikings Ben Smith is ranked #26 at 197 pounds.

'A Better Way Athletics' Patriot Open
The annual Patriot Open will take place at the George Mason Field House on Sunday, beginning at 10 am. We anticipate nearly 300 collegiate wrestles at the event. All proceeds benefit the Patriot Elite Wrestling Club/RTC.  The PEWC supports the Patriots off-season training and competitions.  
 
MAC Wrestler of the Week: George Mason redshirt freshman DJ McGee was selected as the Co-East Wrestler of the Week (11/21). For the week, he went 2-0 with a major decision against MacIntosh of Morgan State and earned the biggest win of his collegiate career, a 4-2 decision over Michael Blockhus of Minnesota. Blockhus is a four-time NCAA Qualifier and was an NCAA All-American last year. 
 
GEORGE MASON PROBABLES
125 – Ben Monn (6-3)
125 - JB Dragovich (3-2)
133 - Shawn Nonaka (3-3)
133 - Patrick Schellpfeffer (2-5)
141 - Dom Hargrove (3-4)
141 - #21/#23 Nate Higley (1-0)
149 - Kaden Cassidy (5-3)       
157 - #22/#25DJ McGee (8-0) 
165 - Evan Maag (8-3)            
174 - Sean Coughlin (4-5) | Paul Pierce (2-1)
184 - Malachi DuVall (3-5)      
197 - Ruben Karapetyan (2-2)
285 - #32/#31 Chad Nix (6-1)
**Flo/Inter Rankings

CLEVELAND STATE PROBABLES
125: Ben Aranda (0-1)/Nick Molchak (3-5)
133: Canyon Wells (3-3)
141: #22/26 Dylan Layton (5-2)
149: Douglas Terry (1-3)
157: Shane Heil (1-5)
165: Daniel Patten (1-4)/Tate Geiser (4-4)
174: Ronald Dimmerling (0-5)/Gavin Ricketts (4-4)/DeAndre Nassar (0-0)
184: Joey Lyons (0-5)
197: #26/32 Ben Smith (4-3)
285: #22/25 Daniel Bucknavich (6-2)/Mason Cover (3-3)/ Mekhi Bradley
**Flo/Inter Rankings
 

DAVIDSON PROBABLES
125 – John Hager (FR, Randolph, N.J.) or Enis Ljikovic (FR, Naples, Fla.)
133 – Jackson Sichelstiel (SO, Laurel Springs, N.J.) or Hale Robinson (JR, Honolulu, Hawaii)
141 – Josh Viarengo (JR, West Chester, Pa.) or Bryce Clement (FR, Tokyo, Japan)
149 – Tyler-Xavier McKnight (FR, Cartersville, Ga.)
157 – Tanner Peake (SO, Flemington, N.J.) or Ian McGehee (FR, Germantown, Tenn.) or Dan Yetsick (SR, Ambridge, Pa.)
165 – Bryce Sanderlin (SR, Chespeake, Va.) or Marc Koch (SO, Stillwater, N.J.)
174 – Brett Sanderlin (JR, Chesapeake, Va.)
184 – Wyatt Ferguson (FR, Cincinnati, Ohio)
197 – Cameo Blankenship (SR, McRae, Ga.)
285 – Jake Fernicola (SR, Piedmont, S.C.) or DJ Spring II (FR, Newton, N.C.

Next Up:  The Patriots will be back on the mat after a break for finals. Mason will travel to North Carolina to take on Gardner-Webb University at 1:00 pm, and Queens University of Charlotte at 6:00 p.m. on Dec. 21.