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RECORDS: Both Minot State and Minnesota State enter their first dual of the 2013-14 season. Last season the Beavers went just 1-15 overall while the Mavericks were 10-3 overall.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Robin Ersland is in his fourth season at the front of the Beaver wrestling program. Ersland, a 2010 inductee into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, has a career record of 217-273-7 in 29 seasons as a head coach. He has coached ninety-nine NCAA Division II National Qualifiers and forty-seven Division II All-Americans. Minnesota State is coached by Jim Makovsky. Makovsky is in his 21st season as head coach of the Mavericks and has compiled an impressive 235-91-3 record during his tenure at MSU. Makovsky has coached five NCAA Division II National Champions at Minnesota State and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013.

RANKINGS: Minot State did not receive any votes in the Dec. 4 NCAA Division II Wrestling Poll. Minnesota State received 25 points in the poll, putting them at No. 18 in the nation.

RECENT HISTORY: The Minot State wrestling program looks to be improved and ready for a rebound season after going just 1-15 overall and 0-8 in the Northern Sun in the first year as members of the conference and NCAA Division II. Through the six tournaments this season, MISU has had 16 wrestlers place in their respective weight classes. The numbers are certainly an improvement from 2012-13 when the Beavers could place just five wrestlers at three tournaments to begin the season. Minnesota State has had another solid start to their season, as they placed 22 wrestlers in the four tournaments so far in 2013-14. The Mavericks have had stiff competition this year as they wrestled on Dec. 14 at the University of Northern Iowa Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  The UNI Open featured several NCAA Division I schools including Minnesota, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State and Missouri. MSU was the only NCAA Division II school at the tournament.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS: The Minnesota State wrestling program is no stranger to being at the top of the Northern Sun, which exactly where they were at the end of the season last season. The Mavericks went 7-1 in NSIC duals, with the only loss coming NCAA Division II runner-up and NSIC Champion St. Cloud State. MSU returns a strong core of grapplers including returning All-American's Cody Quinn and Alphonso Vruno. Quinn went 27-8 in 2012-13 on his way to earning a first place finish at Super Region Three. He also went 5-1 at the NCAA Division II Championships with three pins and two major decision wins. A season ago, Vruno had an outstanding freshman season going 37-8 overall and placing third at the NCAA Division II Championships. Vruno started his collegiate career a perfect 16-0 and went 7-1 in NSIC action.

POLAK'S HOT START: Marcus Polak (Jr., 165, Minot, N.D.) has emerged as one of the top wrestlers for Minot State in 2013-14. Polak leads the team with 15 wins overall while only taking seven losses thus far. He has placed in four of the five tournaments this season, including a first place finish at the University of Jamestown Open on Nov. 23. Polak's 15 wins match the individual season-high through all of the 2012-13 season. He also sits at 50 wins during his career at Minot State.

EYE OF THE TIGER: In his first collegiate tournament, Tiger Paasch (Fr., 174, McMinnville, Ore.) tasted immediate success. Against some tough competition, Paasch notched three wins and placed eighth at the South Dakota State Open, including a win by fall just 64 seconds into his first career match. Paasch has ten wins and 29 takedowns so far this year, including a team-high five wins by fall.

TAKEDOWN AVAKOVS: After struggling during his freshman season and going just 2-8 overall, Ricard Avakovs (So., 157-, Riga, Latvia) has stepped up his game and has taken down his opponents during his second year campaign. Avakovs leads Minot State with 46 total takedowns which has helped him to a 11-9 overall record in 2013-14. Avakovs has placed in three-of-five tournaments this season and will look for gain his first ever Northern Sun dual win.

FETTERLEY BACK ON TRACK: After starting the season up a weight class in 184 pounds, Matt Fetterley (Sr., 174, Muskegon, Mich.) has shown success back at his normal wrestling weight. Fetterley started the year with just a 2-8 record before going 4-1 at the MSU Moorhead Open, taking home fifth place. Last season, Fetterley led MISU with 15 wins, 22 takedowns and five wins by fall.

BY THE NUMBERS

217: Minot State head coach Robin Ersland has 217 career wins as an NCAA head wrestling coach. That marks Ersland with elite company, putting him No. 6 among all active NCAA Division II coaches and No. 29 among active head coaches at any level. Minnesota State's Jim Makovsky ranks No. 4 on the NCAA Division II list with 258 career wins.

54: In the 2012-13 matchup between the Mavericks and Beavers, Minnesota State dominated, winning all 10 matches on their way to a 54-0 win in Mankato, Minn.

136: As a team, the Beavers have already recorded 136 takedowns, showing much more aggression and execution than last season when the recorded just 168 takedowns throughout the entire season.