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THIS WEEK: The Beavers remain at home as they host Southwest Minnesota State University in their final Northern Sun Intercollegiate dual of the 2012-13 season.

RECORDS: MISU is 1-14 overall, 0-7 in the NSIC. Southwest Minnesota State University currently sits at 11-5 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Robin Ersland is in his 3rd season as the Minot State head coach and sports a 10-22 overall record with the Beavers. Ersland, a NCAA Division II Hall of Fame inductee, is 217-281-7 overall in a stellar career. Ersland has coached 47 NCAA Division II All-Americans and two Division I All-Americans over his illustrious career. Southwest Minnesota State University is coached by Jesse Nelson. Under the supervision and guidance of Nelson, the Mustangs have improved each year since he took over the program in the 2007-08 season. Over his career at SMSU, Nelson has amassed an overall record of 25-34-1 overall, but just a 9-23 record in the fierce NSIC. Prior to coaching the Mustangs, Nelson coached at Ridgewater College (Willmar, Minn.) at the NJCAA level. During his five seasons with the Warriors, Nelson was named Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year all five years.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: MISU provides live video and live stats at msubeavers.com/stayconnected. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible through the home page.

RANKINGS: Minot State was not ranked in the latest NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Top 25 Poll. Southwest Minnesota State University received votes in the most recent poll, which was updated on Jan. 29.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State is coming off their most competitive week of the season. On Friday Feb. 1, the Beavers travelled to Aberdeen, S.D. to wrestle the Northern State University Wolves. The Beavers jumped out early and were looking face to face with their first NSIC dual win, but NSU won the final three matches to take the 31-18 victory away from MISU. On Sunday Feb. 3, Minot State returned home to take on No. 15 Augustana College. This time it was Beavers that fell behind early, but fought their way back to make things interesting  for the final two matches. However, it was the Vikings taking the win, 29-15. Southwest Minnesota State is coming off the toughest part of their schedule, as they have faced three consecutive top 10 teams (No. 1 St. Cloud State, No. 6 Upper Iowa, No. 10 Minnesota State). The Mustangs fell to SCSU 25-13 on Jan. 26 before losing heartbreaking dual to Upper Iowa 18-19 on Feb. 1. The following night, Southwest fell to Minnesota State 25-9 in Mankato, Minn. The Mustangs will face the University of Mary on Feb. 7, the night before they travel to Minot to take on the Beavers.

OVERALL SERIES: Since reinstating the wrestling program in 2010, Minot State has not faced Southwest Minnesota State University on wrestling mat.

NOTING THE MUSTANGS: The Southwest Minnesota State University has been on the rise the last six seasons, improving their record each season. In 2011-12, the Mustangs finished with a 10-6 overall record, including a 3-4 for record in the NSIC. Staying true to recent history, SMSU has improved yet again as this season they have a 11-5 overall record with three duals remaining. Justin Reinsma and Micah Larson are two of the top wrestlers for SMSU and arguably the NSIC. Reinsma, who placed seventh at last year's NCAA II Championships, is 20-4 at 133 pounds so far this season. Larson leads SMSU in dual pins, collecting seven so far this season while sporting a 16-10 overall record. As a team, the Mustangs have eight different wrestlers with at least 10 wins this season.

MISU STRETCHES ITS LIVE COVERAGE: Minot State University, in conjunction with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live video feeds for all home contest, all away NSIC games and select non-conference away games. Stretch Internet is an industry leader is live streaming video and offers live chat and On Demand replay video for select games. Log on to msubeavers.com/stayconnected for more information and to view live video.


GOOD THINGS COME IN THREE'S: Minot State's Eric O'Neill (Fr., 165, Winter Springs, Fla.) began his collegiate career with six consecutive losses, but in the last two duals O'Neill has found success. He has won his last two matches by pinning his opponent from Northern State for his first collegiate win (2/1). O'Neill followed that up with an impressive 7-1 decision over Augustana College. He will look to continue that success and create a winning streak as he will likely face NSIC Wrestler of the Week, Jacob Begin.

SNAPPING THE STREAK: Minot State is currently on a fourteen match losing streak dating back to Dec. 5th against the University of Mary. The Beavers lost that contest 28-16 at home. During those fourteen duals, MISU has given up an average of 38.9 team points to their opponents.

GEORGE NOW A JUNIOR: Cody George (Jr., 184, Clancy, Mont.) and head coach Robin Ersland announced this week that George would use his last semester of eligibility in the spring of next year, making the 2012-13 season his junior season. George has battled injuries much of the season, as he has an overall record of 6-5 including one win by fall and 12 team points.

BOUNCED BY BARTZ: With a pin against Upper Iowa's Jeremy Brazil on Jan. 20, Bobby Bartz (So., 285, Harvey, N.D.) recorded his fourth win by fall this season. Over the last weekend, Bartz went 1-1 including a forfeit win over Augustana College. Bartz will look for another pin against SMSU. If he is successful, Bartz will gather a team-high 45 team points.

OVERCOMING A HOLE IN THE LINEUP: Injuries and departures have left the Minot State roster looking thin compared to the preseason. One weight class that the Beavers haven't been able to fix is 125 pounds. In every dual this season, MISU has left 125 pounds open, giving an automatic six points to their opponents (except against Regina, as both teams were open at 125 pounds).

MARCUS' LAST RIDE: With the reclassification of Cody George, Minot State now has just one senior, Marcus Wilson (Sr., 157, Colorado Springs, Colo.). Wilson will wrestle in his final dual in the MSU Dome on Friday night. Over his career at Minot State, Wilson has amassed a record of 26-46, including seven wins by fall and 53 team points for the Beavers. Wilson is the son of Linda Conway and Bob Wilson and will graduate from Minot State with a degree in Biology.

WELCOME BACK FETTERLEY: Junior Matt Fetterley (174, Muskegon, Mich.) returned to the wrestling mat last weekend after sitting out three straight duals due to injury and illness. Fetterley picked up right where he left off as he pinned Northern State's Anthony Navarro in just 34 seconds on Feb. 1. He then won a close 3-2 match against his opponent from Augustana, pushing his record to a team best 14-8 overall. Fetterley also leads the Beavers in overall takedowns with 21 so far this year.

SINGLE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: With Friday night's dual being the last dual of the season, MISU wrestling will end their dual season with just one wrestler reaching double digit wins (Fetterley, 14). Bobby Bartz (So., 285, Harvey, N.D.) is the closest Beaver to hitting double digits as he has eight wins on the year.