Men's Wrestling | October 31, 2014

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Teams: Minot State at South Dakota State Open
Date: Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014 | Time: 9 a.m. | Site: Frost Arena

PREVIEWING THE OPEN: Sunday marks the 22nd annual South Dakota State Open and includes teams ranging from multiple different divisions of the NCAA. Arizona State, Nebraska, North Dakota State and Minnesota cap the Division I programs competing. Chadron State, Dakota Wesleyan, Iowa Central CC, Midland, Minot State and UMary round out the rest of the teams competing in the tournament.

RECORDS: The South Dakota State Open marks the beginning of the 2014-15 season for the Minot State Beavers. The Beavers ended the 2013-14 season with a 3-12 overall dual record and a 2-6 mark in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Robin Ersland is in his fifth 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 220-285-7 in 31 seasons as a head coach. He has coached ninety-nine NCAA Division II National Qualifiers and forty-seven Division II All-Americans. At Minot State, Ersland has compiled and overall record of 13-35. Plamen Paskalev is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Beavers. Paskalev was a three-time All-American under the direction of Ersland at the University of Central Missouri. He also competed in two Olympic Games. Paskalev previously coached at UCM, The Citadel and the Ohio State Olympic training center.

RANKINGS: Minot State did not receive any votes in the NCAA Division II preseason wrestling poll. The Beavers were selected to finish No. 11 in the NCAA Super Region 3. Josh Douglass (Sr., Kissimmee, Fla.) is the only wrestler for the Beavers to receive an individual ranking in Super Region 3. He came in as the No. 4 wrestler in the 133 pound weight class.

RECENT HISTORY: The Minot State wrestling program finished off the 2013-14 season with two straight dual wins and hopes to build off their end of season momentum from last season. In the team's first dual win of the season and first win in the NSIC in the program's history, the Beavers defeated rival U-Mary by a score of 21-18. Despite tying 5-5 in head-to-head matchups, key returners Tiger Paasch (So., 174, McMinnville, Ore.), Ricard Avakovs (Jr., 157, Riga, Latvia), Jon Wilson (Sr., 149, Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Joshua Douglas (Sr., 133, Kissimmee, Fla.) gained important points to get Minot State the victory. In the final dual match of the season, the Beavers defeated Northern State by a larger margin, 31-19. Wilson, Paasch and Avakovs all contributed significant points in the win.

AN INCREASE IN TAKEDOWNS: Despite the team's overall record in the 2013-14 season, the Beavers continued to grow and make strides in just their second year in NCAA Division II. In 2013-14, Minot State recorded 60 more takedowns than they did in 2012-13. Paasch and Avakovs recorded 133 of the 228 takedowns, good for just under 60 percent.

STRONG CORE RETURNING: The Beavers' wrestling team won a total of 103 individual matches last season, and 81 of those wins came from wrestlers returning to the team this season. The Beavers return five of their top six individual win leaders, including Paasch who recorded a team-high 20 wins and was the only Beaver to have a winning record at the end of the 2013-14 season.

DYNAMIC DUO: Ricard Avakovs (Jr., 157, Riga, Latvia) and Joshua Douglas (Sr., 133, Kissimmee, Fla.) will look to continue to improve this season as they finished the 2013-14 season as two of the Beavers' best wrestlers. Douglass placed No. 4 in the 133 weight class while Avakovs finished No. 10 in the 157 weight class at the Super Regional #3. Avakovs finished the season with a 17-21 record and 74 takedowns, and Douglass finished the season with a 14-14 record and 18 takedowns.

BY THE NUMBERS
2: Minot State begins the season with two opens that both feature NCAA Division I schools mixed with Division II schools.

3: The Beavers only lost three seniors to graduation this past year and they'll look to build this season with the addition of a strong freshmen class featuring Tobias Baker (197, Fr., Sarasota, Fla.), Taylor Barstad (184/197, RFr., Velva, N.D.) and Jason Huger (125, RFr., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.)

23: This year's wrestling program features 23 wrestlers on the team, eight more than 2013-14.