Titans set to grapple with 2nd-ranked Auggies

Second-ranked Augsburg College (Minn.) will visit 17th-ranked UW Oshkosh on Friday for the Titan wrestling team's final dual meet of the season.

Augsburg enters the meet with an 8-3 record while the Titans come in 9-3.

Augsburg's most recent meet was a 27-13 loss to UW-La Crosse, a common opponent from the two team's schedules.

Oshkosh fell to third-ranked La Crosse 20-15 in mid-January.

The Titans are returning home after nearly two months of road meets and are excited to wrestle in their home gym and avoid the grind of long bus rides.

"I think the less travel we do the better we wrestle," senior Sam Engelland, who boasts a 23-2 record, said. "When we have to travel long distances it really wears on our bodies and legs, and we tend to wrestle a little more sluggish than we usually do."

Other wrestlers said returning home won't have much impact on their performance because the work they put in prior to the meets has them ready no matter where they compete.

"Obviously, we like to have the support that a home crowd gives to us, but ultimately it comes down to just being prepared to wrestle regardless of the venue," senior two-time letter winner Aaron Konitzer said.

Senior Jose Quintana, who enters the meet with a 20-7 record, said he looks forward to performing in front of the Oshkosh faithful.

"It is nice to showcase our skills in front of our home crowd," Quintana said. "They have been pretty good the last few years and deserve to see some great wrestling."

The fans should have a chance to see just that when the two nationally ranked teams hit the mat for the late season showdown.

As the end of the season approaches, the Titans are getting ready for the conference championship, but say this meet against an elite opponent should be a good gauge of where they need to be.

"It is exciting to go against the top wrestlers in the country and pour my heart out onto the mat," Quintana said. "I'd rather lose an exciting match to a great wrestler than dominate a mediocre one. It is even a greater reward when we get on the winning side of those close matches. It truly shows us what we need to improve on."

Despite preparing for one of their most challenging duals of the season, the Titans are well aware of the conference championship looming ahead and plan to use Friday's meet to get themselves in the right mindset for the postseason.

"We are always preparing for the conference tournament and nationals throughout the season," Konitzer said. "Although this dual against Augsburg is a big match-up for us and one we want to win, it's basically just getting us prepared for when it really counts, which is the end of the season."

Engelland said a big performance in this meet could give the Titans momentum and help them perform their best in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship the following week.

"With this being our last meet before conference we want to be able to see everything that we need improvement on before conference so we can go in and peak right at conference," he said.

Oshkosh and Augsburg will square off in Kolf Sports Center beginning at 7 p.m. Friday. The game will be broadcast live on Titan TV.