Patrick TrautfieldCal Poly wrestling head coach John Azevedo pulls no punches when discussing his expectations for his team at this weekend’s Pac-10 Championships.
“We expect to take first,” Azevedo said. “We really have probably the most top-ranked wrestlers, but it takes some depth also to win the Pac-10. Teams like Oregon State and UC Davis, they’ll probably place eight wrestlers out of 10, so we need to have that depth also.”
The Pac-10 Championships run Saturday through Sunday in Bakersfield. Cal Poly enters with a dual meet record of 7-9 overall and 5-4 in conference.
Those records are somewhat deceiving, though, in that the Mustangs had several key wrestlers sidelined with respective injuries at different times in the season. They also suffered close losses multiple times, such as 21-19 at Oregon, 25-22 against Gardner-Webb, 31-25 at Stanford and 26-18 at Arizona State.
Azevedo said Monday, though, that all but one of his wrestlers should be back this weekend. Among those returning from injuries is senior Matt Monteiro (knee), who is 18-6 and ranked 17th nationally at 197 pounds. Also competing will be senior 141-pounder Dave Roberts (10-5), who saw time out of the lineup earlier this season after recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Azevedo said, however, that junior Chad Mendes (5-2), who began the season ranked No. 3 at 125 pounds, will still be sidelined with a severely hyperextended elbow.
Still, Cal Poly will bring a deep and experienced lineup that includes sixth-ranked 133-pound senior Darrell Vasquez (25-3), Monteiro and 12th-ranked senior heavyweight Cody Parker (16-5).
“He’s figured it out,” Azevedo said of Vasquez, who has won eight straight matches. “He knows how to pace himself to a certain degree. He’s just ready to go. He has a senior mental toughness. He just says, ‘I’m ready to go, coach.’ He’s ready to go win the Pac-10 and win a national title. He’s excited for the team also.”
The top three finishers in each weight class automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, which run from March 15 to 17 in Auburn Hills, Mich. Three wild cards for each division are also awarded.
“It’s definitely what we’ve been working for for the last four or five months,” Azevedo said of the Pac-10 Championships. “Our goal has been to win the Pac-10 this year and qualify as many wrestlers as possible for the Pac-10, except for Chad Mendes. Everybody else will be back in there.”
Cal Poly is coming off a 21-18 Pac-10 win at UC Davis on Feb. 15.
“It was a good win last Thursday,” Azevedo said. “It’s great to come off a win. It helps the morale and builds some momentum.”