CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel head wrestling coach Rob Hjerling has announced the team's 2014-15 schedule. The Bulldogs will host five dual matches, along with the annual Citadel Open, and participate in several of the most competitive tournaments in the country.

For the second straight season The Citadel will open the dual season at home against Anderson. The match, slated for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16, will be in conjunction with Hall of Fame weekend. The Citadel's first wrestling All-American, Dan Thompson ('06), will be inducted at the Hall of Fame Ceremony on the preceding Friday.

"This is a great honor for Dan [Thompson] and for the program," said Hjerling. "We are excited to be able to induct him and bring back other former great individual wrestlers and teams."

The season will once again commence with the annual Blue/White Wrestle-offs in Vandiver Hall on Oct. 24-25. The following week, the Bulldogs' up-and-coming athletes will compete at The Citadel Open in McAlister Field House. On Nov. 9, the varsity lineup will head to Blacksburg, Va., to compete in the Hokie Open for the fifth consecutive year.

On Nov. 23 the Bulldogs begin a nationwide tour of some of the most competitive open invitationals in collegiate wrestling when they head to Annapolis, Md., for the Navy Classic. Redshirt senior Joaquin Marquez took third place at 125 and Marshall Haas finished in sixth at 197 in that meet a year ago.

For the second straight year, The Citadel treks to Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 5-6 for the Cliff Keen Invitational which will include over 40 of the country's top wrestling programs before closing out 2014 in a home dual against Campbell on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.

The 2015 portion of the schedule begins in Chattanooga, Tenn., for perhaps the most competitive tournament of the season, The Southern Scuffle.

"The team's four tournaments this season will give our guys multiple opportunities to wrestle the best in the country and increase our individual and team ranking and RPI," said Hjerling. "This is great mid-year preparation for seeing what adjustments need to be made in order to be highly competitive at the NCAA Championships."

Following the Southern Scuffle the team will travel to Hampton Roads, Va., for the always competitive and nationally-touted Virginia Duals.

Home matches against Gardner-Webb on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. and SIUE on Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. , are sandwiched between two important road duals against league foes Appalachian State and Chattanooga on Jan. 18 and Jan. 23, respectively.

The Bulldogs have beaten the Mountaineers in each of the last two years but look to top the five-time conference champion Mocs for the first time since 2004. Chattanooga handed The Citadel its only SoCon loss last season as the Bulldogs finished 11-3 overall and 6-1 in the league. An away match in Lexington, Va., against military school rival VMI on Feb. 4 and a home dual against Davidson on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m., rounds out the league slate.

On Feb. 7, the Bulldogs take a trip to The United States Merchant Marine Academy in Great Neck, N.Y., for the 21st-annnual All-Academy Championships. The Citadel closes out the regular season with a dual match against North Carolina on Feb. 22. The Citadel edged the Tar Heels 19-18 last season at McAlister Field House on a day which future All-American Turtogtokh Luvsandorj broke the school's all-time wins record.

The 2014 SoCon Championship will be held in Asheville, N.C., on Mar. 7. The Bulldogs took second place last season with 78.5 points, crowning three champions including returning grapplers Aaron Walker (157) and Marshall Haas (197).

The NCAA Championships will be held in St. Louis, Mo., from Mar. 19-21. The Bulldogs return three of their five competitors from last year's national tournament (Walker, Haas and Matt Frisch).

"This year's schedule includes strong competition which fits nicely with the way we like to prepare for the SoCon Championship and NCAA Championships," finished Hjerling.