July 23, 2004

Charleston, Sc - The Citadel wrestling coach Rob Hjerling announced the 2004-05 grappling schedule early Friday afternoon, which includes trips to the National Duals, the Las Vegas Invitational and the Virginia Duals. The reigning Southern Conference champions will also host the All-Academy Championships, as well as dual matches against VMI and national powers Central Michigan and North Carolna.

"We are very excited about this season's schedule," stated Hjerling. "This schedule, which includes some of the nation's premier events, should help us prepare for the NCAA Tournament in March."

The 2004-05 slate will begin with three invitational tournaments in late November and early December. Hjerling's squad will compete in the Cornell Body Bar, Las Vegas and Beast of the East Invitationals.

Following a break for exams and the Christmas holidays, The Citadel will compete in the Southern Scuffle, which is fast becoming one of the top events in college wrestling, on December 29-30 in Greensboro, NC. They then travel to Hampton, VA for the Virginia Duals, before taking on the nation's top programs in the National Duals on January 22-23. "Being invited to the National Duals is a big step in the right direction for our program," Hjerling added, "It is a honor to represent The Citadel and the Southern Conference at the premier dual tournament."

The Bulldogs will open SoCon action following the National Duals with a trip to Tennessee to face Chattanooga on January 29, before returning home to Charleston for their home opener against military-rival VMI on February 3 at 7 pm in McAlister Field House.

Hjerling will use the VMI match to prepare his grapplers for the All-Academy Championship, which will be held on February 5 in Charleston. The Bulldogs finished second, the highest ever for a Citadel squad, in last season's All-Academy tournament. This will be the second time in four years that McAlister Field House has been the host facility for the championship.

A full slate of conference matches against Appalachian State, Davidson, UNC Greensboro are also on tap, as well as non-conference matches against Central Michigan and North Carolina on February 13 at home.

The 2004-05 regular season will culminate with a tri-match against UNC Greensboro and Campbell, which will follow The Citadel's basketball game against Elon, on February 19, and a home bout versus Gardner-Webb on Senior Night on February 24.

The Bulldogs hope the 2004-05 regular season schedule will prepare them as they look to repeat as the SoCon Champions and return to St. Louis, the site of the 2004-05 NCAA Wrestling National Championships.

November 13, 2004	Blue/White (Intra-Squad Meet)		         Charleston, SC	11:00 a.m.
November 20, 2004		at Cornell Body Bar Invitational		Ithaca, NY	All Day
December 3, 2004		at Las Vegas Invitational			Las Vegas, NV	All Day
December 4, 2004		at Las Vegas Invitational			Las Vegas, NV	All Day
December 17, 2004		at "Beast of the East" Invitational		Newark, DE	All Day
December 29, 2004		at Southern Scuffle			Greensboro, NC	All Day
December 30, 2004		at Southern Scuffle			Greensboro, NC	All Day
January 14, 2005		at Virginia Duals				Hampton, VA	All Day
January 15, 2005		at Virginia Duals				Hampton, VA	All Day
January 22, 2005		at National Duals				Cleveland, OH	All Day
January 23, 2005		at National Duals				Cleveland, OH	All Day
January 29, 2005		at UT-Chattanooga*				Chattanooga, TN	1:00 p.m.
February 3, 2005		Virginia Military Institute*		Charleston, SC	7:00 p.m.
February 5, 2005		All-Academy Championships			Charleston, SC	All Day
February 10, 2005		at Appalachian State*			Boone, NC	         7:00 p.m.
February 13, 2005		North Carolina vs. Central Michigan	         Charleston, SC    12:00 p.m.
February 13, 2005		Central Michigan				Charleston, SC	2:00 p.m.
February 13, 2005		University of North Carolina		Charleston, SC	4:00 p.m.
February 17, 2005		at Davidson*				Davidson, NC	6:30 p.m.
February 19, 2005		UNC-Greensboro*				Charleston, SC	4:30 p.m.
February 19, 2005		Campbell University			Charleston, SC	6:30 p.m.
February 24, 2005		Gardner-Webb				Charleston, SC	7:00 p.m.
March 5, 2005		at So Con Championships (Mat Jam)		Greensboro, NC	All Day
March 17-19, 2005		at NCAA Championships			St. Louis, MO	All Day

* Conference Opponent
Bold indicates home matches