Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Wrestling program and head coach Rob Hjerling announced the 2009-2010 schedule on Wednesday. Highlighting the schedule are six home dual matches along with the Citadel Open.

The Bulldogs will bring in three ACC teams to McAlister Field House this season. On Nov. 7, the Citadel will start their slate with a dual meet against NC State along with the Citadel Open to showcase freshmen and sophomores from the region. The Bulldogs will also host Duke on Feb. 14 and North Carolina on Feb. 21.

"I am very pleased that we will be opening with N.C State during homecoming," said Bulldog Head Coach Rob Hjerling. "The dual and the Open together will make for an exciting event.  Between the two, most of the roster will be able to get some good competition in.  The ACC picked up a lot of NCAA qualifiers last year so it is important for us to see them. Two of the last three duals are against ACC schools and at home.  I am very happy with this schedule and I am pleased with how the home schedule came together."

Highlighting the larger tournaments, the Cadets will take part in the Michigan State Open on Nov. 15, NC State Open on Nov. 21, the Penn State Open on Dec. 6, the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 in Greensboro, N.C. and the All-Academy Championships in Annapolis, Md. on Feb. 6.

"Our first three road trips open with some very good competition.  We get a chance to dual against a couple teams that beat us last year and we get to see a few teams that we don't normally compete against.  The NC State Open, Michigan State Open and the Penn State Open are very competitive and The Southern Scuffle is one of the toughest tournaments in the country. Our guys will have many opportunities to wrestle against nationally ranked opponents."

The Citadel will also face Ohio University and Cleveland State in the Ohio University Duals on Dec. 4, UNC-Pembroke and Campbell in the UNC-Pembroke Tri-Meet on Jan. 13 and will travel to Gardner-Webb for a dual meet on Feb. 15.

The Bulldogs will start Southern Conference competition on Dec. 17 at home against defending SoCon champion UT-Chattanooga. When the calendar turns to January, the Bulldogs will travel to Greensboro to face the Spartans on Jan.9 before returning home to host a pair of SoCon rivals in VMI on Jan. 16 and Appalachian State on Jan. 24. The Citadel rounds out its conference schedule on Feb. 4 at Davidson. The Cadets will travel to the SoCon Championships on Mar. 6 at Davidson. The NCAA Championships will take place Mar. 18-20 in Omaha, Neb.

"Opening the conference schedule with the conference champs will obviously be a good gauge to let us know where we are as a team.  The timing of the dual is pretty good for us. UNCG will also be a very important dual for us, it's a good way to start off the second semester. VMI and Appalachian State at home followed by a trip to Davidson and the All Academy Championships will be exciting.  The completion of the conference schedule will give us a full month to prepare for the Southern Conference Championships."

For complete coverage of Bulldog Wrestling, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.