Stanford’s No. 21 ranked wrestling team will begin their 2017-2018 season this weekend with a trip to Virginia. They start their dual meets with a match against No. 9 Virginia Tech on Saturday, Nov. 4 before competing in the Hokie Open on Sunday Nov. 5.

The Cardinal are slated to play 13 total dual meets throughout the season, and compete in five total invitational tournaments with some of the best schools in the country. The Cardinal will have a chance to showcase their skills to the Farm in six total home meets, including an outdoor match vs. Maryland on the day of the Big Game.

“All in all, our schedule provides a great balance of tournaments and dual meets. I am extremely excited for the upcoming season and hope many fans will make it out to cheer on the Cardinal,” said head coach Jason Borrelli, who is beginning his ninth year with the team.

The team graduated six seniors last year, leaving major gaps to fill in the lineup. The biggest blow to the team came when All-American sophomore Joey McKenna announced his transfer to Ohio State. McKenna had won the Pac-12 title in the 141-pound weight class during his sophomore year. He is currently the NCAA’s No. 7 ranked 141-pound wrestler.

Despite this loss, the the team is still full of excellent returning members who will help the freshmen get accustomed to competition. There are two returning All-Americans, No. 10 ranked 121-pound redshirt senior Connor Schram, and No. 9 ranked 157-pound redshirt junior Paul Fox. As the highest-ranked Cardinal wrestlers, they’ll look to lead the Cardinal in the upcoming matches.

The match against Virginia Tech will begin Saturday at 1:30 p.m. eastern time, and the Hokie Open will run throughout the day on Sunday.

Contact Bobby Pragada at bpragada ‘at’ stanford.edu