Coming off its second-straight national title and sixth in seven years, Penn State wrestling released on Monday its schedule for the 2017-18 season.
The Nittany Lions will have two Saturday night clashes in Big Ten action — facing Ohio State in Rec Hall on Feb. 3 and Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 10.
After taking down Lehigh in an anti-climatic BJC Dual last season on the Sunday afternoon following Penn State football’s Big Ten Championship, Cael Sanderson’s squad will return to primetime against Iowa, one of the top programs in the country, for its marquee match of the year in the 15,000-plus seat arena.
The Penn State schedule features five non-conference duals, including the opener on Nov. 9 at Rec Hall against Army. The Nittany Lions also head to the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia on Nov. 19 and the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Penn State didn’t compete in the Scuffle as a team last winter, but while he was still redshirting and wrestling unattached, Mark Hall placed first at the tournament.
The Big Ten slate includes nine matches — duals at home with Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota, as well as the two Saturday night primetime clashes listed above. The Nittany Lions will face off against Nick Suriano’s new team on Jan. 28 in Piscataway, N.J. when they take on Rutgers. The other road duals are against Michigan, Michigan State, and Maryland.
Penn State will not get the chance to defend its NWCA Dual Championship; the national duals will go on hiatus this season as “what’s been challenging is trying to work through some of these nuances,” according to NWCA executive director Mike Moyer.
The Big Ten Championships are scheduled for March 3-4 in East Lansing, Mich., and the NCAA Championships will go down March 15-17 in Cleveland.
The full schedule can be seen here.
