The No. 20 MSU wrestling team faces off against No. 7 Oklahoma tonight, in a dual that will feature two marquee matchups, which could give fans a sneak preview of two late NCAA championship matches.
At 125 pounds, No. 3 Nick Simmons of MSU (7-5-1) will compete against No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel from Oklahoma (15-6). Two matches later, No. 6 Andy Simmons will grapple with No. 2 Teyon Ware.
None of the four wrestlers lost in high school, as they went a combined 702-0.
And the four have had some success at the collegiate level as well, going a combined 295-48.
"The most anybody has is two losses," MSU head coach Tom Minkel said of the four. "Those should be two of the best matches in college wrestling.
"This is the highest level of college competition."
Nick Simmons wrestled Hazewinkel earlier this season and lost, 2-0.
Seven of the 10 Sooners wrestlers are ranked nationally, and three are ranked in the top five. The Spartans have five wrestlers ranked at the national level in their respective weight classes.
In addition to the Simmons brothers, junior Darren McKnight is ranked No. 14, junior R.J. Boudro is ranked No. 15 and redshirt freshman Joe Williams is No. 20 on MSU.
The Spartans are also looking forward to wrestling as a team and finally getting their sickness and injury, which has been ailing the team all year.
"Every team is going to go through sickness and injury, it's just whether or not you're going to overcome it," redshirt freshman Bryan Harney said. "We're done with being sick and injured, so our expectations are pretty high."
Minkel said the Spartans' only wrestler missing from the lineup will be Williams, who is resting an injury in preparation for the Big Ten Championships March 5- 6 in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Spartans also will be trying to end a streak of three straight losses tonight.
They were undefeated in dual meets before hitting their current slump against Purdue, Indiana and Michigan.
This is the only Big Ten wrestling matchup this weekend, as teams are beginning to prepare for the Big Ten Championships.
Tonight also will be the last home meet for senior Matt McCarty.
McCarty, who wrestles at 157 pounds, has a 40-45 career record, including a 13-13 record this season.
"Matt has made a major contribution here," Minkel said. "He'll wrestle sick, he'll wrestle hurt. He always gives you everything he has, 100 percent.
"We're going to miss him and his ability to go all out."
The match will be at 7 p.m. tonight at Jenison Field House.
