SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Wrestling program announced today its 2008-2009 regular season schedule. The Falcons open their season Nov. 8, when they travel to Erie, Pa., to participate in the National Catholic Championships. Notre Dame is slated to participate in six dual matches and eight tournaments from November through February.

“We are very excited about the upcoming season,” said NDC head coach Frank Romano. “We will be competing in some top tournaments and some good duals, and we're excited about hosting Purdue.”

The Falcons will host Purdue, their second home dual against a Big Ten team in as many years (NDC hosted Ohio State last season), in December.  That featured event against the Boilermakers will be held at Murphy Gymnasium Dec. 21.  The Wrestling Falcons host their home opener a week prior to the Purdue match, when Mount Union visits College Road on Dec. 14.

The 2008-09 schedule includes two home dates, four road contests and eight neutral site events.  The Falcons will reprise their dual match with the Buckeyes earlier in the season, when they travel to Columbus on Nov. 16.  They'll also travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to participate in the NAIA National Duals on Jan. 10-11.  That trip will mark NDC's second straight appearance in the National Duals, which feature the top teams in NAIA as well as NCAA Division I, II, and III.     

Notre Dame comes into this season after posting a 3-4 dual record last season, when they finished the year ranked No. 19 in the nation.  Their highest finish in a tournament was third place, which they attained in the 2007 National Catholic Championships.  The Wrestling Falcons, behind Victer Crenshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio) winning a National Championship at 157 pounds and Adam Koballa (Twinsburg, Ohio) placing second at 141, closed out the 2007-08 season with a 13th-place finish at the NAIA National Championships in March.

For more information, contact sports information director Skip Snow at 216-373-5319 or ssnow@ndc.edu. 

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Department of Athletics sponsors the Falcons' participation in 18 men's and women's intercollegiate sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC). In 2007-08, Notre Dame athletic programs ranked in the nation's Top-50, based on the NAIA Director's Cup all-sports ranking as published by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

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