Jan. 27, 2007

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason will wrestle in front of its home fans for the second consecutive weekend when it takes on the Duquesne Dukes in a nonconference dual meet scheduled for Sunday at noon at John Linn Memorial Gym.

After wrestling on the road in both tournaments and dual meets for the first two-and-a-half months of the 2006-07 campaign, the Patriots will again wrestle at home, after hosting the Fifth Annual Colonial Athletic Association Duals last weekend at the Fieldhouse. Mason went 3-2 at the two-day event to push its overall dual meet record to 8-5 on the season.

Duquesne enters Sunday's meet with a 5-9 overall record. The Dukes last wrestled on Jan. 20, defeating both Apprentice (33-9) and York (25-16), but losing to Duke (24-13).

Both teams share two common opponents at this point of the season as George Mason and Duquesne have both wrestled Delaware State and VMI. The Dukes whipped Delaware State 42-5 on Jan. 7, while the Patriots earned a forfeit win against the Hornets on Nov. 11 and a 26-15 victory on Dec. 9. Duquesne lost 34-15 to VMI on Jan. 12, while Mason beat the Keydets by a point, 23-22, on Jan. 10. The two teams also both wrestled at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md. earlier in the season. The Patriots finished fifth out of 13 teams at the tournament, while the Dukes finished four places behind Mason in ninth place.

Sunday's meet is one of only two home dual meets remaining in the 2006-07 wrestling season. Tickets to the meet will cost $5 for adults and $2 for youth and senior citizens.