Tadzhimetov Enters National Rankings at #18
by Clint Burgi

November 23, 2005

OREM, Utah — Utah Valley State head coach Cody Sanderson knew it was only a matter of time before Erkin Tadzhimetov was back in the national rankings, and he was right after the Uzbekistan native moved into the Intermat/NWCA national rankings at #18 in the 133 lb weight class. It is the second time that Tadzhimetov has been ranked during his career at Utah Valley State.

"It's good that he's gotten the ranking this early in the season. He's certainly deserving of it," said Sanderson. "This should just give him more confidence going into our next tournament."

Tadzhimetov is still unbeaten on the season after winning his first match in a dual against Iowa State and sweeping the competition at the Cyclone Open. Last weekend the senior did not wrestle at the UNC Open in order to completely heal a sprained jaw.

Tadzhimetov redshirted the 2004-05 season, making it even more remarkable that he hadn't wrestled competitively in over a year. He is now 23-8 overall during his career as a Wolverine.

Utah Valley State will have Thanksgiving weekend off before competing in the Las Vegas Invitational on December 2-3. The Las Vegas tournament will have some of the top competition in the country and will certainly test the Wolverines. It will also be the first tournament Utah Valley State will compete in this year to have team results.