After clinching the Mid-American Conference regular season title last weekend, Kent State wrestling returns to action Saturday afternoon in the regionals of the National Dual Championship at Rutgers University.

The Flashes (12-4, 5-0 MAC) are the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will take on Rutgers in the first round.

“It’ll be pretty evenly matched,” coach Jim Andrassy said. “I think we’ll be the favorites going in just because we’re ranked higher, but it all comes down to matchups. We’ll just do what we can to try to get the victory.”

The match will mark the first time that Kent State and Rutgers have faced each other in a dual meet. With a first-round victory, the Flashes would move on to face Minnesota, who is ranked No. 4 in the country.

“I think there would be some real key matchups,” Andrassy said. “I don’t know exactly how well we match up with them, but we’ve got to figure out a way to beat them if we make it that far.”

The Flashes, who are currently on a 10-dual winning streak, would then move on to wrestle either Missouri or Michigan in the finals. With a strong performance in the regionals, they would advance to the next set of duals in the tournament that would take place next weekend.

“We’re competing against the best teams in the country,” Andrassy said. “It’s one of those things where you don’t really worry about who you’re facing. Just put someone in front of us, and we’ll do the best we can to beat them. I know that we’re going to compete.”

Kent State is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation, according to the NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll. The team has four wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes, according to InterMat.

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].