The Stanford wrestling team (5-5-1, 1-3-1 Pacific-10 Conference) will wrestle a dual meet on the Farm this weekend for the first time in over two months. Two familiar foes, Fresno State (6-6-1), and No. 16 Arizona State (7-6-1, 4-0-0 Pac-10), will take on the Cardinal at Burnham Pavilion tomorrow at 6 p.m. and Feb. 5 at noon, respectively.

Stanford’s last home dual meet was against Division II opponent San Francisco State on Nov. 23; since then, Stanford has visited nine different gyms and traveled everywhere from Texas to Iowa.

“Primarily, the crowd and the familiar surroundings are what give us an advantage,” head coach Steve Buddie said. “As minor as this seems, even weighing in on our own scale is a small advantage, because the team just knows exactly what to expect, and those ‘game day’ surprises that always seem to jump out at you on the road are minimized, if not eliminated, when competing at home. [Still] we all know how many distractions there are on this campus.”

Fresno State will try to avenge last year’s loss to Stanford for their coach Dennis Deliddo, who will be retiring after 24 seasons as head coach. The Cardinal’s win was their first over the Bulldogs in 34 years. Fresno State, a former Pac-10 team, is led by three seniors and one sophomore who are ranked in the top 20 in the nation for their weightclasses: senior Jim Medeiros (No. 17 at 157 pounds), sophomore Shane Seibert (No. 16 at 165), senior Clint Walbeck (No. 13 at heavyweight) and senior Marcio Botelho (No. 8 at 197).

“Fresno State has a number of wrestlers that we’ve beaten before,” 165-pound freshman Scott Loescher said. “Also, last year we beat them on the road, so I like our chances.”

Arizona State is at the top of the Pac-10 standings, and they will be putting their perfect conference record on the line this Saturday. The Sun Devils are led by a group of six wrestlers who are ranked in the top 20 of their weightclasses, including junior Jeremy Mendoza (No. 10 at 125 pounds), senior Patrick Williams (No. 10 at 149), sophomore Brian Stith (No. 14 at 157), junior C.B. Dollaway (No. 11 at 184), junior Ryan Bader (No. 7 at 197) and junior Cain Velasquez (No. 4 at 285).

“ASU is the favorite to win the Pac-10 Championships this season, so this will be a good measuring stick for us,” Buddie said. “Winning some key bouts will help us with seeding in several weight classes for the Championships as well.”

Like the Sun Devils, Stanford senior co-captain Matt Gentry will be defending an unbeaten streak this weekend. The 157-pounder, who will be challenged by Stith and Medeiros, has a school record 61 straight wins.

“The 157 pounders from both Fresno State and Arizona State have given me my closest matches of the year, both double-overtime wins, so I am looking forward to some really close matches this weekend,” Gentry said. “I try not to let my past record and all the pressure get to me. Really what is important is my next match, not my last match, so keeping that perspective and wrestling well are what is important, not what I have accomplished.”

Stanford continues to be bitten by the injury bug. Sophomores Ian Bork and Juston Johnson are likely to be out at 197 pounds and 133 pounds, respectively. The Cardinal hope that exceptionally hard practices and experience gained from their recent Oregon road trip will pay dividends and be the difference in the dual meets.

“We’ve become closer as a team over the past month than we have been all

season,” Loescher said. “Being able to bond with nine of your teammates allows you to put your trust in them 100 percent.”

“Each year, we try to travel somewhere different to keep the season exciting and fresh,” Buddie said. “Learning to deal with the unexpected is a huge part of learning mental toughness, which is probably the greatest tool you can have in wrestling. To not get rattled when surprises are thrown your way . . . is a valuable lesson”

Stanford is putting great importance on individual improvement with the Pac-10 Championships looming. Though a team win is of lesser importance to the coaches, especially given the impact of forfeits on the Cardinal’s record, the wrestlers believe that the wins will come if everyone does their job.

“A success would be wrestling well and winning all the close matches,” Gentry said. “If we do that, we will beat both teams, because the dual meet will come down to who wins the close matches.”

And many Stanford wrestlers are thinking big.

“We expect nothing less than 2-0,” Loescher said.