Eastern will get their best shot yet at winning a dual meet this Sunday when they host Ohio and McKendree for a triangular meet.

Of the Panthers’ (0-4) four dual meets this season, three of the teams they have faced have been nationally ranked (No. 14 Northern Iowa, No. 17 Indiana and No. 18 Northwestern).

“We need to step up, especially this weekend,” Eastern Head Coach Ralph McCausland said. “This could be the time to turn the corner and we need a collective effort to do it.”

McCausland will be asking for that effort from a young lineup that features eight underclassmen. Sophomore Casey Carrino (4-6) will get his first start of the season at 133 lbs., where he’ll replace junior Chino Duran.

“We get younger,” McCausland said.

Duran, who is no longer listed on the Eastern roster, was one of only two upperclassmen in the starting lineup this season, with the other being senior heavyweight Pete Ziminski (5-4).

The tougher of the two matches of the day should come from Ohio. The Bobcats (5-7-1) will be at the tail end of a long week when they come to Charleston, having wrestled Northern Illinois the night before and Eastern Michigan last night.

“Ohio’s record is a little deceiving,” McCausland said. “They wrestle a schedule similar to ours (where they face a lot of top teams.)”

Ohio is led by No. 6 Jake Percival (15-2), who will wrestle Eastern sophomore Andy Mangiaguerra (0-7). Percival, a three-time All-American, has set the career wins record for Ohio with 125 and counting.

McKendree (1-1) will also be finishing a long weekend in Charleston as well after wrestling three duals Saturday in Indianapolis.

“The biggest thing this weekend is not giving up bonus points and scoring some for ourselves,” McCausland said.

This will be only the second of four home meets for the Panthers. The meet starts at 2 p.m. at Lantz Gymnasium.