Familiar friends and foes are waiting for the ISU wrestling team this weekend.

Former Iowa head coach Jim Zalesky will bring the returning Pac-10-champion Oregon State Beavers onto the mats in Hilton Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday, while Arizona State coach and former ISU assistant coach Thom Ortiz will host the Cyclones in Tempe, Ariz. on Sunday afternoon.

The two teams field a total of two ranked wrestlers, but Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson said he expects competitive matches from well-coached programs.

Eighth-ranked Iowa State (12-4, 1-1 Big 12) is coming off of a 16-15 loss to third-ranked Oklahoma State on Jan. 27. Sanderson said he wants to see signs of progress made during the break from competition.

“I just want to see hustle and fight and the guys really focusing on the areas we’ve been working on, which is a lot of fundamental positions,” Sanderson said. “Just winning in those areas. Just going out there and competing hard.”

The Beavers are unranked – individually and as a team – but nine of 10 OSU starting wrestlers have a winning record. Zalesky, a two-time national coach of the year, won three national titles in his first three seasons (1998, 1999 and 2000) at Iowa, but was fired in March of 2006.

Last season, Zalesky led Oregon State to its first conference title since 1994 last season.

“I think Jim Zalesky is a great coach,” Sanderson said. “I just looked at the teams he had [at Iowa] and what he did with ’em, and they always seemed to perform above what they were expected to, and I think that’s the sign of a good coach. I think he’s doing the same things in Oregon.”

The Cyclones will fly out of Iowa on Saturday morning to face Arizona State.

The Sun Devils start eight redshirt freshmen, including 14th-ranked Anthony Robles (125) and 15th-ranked Brent Chriswell (184).

Fifth-year senior Pat Pitsch (165) has struggled to a 12-8 record this season, but was ranked third in the preseason. Pitsch is a two-time Pac-10 champion and NCAA qualifier.

“Pitsch is a real solid kid,” Sanderson said. “Any time we can get a match like that, we’re excited for it. [Sixth-ranked freshman Jon] Reader, obviously, is getting better with every match. His confidence is growing. He is getting close to where he wants to be coming down to the final stretch here.”

Ortiz is in his seventh year as head coach at Arizona State. He followed former ASU and ISU coach Bobby Douglas to Ames in 1992 and served as an assistant with the Cyclones until 2001.

Former Cyclone wrestler Zach Roberson is working in his first season as a Sun Devil volunteer assistant.

“[Ortiz] was a big part of my career. He was one of my coaches, he was part of the recruiting process,” Sanderson said. “Even after college, he was one of the guys that was in the corner with me, so I have a lot of respect for him as a coach, and as a colleague now . They’ve kind of struggled [this season], but just being around them I expect them to be at their best at the end of the season, and we’re nearing that now, so they’ll be ready to go.”

With the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments looming in March, Sanderson said last weekend’s break from competition gave the Cyclones a needed rest before beginning the fourth month of the season.

“Long stretches of tough practices, those days are behind us now,” he said.

“It’s time to just get our guys rested up and sharp . and that’s the challenge, is getting all 10 guys or as many as you can to be their best when they need to be.”