Scotti Sentes has high hopes for Campbell wrestling: 'We want to compete to win 10 out of 10 bouts'
Fighting Camels kick off the 2023-34 season against Army West Point as part of CFFC Match Day on UFC FIGHT PASS.
Campbell University head wrestling coach Scotti Sentes has played a vital role in helping to bring NCAA wrestling to UFC FIGHT PASS in a big way, and now he's expecting his team to perform well under the bright lights of the respected platform.
The Fighting Camels were part of the historic "Battle at Bragg" event that streamed live on the UFC's digital streaming service in 2022, and they'll return to the same North Carolina venue – now known as Fort Liberty – to kick off the debut season of CFFC Match Day on Wednesday, when they'll face Army West Point.
Presbyterian College and North Carolina State University also contest their own dual at the event.
"The energy's high," Sentes said about his team leading into the matchup. "I don't think they knew what to expect last year, so when they got there, they were wide-eyed. They go, 'Wow, this is way cooler than we could have imagined,' and so now they know what they're going into.
"A lot of these guys, they're competing hard because they wanted to compete in this event. They know how big of a deal it is. They know it's on a big stage, the bright lights, and that's why we do what we do – so we can go out there and kind of showcase our skills and get after it on a venue like that."
At this past year's debut event, Campbell faced a couple of NCAA Division I powerhouses in The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan. While the Fighting Camels lost both duals, the experience certainly proved valuable for a young team, as both of those programs went on to finish in the top 12 at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
This year, they'll instead face Army West Point after Black Knights head coach Kevin Ward reached out to secure his team an opportunity to compete at an active military installation.
"Kevin Ward, when he saw what we did, he goes, 'You know, we've got to be a part of that event,' and I couldn't agree more," Sentes said. "He's the Army, man. That's America's team right there.
"We don't mind being the bad guys. Even though we're technically, you know, one of the hosts of the event – we wrestle on our mat – it's not going to feel like it, right? The guy putting the whole thing on from the Army side is a West Point grad. I know he's got a lot of big dinners planned around it, and that's OK. If we get some guys in camo rooting against us, it'll just fire us up a little bit more."
The scene is certain to be quite memorable once again, with military aircraft and support vehicles providing a truly unique background. Add in the impressive production values of the CFFC team, and it's a season-opening wrestling dual like no other.
With Sentes returning a number of key athletes to this year's team, including all five wrestlers the Camels qualified for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, the Campbell squad will certainly have a better idea of what it feels like to compete in the one-of-a-kind environment, but the coach doesn't believe that offers much of a real advantage in the matchup.
"I don't know if there's any edge that's going to be given, but I do think the lights won't be as bright," Sentes said. "We've already been through it one time. We know it's going to be a show. We know there's going to be the bright lights and the music. It's going to be loud. So for us, maybe just in terms of our visualizations leading into the match, you know, we'll have a little bit more of a clear picture, right?"
Instead, like all other wrestling matches, Sentes is simply leaning on his team's skills to stand tall in the face of what should be an intriguing challenge.
"It's a very humbling sport, and a lot of work gets put in the shadows, and it's a grind," Sentes said. "You don't do this because you want to be a celebrity. You do this because you really care about it. You like the hard work, you like the lessons learned, and you like that 'mano a mano' combat, right? And I think that just makes it special. I mean, it just makes the wins that much better. One-on-one out there, you have nobody to blame but yourself."
Sentes brings an intriguing lineup to the season opener, entering the year as a top-30 program in the nation according to IntermatWrestle.com's pre-season dual rankings (), and there's a handful of names that could produce some big moments on Wednesday.
"I mean, there's a lot of guys to watch up and down the lineup," Sentes said. "I think we're pretty tough from '25 to heavyweight. No doubt Taye Ghadiali, he's one of our top-ranked guys. Dom Zaccone is one of our top-ranked guys. He's a fireworks show, and then we've got a couple of young guys in the mix, as well. I think one weight, you know, at 157, we have a true freshman breaking in, and then a weight class above that at 165, Dom Baker, he won last year at the 'Battle at Brag.' He won his match and looked really great doing it, and he was a true freshman, so you know a lot of really great things to expect there.
"I'm really looking forward to all our guys showcasing their skills, and some of them haven't had the opportunity to be in the bright lights before, so I want to see how they respond to it, and, you know, it could be something pretty amazing once they get out there."
In the end, Wednesday's dual is just the start of a season that runs through March, all leading to the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which take place this year at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. Sentes expects his athletes to factor in every match they enter over the next four months, and it all starts at Fort Liberty.
"I mean, obviously, we want to have guys at All-American and competing for a national title," Sentes said. "Winning the conference championship again, that's the first step that comes before nationals, so for us, it's just every time we step on that mat, we want to compete to win 10 out of 10 bouts, and even when we lose, man, we want to be in those fights. We want to be battling.
"We want to showcase the brand of Campbell wrestling, which is kind of get after it, right? We're the Fighting Camels. Some might call us the Ultimate Fighting Camels."
