With final exams complete, Lehigh will wrap-up 2007 on Sunday afternoon at the Wolverine Quad, hosted by the University of Michigan at Cliff Keen Arena. The Mountain Hawks will eschew the traditional holiday tournaments to wrestle duals against Eastern Michigan and Buffalo as well as the host Wolverines. Lehigh will be in action for the first time since a 33-0 setback at home to No. 5 Penn State 23 days ago. With three wins, Lehigh can finish the 2007 portion of its schedule with a winning record, but it won’t be easy, as all three opponents currently own winning records, led by the host Wolverines, who are ranked seventh nationally and boast seven nationally ranked wrestlers in their lineup.
Eastern Michigan enters this weekend’s duals with a 5-2 dual record. The Eagles were most recently in action on December 20, when they routed Olivet 42-0. Eastern Michigan also owns dual wins over Ohio and Liberty as well as D-II programs Campbelsville and Newberry. Sophomore Sean Clair (133) is arguably the Eagles’ top wrestler and is one of just three probable EMU starters who faced Lehigh in 2006.
Buffalo brings a dual record of 1-0-1 into the Wolverine Quad. The Bulls have mostly gone the tournament route early in the season, competing in five tournaments, including the Brockport Oklahoma Gold Classic, Cornell Body Bar Systems Invitational and the Las Vegas Invitational. UB opened its dual season on December 15 with a win over Appalachian State and a 17-17 tie with Bloomsburg. The Bulls have six wrestlers currently ranked by the Mid-American Conference, with senior Dana Gingerich being Buffalo’s top performer with a 20-6 record this season.
Seventh-ranked Michigan should prove to be another tough test for Lehigh, in this Sunday’s dual finale. The Wolverines sport a 4-1 dual record, with wins over Bucknell, Bloomsburg, Virginia and Kent State. Michigan’s lone loss came to Maryland at the Journeymen Duals, Thanksgiving weekend. Michigan also won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month, crowning three individual champs in the process. Michigan currently boasts seven nationally ranked wrestlers, including four ranked in the top-five of their respective weight classes. The Wolverines have a pair of top ranked wrestlers in freshman Kellen Russell (141) and senior Eric Tannenbaum (165). Fellow senior Josh Churella, is the reigning national runner-up at 149.
Lehigh and Michigan have met 33 times overall and will wrestle a dual for the 31st consecutive season this afternoon. The Wolverines lead the series 22-11 and have won the last two meetings overall. Greg Strobel is just 3-10 all-time versus the Wolverines. The Mountain Hawks have had success against Eastern Michigan and Buffalo, albeit with a much smaller sample size. Lehigh is 2-0 versus the Eagles, and won its only dual with the Bulls in January 2004.
Action at the Wolverine Duals gets underway at noon on Sunday when Lehigh faces Eastern Michigan. The Mountain Hawks will then face Buffalo at 2 p.m. before wrapping up the day against No. 7 Michigan at 4 p.m. The Michigan dual will be broadcast online at Lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports.
