Lehigh and Penn State renew their longtime rivalry Friday night at Stabler Arena on NWCA Fan Interaction Night. The 96th meeting in the series will have a different flavor, as the order of bouts wrestled will be determined by the teams’ respective coaches during the dual. The Mountain Hawks need a win to even its dual record heading into the break for final exams and the holidays. Lehigh split two duals on Sunday, losing at Maryland before bouncing back with a win over American. Penn State comes in ranked fifth nationally, with a 2-0 dual record and six individuals nationally ranked.
Friday’s match will be run a little differently than your typical dual meet. The National Wrestling Coaches Association, in cooperation with the NCAA wrestling competition committee, Lehigh University and Penn State University, are piloting a dual meet that will wrestle weights in a non-traditional order based on each coach’s decision following a completed bout. At weigh-ins, there will be a coin toss and the winning coach will have the first choice in which weight will be wrestled. The coach losing the toss will then choose a weight. In order to ensure each weight has ample warm-up time, the third weight will be chosen by the first coach after the completion of the first match; the fourth weight after the second match and so on. Lehigh and Penn State were selected as pilot schools for NWCA Fan Interaction Night because of their tremendous fan involvement and support.
The Mountain Hawks currently have just one wrestler ranked in the national polls. Sophomore David Craig is ranked 17th at 184 pounds by InterMat. Craig is also ranked 15th by W.I.N. Magazine and 17th by Amateur Wrestling News. Lehigh has experienced success in the middle-upper weights so far this season. Freshman Alex Caruso is second on the team with nine victories, including the 174 pound championship in the amateur division of the UNO Kaufman-Brand Open, while sophomore Mike Galante (165) is tied with Craig for the team lead with two falls. Junior Trevor Chinn (149) currently leads the Mountain Hawks with a 10-5 record.
Arguably the toughest team Lehigh will face so far this season, Penn State comes into Friday night’s match ranked fifth in the nation, with six wrestlers ranked by the NWCA and as many as nine possible grapplers ranked among the various polls. The Nittany Lions are 2-0 with convincing dual wins over ranked foes Maryland and Hofstra. Penn State is led by senior Phil Davis, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation at 197. Five of Penn State’s six ranked wrestlers are currently in the top ten, with Jake Strayer (No. 3 at 141) and Bubba Jenkins (No. 4 at 149) joining Davis in the top five. Last weekend, Penn State hosted the Nittany Lion open, in which five Nittany Lions won individual titles.
The Lehigh and Penn State matchup is regarded as one of Eastern Wrestling’s oldest and greatest rivalries. Lehigh and Penn State have met 95 times going back to 1911, with the Nittany Lions holding a 60-32-3 edge. Lehigh has wrestled Penn State more often than any other school. This year marks the 75th straight year Lehigh and Penn State will meet in a dual. The Nittany Lions have won the last three meetings in the series. Greg Strobel is 6-10 in duals versus Penn State and 6-7 when matched up head-to-head against Nittany Lions coach Troy Sunderland.
Friday night’s match gets underway at 7:00 pm from Stabler Arena. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the link above or by visiting the Stabler Arena box office on match night.
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Date: |
December 7, 2007 |
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Opponent: |
No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions |
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First match: |
7:05 p.m. |
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Arena: |
Stabler Arena (5,600) |
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Location: |
Bethlehem, Pa. |
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Lehigh’s record: |
4-5 overall, 2-0 EIWA |
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Penn State’s record: |
2-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten |
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Series: |
Penn State leads 60-32-3 |
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Streak: |
Penn State has won the last three meetings |
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Television: |
Service Electric 2 Sports Friday at 10:00 pm with Doug Heater and Kyle Berger |
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Radio: |
ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell beginning at 6:45 pm. |
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Internet broadcast: |
Live video at lehighsports.com |
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Behind enemy lines: |
http://www.gopsusports.com
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