Mountain Hawks head to N.Y. for Northeast Duals
11/25/2009 10:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - No. 12 Lehigh returns from the Thanksgiving holiday with three tough matches at the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals Saturday in Troy, N.Y.. The Mountain Hawks went 1-1 on their road trip to Big Ten country last weekend, falling to Ohio State 22-12 before downing Michigan by a 21-9 score to improve to 4-1 on the dual season. Lehigh will open the day against ACC member North Carolina, before squaring off against a pair of top-ten ranked foes in No. 7 Nebraska and No. 6 Maryland in the Mountain Hawks’ last dual action of 2009.
The Mountain Hawks are 27-2 in dual meets in one-plus seasons under head coach Pat Santoro. Lehigh owns a 6-2 all-time record at the Northeast Duals. The Mountain Hawks lost to Virginia and Central Michigan here in 2007, but have rolled off six straight wins at the event, including wins over Binghamton and Clarion in 2007, and wins over Oklahoma State, UNC Greensboro, Binghamton and Appalachian State last year.
North Carolina carries a 2-1 record into the Northeast Duals, where the Tar Heels will wrestle three duals, starting with Lehigh Saturday morning. The Tar Heels opened their dual season by hosting the ACC Challenge on November 15. North Carolina picked up wins over Gardner-Webb and American and fell to Bucknell by a 19-14 score. The Tar Heels boast three ranked wrestlers in junior Nick Stabile (No. 11 at 141), junior Thomas Scotton (No. 14 at 157) and senior Dennis Drury (No. 11 at 197). Former Lehigh captain Trevor Chinn ‘09 is in his first season as an assistant coach on the Tar Heels staff.
Nebraska enters the Northeast Duals at 1-0 on the dual season. The Cornhuskers opened up dual competition with a 26-17 win over Wisconsin on November 15. Last weekend, three Cornhusker wrestlers won titles at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Nebraska, while seniors Jordan Burroughs and Stephen Dwyer competed at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Fullerton, California. Nebraska has four nationally ranked wrestlers, all four of whom are ranked in the top ten. Burroughs is the defending national champion at 157 and is ranked first. Dwyer is ranked fifth at 174, while Craig Brester is ranked second at 197 and Tucker Lane is ranked seventh at heavyweight. Nebraska will also face Binghamton, Hofstra and Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon.
Maryland brings a 3-0 dual record into the Northeast Duals. The Terrapins opened their dual season with wins over Drexel and York (Pa.) before spending last weekend in Ithaca, N.Y., where they edged Cornell 18-17 in a dual and then placed second at the Body Bar Invitational. Former Lehigh assistant coach Kerry McCoy is in his second season as head coach as he replaced Pat Santoro, who spent five seasons at Maryland before returning home to coach Lehigh. The Terrapins boast four ranked wrestlers, all of whom are ranked in the top ten. Hudson Taylor is the top-ranked Terp, coming in at No. 3 at 197, while Mike Letts is ranked fourth at 174. Steve Bell (133) and Alex Krom (141) are both ranked seventh at their weight classes, and both competed at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Sunday. Maryland will face Central Michigan and Northern Colorado in addition to Lehigh.
Lehigh has a history with all three teams it will face today. The Mountain Hawks have not wrestled North Carolina since shutting out the Tar Heels at the 2004 Virginia Duals. Lehigh won the first three meetings versus Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers have won three straight. The Mountain Hawks have the largest history with Maryland, with Lehigh winning 13 of 17 meetings versus the Terrapins including three of the last four.
Action gets underway at 9:15 a.m. Saturday when Lehigh meets North Carolina at the McDonough Sports Complex at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y. The Mountain Hawks will then face Nebraska at 1:15 p.m. and Maryland at 3:15 p.m. The Nebraska and Maryland duals can be heard online at Lehighsports.com with streaming powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
