No. 6 Mountain Hawks to open dual slate against No. 17 Pittsburgh
11/11/2011 9:21:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After opening up the 103rd season of Lehigh wrestling last weekend with two open tournaments, the sixth ranked Mountain Hawks open their dual meet season Saturday night against No. 16 Pittsburgh. Lehigh returns three All-Americans from last year, including NCAA Champion Zach Rey at heavyweight. The Mountain Hawks crowned three champions at the UB Open and added two more at the Knight Point Clarion Open.
Junior Robert Hamlin is coming off a spectacular sophomore season at 184. He captured an EIWA Championship and reached the NCAA finals, in the process becoming the first NCAA wrestling All-American from the state of Vermont. Hamlin finished the year with a 32-3 record, and opened this season by going 3-0 en route to a title at the UB Open last weekend. He owns a 52-15 career record. By joining Rey in the NCAA finals last year, Hamlin gave Lehigh two NCAA finalists in the same season for the first time since 2003 (Troy Letters and Jon Trenge).Bethlehem has been good to the Mountain Hawks under Pat Santoro. Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Lehigh is 25-0 in home duals. That includes a 5-0 record at Stabler Arena and a 20-0 mark at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Lehigh also won its final home dual of the 2007-08 season, giving the Mountain Hawks a 26-dual home win streak that is on the line Saturday night.
Pittsburgh also opens its dual season Saturday night after competing against Lehigh at the UB Open last weekend. The Panthers captured the EWL dual meet and tournament titles last year after a 13-6 regular season. Like the Mountain Hawks, the Panthers crowned three champions at the UB Open: Anthony Zanetta (125), Tyler Nauman (149) and Zac Thomusseit (285). Zanetta and Nauman are both listed as probable starters for the Panthers.
On Saturday, Lehigh hosts the first dual meet in its 103rd season of wrestling. Lehigh has won all three of its season openers under Pat Santoro. Pittsburgh's last dual win over Lehigh came in the 2007-08 season opener here in Bethlehem.
Lehigh and Pittsburgh meet for the 57th time with the Mountain Hawks holding a 39-15-2 advantage. Pittsburgh is Lehigh's second most-often wrestled in-state opponent behind Penn State. The Mountain Hawks have won the last three meetings in the series. Lehigh and Pittsburgh are meeting for the 22nd straight year, with Lehigh having won 17 of the last 21 duals in the series.
Saturday's match gets underway at 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by logging on to Lehighsports.com, or by visiting the Lehigh ticket office, located in Grace Hall, prior to the match.
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Date:
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November 12, 2011
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Opponent:
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No. 17 Pittsburgh Panthers
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First match:
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7:05 p.m.
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Arena:
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Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh's 2010-11 Record:
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15-6
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Pittsburgh's 2010-11 Record:
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13-6
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Series:
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Lehigh leads 39-15-2
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Streak:
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Lehigh has won the last three meetings
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Television:
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None
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Radio:
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ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell beginning at 6:45 p.m.
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Internet broadcast:
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Lehighsports.com
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Behind enemy lines:
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Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, March 12
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Thursday, February 20
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, December 04
Season Preview: Wrestling
Wednesday, October 30
