Lehigh University Athletics
With regular season complete, Lehigh sets sights on March
2/25/2011 7:56:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the regular season complete, the Lehigh wrestling team is focusing on preparations for the 107th EIWA Championships next weekend in Lewisburg, Pa. Off the mat there has been a lot of activity, with the unveiling of final team rankings, NCAA qualifier allocations and individual rankings, all of which were released Wednesday afternoon.
The final 2010-11 NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll ranked the 15-6 Mountain Hawks eighth to round out the regular season. Lehigh moved up from No. 10, after defeating previously ranked No. 8 Rutgers on February 17 and Penn on February 20. Cornell retained the No. 1 spot in the polls for the fourth week in the row. Lehigh handed Cornell its only loss of the season back in January at Stabler Arena.
The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee allocated a total of 282 qualifiers for the NCAA Championships next month in Philadelphia, with room for 48 wildcard entrances, for all upcoming conference championships and regional qualifiers next we
ekend. The EIWA was given a total of 45 qualifying spots, up from 41 last year. The EIWA allocations were distributed by weight class as follows: 125 (5), 133 (3), 141 (5), 149 (5), 157 (5), 165 (4), 174 (5), 184 (4), 197 (5), 285 (4).
ekend. The EIWA was given a total of 45 qualifying spots, up from 41 last year. The EIWA allocations were distributed by weight class as follows: 125 (5), 133 (3), 141 (5), 149 (5), 157 (5), 165 (4), 174 (5), 184 (4), 197 (5), 285 (4).Eight Mountain Hawks were ranked in the top 33 of their weight class by the third and final installment of the NCAA Division I Coaches Panel Rankings, which along with rating percentage index (RPI) and winning percentage, helped determine the allocation of qualifiers. . Junior Zach Rey retained the No. 1 spot at 285 pounds after recording a perfect 26-0 regular season. He is also ranked No. 1 RPI. Sophomore Robert Hamlin was the next highest ranked Mountain Hawk, coming in at No. 4 at 184 following a 24-2 regular season. Freshman Austin Meys was also cracked the top ten, coming in at No. 9 at 174 with an RPI rank of 10.
Freshman Frank Cagnina is ranked 15th by the coaches and 19th in RPI at 133, while classmate Stephen Dutton comes in at No. 24 at 141 with a No. 22 RPI ranking.
Rounding out the Mountain Hawks in the top 33 are sophomore Joey Napoli (No. 25 coaches, No. 19 RPI at 149), junior Brandon Hatchett (No. 14 coaches, No. 15 RPI at 165) and junior Joe Kennedy (No. 13 coaches, No. 12 RPI at 197).
These same eight were also ranked in the top 20 of the latest Amateur Wrestling News Individual Rankings. Rey continues to hold the No. 1 spot at heavyweight as he has done all year. Hamlin is the next highest ranked Mountain Hawk at No. 4. Dutton (No. 15) and Napoli (No. 20) were new additions to the poll this week after strong showings in Lehigh's final two duals. The rest of Lehigh's AWN rankings rundown features Cagnina at No. 11, Hatchett at No. 14, Meys at No. 9 and Kennedy at No. 12 at their respective weight classes.In addition, the EIWA pre-tournament rankings were unveiled earlier in the week, with nine Mountain Hawks ranked within the top six at their respective weight classes within the conference. Three Mountain Hawks, Dutton, Hamlin and Rey, are ranked first at their weight classes while Cagnina, Hatchett, Meys and Kennedy are all ranked second. Napoli is ranked fifth at 149 while junior Sean Bilodeau is ranked sixth at 157.
Lehigh will return to the mats at the 107th EIWA Championships March 5-6 at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion.
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