Thursday, November 6
7:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Hofstra
Lehigh to host Hofstra in dual opener Thursday, visit rival Penn State Sunday
11/5/2014 4:19:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Hofstra video | Penn State video (subscription required) | Audio
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 106th season of Lehigh wrestling begins Thursday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall as the Mountain Hawks host the Hofstra Pride. The dual season's opening weekend concludes Sunday when the Mountain Hawks visit No. 5 Penn State in the 103rd meeting between the longtime Eastern rivals.
Â
Lehigh is coming off a 10-6 dual season in 2013-14. The Mountain Hawks went on to finish second at the EIWA Championships and 18th at the NCAA Championships, crowning three All-Americans in the process. Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks are a pair of juniors: 2014 EIWA Champion and All-American Mason Beckman and 2013 EIWA Champion Nathaniel Brown, who returns to Lehigh's lineup after deferring his eligibility in 2013-14.
Â
On Thursday, Lehigh hosts the first dual meet in its 106th season of wrestling. Lehigh has won four of its first six dual meet openers under Pat Santoro but dropped the 2011-12 opener 18-16 to visiting Pittsburgh and lost last year's opener to Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks are opening up at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for the eighth straight season.
Â
As many as three freshmen could make their varsity dual debuts against Hofstra. Drew Longo deferred his eligibility last season and is expected to earn the nod at 149, while true freshmen Scott Parker and Dylan Milonas could start at 125 and 157, respectively. In Pat Santoro's first six seasons, a total of eight true freshmen started Lehigh's dual opener. The last time multiple true freshmen started a dual opener was in 2011-12 when Mason Beckman (125), Chris Dinnien (133) and Nathaniel Brown (174) all started.
Â
Four Mountain Hawks are ranked in the intial rankings by The Open Mat. Junior Mason Beckman comes in at No. 2 at 133 to lead the way. Classmate Nathaniel Brown is ranked sixth at 184 while sophomore Elliot Riddick and junior Max Wessell are also ranked. The same four wrestlers appear in InterMat's rankings.
Â
The Hofstra Pride visit Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for their EIWA opener and their second dual of the season overall. Hofstra opened its season with a come-from-behind 17-16 win over Lock Haven Sunday on Long Island. The Pride won four of the final five matches to overcome a ten point deficit. Hofstra trailed 16-9 when Jamel Hudson won by technical fall over Bobby Rehm at 141 and then Cody Ruggirello clinched the dual with a 4-2 decision over Dan Neff in the final bout at 149. Hofstra was 6-10 in duals last year and finished fourth in their first EIWA Championships appearance. Ruggirello is Hofstra's lone returning NCAA Qualifier. Dennis Papadatos, a 2000 Hofstra graduate, is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater.
Â
Four-time defending national champion Penn State opens its dual season on Sunday when Lehigh visits Rec Hall. This could be somewhat of a transitional year for Cael Sanderson's fifth-ranked Nittany Lions with two national champions having graduated and several key returnees likely headed for red-shirts. Penn State's probable lineup features seven nationally ranked wrestlers, led by No. 3 Matt Brown at 174 and No. 5 Morgan McIntosh at 197. All-Americans Nico Megaludis (125) and Zain Retherford (141) are expected to defer their eligibility this season, but Penn State has a number of highly-regarded recruits waiting to fill in. Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (133) and seniors Dylan Alton (157) and Jon Gingrich (285) are also ranked in the top ten of their respective weight classes.
Â
Lehigh has wrestled Penn State more often than any other opponent in school history as Sunday's dual marks the 103rd meeting between the rivals. Penn State has won the last four duals. Thursday's Lehigh-Hofstra dual is the 15th in the series. Pat Santoro is 2-4 versus Penn State and 1-0 against Hofstra as Lehigh's head coach.
Â
Action begins Thursday night when Lehigh meets Bloomsburg at 7 p.m. inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Â
Sunday's Lehigh-Penn State match is set for a 2 p.m. start from Rec Hall. Video of the dual will be available on BTN2go.com, while audio of both duals will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as ESPNLV.com.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 106th season of Lehigh wrestling begins Thursday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall as the Mountain Hawks host the Hofstra Pride. The dual season's opening weekend concludes Sunday when the Mountain Hawks visit No. 5 Penn State in the 103rd meeting between the longtime Eastern rivals.
Â
Lehigh is coming off a 10-6 dual season in 2013-14. The Mountain Hawks went on to finish second at the EIWA Championships and 18th at the NCAA Championships, crowning three All-Americans in the process. Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks are a pair of juniors: 2014 EIWA Champion and All-American Mason Beckman and 2013 EIWA Champion Nathaniel Brown, who returns to Lehigh's lineup after deferring his eligibility in 2013-14.
Â
On Thursday, Lehigh hosts the first dual meet in its 106th season of wrestling. Lehigh has won four of its first six dual meet openers under Pat Santoro but dropped the 2011-12 opener 18-16 to visiting Pittsburgh and lost last year's opener to Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks are opening up at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for the eighth straight season.
Â
As many as three freshmen could make their varsity dual debuts against Hofstra. Drew Longo deferred his eligibility last season and is expected to earn the nod at 149, while true freshmen Scott Parker and Dylan Milonas could start at 125 and 157, respectively. In Pat Santoro's first six seasons, a total of eight true freshmen started Lehigh's dual opener. The last time multiple true freshmen started a dual opener was in 2011-12 when Mason Beckman (125), Chris Dinnien (133) and Nathaniel Brown (174) all started.
Â
Four Mountain Hawks are ranked in the intial rankings by The Open Mat. Junior Mason Beckman comes in at No. 2 at 133 to lead the way. Classmate Nathaniel Brown is ranked sixth at 184 while sophomore Elliot Riddick and junior Max Wessell are also ranked. The same four wrestlers appear in InterMat's rankings.
Â
The Hofstra Pride visit Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for their EIWA opener and their second dual of the season overall. Hofstra opened its season with a come-from-behind 17-16 win over Lock Haven Sunday on Long Island. The Pride won four of the final five matches to overcome a ten point deficit. Hofstra trailed 16-9 when Jamel Hudson won by technical fall over Bobby Rehm at 141 and then Cody Ruggirello clinched the dual with a 4-2 decision over Dan Neff in the final bout at 149. Hofstra was 6-10 in duals last year and finished fourth in their first EIWA Championships appearance. Ruggirello is Hofstra's lone returning NCAA Qualifier. Dennis Papadatos, a 2000 Hofstra graduate, is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater.
Â
Four-time defending national champion Penn State opens its dual season on Sunday when Lehigh visits Rec Hall. This could be somewhat of a transitional year for Cael Sanderson's fifth-ranked Nittany Lions with two national champions having graduated and several key returnees likely headed for red-shirts. Penn State's probable lineup features seven nationally ranked wrestlers, led by No. 3 Matt Brown at 174 and No. 5 Morgan McIntosh at 197. All-Americans Nico Megaludis (125) and Zain Retherford (141) are expected to defer their eligibility this season, but Penn State has a number of highly-regarded recruits waiting to fill in. Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (133) and seniors Dylan Alton (157) and Jon Gingrich (285) are also ranked in the top ten of their respective weight classes.
Â
Lehigh has wrestled Penn State more often than any other opponent in school history as Sunday's dual marks the 103rd meeting between the rivals. Penn State has won the last four duals. Thursday's Lehigh-Hofstra dual is the 15th in the series. Pat Santoro is 2-4 versus Penn State and 1-0 against Hofstra as Lehigh's head coach.
Â
Action begins Thursday night when Lehigh meets Bloomsburg at 7 p.m. inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Â
Sunday's Lehigh-Penn State match is set for a 2 p.m. start from Rec Hall. Video of the dual will be available on BTN2go.com, while audio of both duals will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as ESPNLV.com.
Â
| Date: | November 6, 2014 |
| Opponent: | Hofstra Pride |
| First match: | 7:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall (2,130) |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 0-0 overall, 0-0 EIWA |
| Hofstra's record: | 1-0 overall, 0-0 EIWA |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 10-4 |
| Streak: | Lehigh won the most recent meeting in 2012 |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 6:45 p.m. with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell. |
| Internet broadcast: | Live video on the Patriot League Network Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.gohofstra.com |
Â
| Date: | November 9, 2014 |
| Opponent: | No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions |
| First match: | 2:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Rec Hall (6,846) |
| Location: | University Park, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 0-0 overall, 0-0 EIWA |
| Penn State's record: | 0-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten |
| Series: | Penn State leads 65-34-3 |
| Streak: | Penn State has won the last four meetings |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 1:45 p.m. with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at btn2go.com Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.gopsusports.com |
Â
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's WrestlingLehigh 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
