Thursday, January 1
Chattanooga, Tenn.
9:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
Southern Scuffle
Lehigh to open 2015 at Southern Scuffle beginning Thursday in Chattanooga
12/30/2014 10:07:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Southern Scuffle web site | Watch on FloWrestling (subscription required) | Live scoring (Trackwrestling)
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh wrestling team will ring in 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee as the Mountain Hawks will compete in the Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle, hosted by Chattanooga Thursday and Friday at McKenzie Arena. The Mountain Hawks return to the Southern Scuffle for the first time since 2006 with 13 wrestlers plus sophomore Darian Cruz who will compete unattached at 125. Lehigh last competed at Grapple at the Garden in New York December 21 where the Mountain Hawks defeated Princeton and fell to Edinboro on criteria. This is the 12th edition of the Southern Scuffle with 13 of the top 25 teams from last year's NCAA Championships in the 31-team field.
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The Mountain Hawks are making their third trip to the Southern Scuffle after sending full squads to the Midlands Championships in each of the last five seasons. The Southern Scuffle is in its 12th year with Lehigh finishing sixth at the Scuffle in 2005 and 11th in 2006. Lehigh placed five wrestlers on the podium in both years, led by Cory Cooperman, who defeated Ron Tarquinio of Pittsburgh 3-1 in sudden victory to win the 141-pound title in 2005.
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Five Mountain Hawks who are expected to compete at the Southern Scuffle have placed at the Midlands in the last two years, including Mitch Minotti, who became Lehigh's first-ever freshman Midlands Champion with his win at 149 last December.
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Thirty one Division I programs will take part in the Southern Scuffle, which features a loaded field of some of the nation's top teams and individuals. It has grown into one of the premier in-season tournaments in the nation. This year marks the 12th Southern Scuffle, and the fourth since the tournament moved from Greensboro, N.C. to Chattanooga, Tenn. Lehigh competed at the Southern Scuffle in 2005 and 2006. Penn State has won the last three Southern Scuffle titles and shared the 2010 title with Cornell. Both teams are back this year as 13 of the top 25 team finishes from last year's NCAA Championship will be competing at the Southern Scuffle.
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Lehigh has five wrestlers ranked in the latest rankings by The Open Mat and FloWrestling. Sophomore Mitch Minotti entered the Flo rankings at No. 7 at 157 after going 2-0 in his return to action. Freshman Scott Parker remains ranked by The Open Mat at 125. Junior Nathaniel Brown leads the way for the Mountain Hawks, as he is ranked in the top five at 184 in all four polls. Lehigh has four wrestlers ranked by WIN Magazine and three by InterMat.
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Minotti made his return to the Lehigh lineup at Grapple at the Garden going 2-0 with a win by fall. Minotti missed Lehigh's first eight duals due to injury and has moved up to 157 after earning All-America honors with a sixth place finish at last year's NCAA Championships. He went 25-11 as a deferred freshman finishing second in the EIWA and becoming Lehigh's first-ever freshman Midlands champion.
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Senior Marshall Peppelman is the one Mountain Hawk with previous Southern Scuffle experience. Peppelman competed in the Scuffle for Cornell in 2012 and 2013, finishing seventh at 165 in 2012 and eighth at 174 in 2013. The Big Red have long been regular participants in the Southern Scuffle. Peppelman will be competing at 165 at the Southern Scuffle after wrestling at 174 in all ten of Lehigh's duals so far this season.
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Lehigh wrestlers have competed in five open tournaments so far this season - the Clarion Knight Point Open, the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, the East Stroudsburg open, the Nittany Lion Open and most recently, the Wilkes Open. Fifteen Mountain Hawks have placed in open tournament competition with six men winning one title. Sophomore Elliot Riddick and freshman Ryan Preisch won titles at the Clarion Open, while junior Laike Gardner and sophomore Darian Cruz won titles at ESU. This past weekend sophomore Jon Mele and freshman Cortlandt Schuyler claimed titles at 133 and 141 respectively at the Wilkes Open.
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Competition begins Thursday at 9 a.m. from Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Action continues all day Thursday and Friday with the championship matches and medal rounds set for Friday at 7 p.m. Streaming video for every bout at the Southern Scuffle will be available through Flowrestling.org through their subscription-based FloPro package. Live scoring for all bouts will be available via Trackwrestling.com.
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh wrestling team will ring in 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee as the Mountain Hawks will compete in the Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle, hosted by Chattanooga Thursday and Friday at McKenzie Arena. The Mountain Hawks return to the Southern Scuffle for the first time since 2006 with 13 wrestlers plus sophomore Darian Cruz who will compete unattached at 125. Lehigh last competed at Grapple at the Garden in New York December 21 where the Mountain Hawks defeated Princeton and fell to Edinboro on criteria. This is the 12th edition of the Southern Scuffle with 13 of the top 25 teams from last year's NCAA Championships in the 31-team field.
Â
The Mountain Hawks are making their third trip to the Southern Scuffle after sending full squads to the Midlands Championships in each of the last five seasons. The Southern Scuffle is in its 12th year with Lehigh finishing sixth at the Scuffle in 2005 and 11th in 2006. Lehigh placed five wrestlers on the podium in both years, led by Cory Cooperman, who defeated Ron Tarquinio of Pittsburgh 3-1 in sudden victory to win the 141-pound title in 2005.
Â
Five Mountain Hawks who are expected to compete at the Southern Scuffle have placed at the Midlands in the last two years, including Mitch Minotti, who became Lehigh's first-ever freshman Midlands Champion with his win at 149 last December.
Â
Thirty one Division I programs will take part in the Southern Scuffle, which features a loaded field of some of the nation's top teams and individuals. It has grown into one of the premier in-season tournaments in the nation. This year marks the 12th Southern Scuffle, and the fourth since the tournament moved from Greensboro, N.C. to Chattanooga, Tenn. Lehigh competed at the Southern Scuffle in 2005 and 2006. Penn State has won the last three Southern Scuffle titles and shared the 2010 title with Cornell. Both teams are back this year as 13 of the top 25 team finishes from last year's NCAA Championship will be competing at the Southern Scuffle.
Â
Lehigh has five wrestlers ranked in the latest rankings by The Open Mat and FloWrestling. Sophomore Mitch Minotti entered the Flo rankings at No. 7 at 157 after going 2-0 in his return to action. Freshman Scott Parker remains ranked by The Open Mat at 125. Junior Nathaniel Brown leads the way for the Mountain Hawks, as he is ranked in the top five at 184 in all four polls. Lehigh has four wrestlers ranked by WIN Magazine and three by InterMat.
Â
Minotti made his return to the Lehigh lineup at Grapple at the Garden going 2-0 with a win by fall. Minotti missed Lehigh's first eight duals due to injury and has moved up to 157 after earning All-America honors with a sixth place finish at last year's NCAA Championships. He went 25-11 as a deferred freshman finishing second in the EIWA and becoming Lehigh's first-ever freshman Midlands champion.
Â
Senior Marshall Peppelman is the one Mountain Hawk with previous Southern Scuffle experience. Peppelman competed in the Scuffle for Cornell in 2012 and 2013, finishing seventh at 165 in 2012 and eighth at 174 in 2013. The Big Red have long been regular participants in the Southern Scuffle. Peppelman will be competing at 165 at the Southern Scuffle after wrestling at 174 in all ten of Lehigh's duals so far this season.
Â
Lehigh wrestlers have competed in five open tournaments so far this season - the Clarion Knight Point Open, the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, the East Stroudsburg open, the Nittany Lion Open and most recently, the Wilkes Open. Fifteen Mountain Hawks have placed in open tournament competition with six men winning one title. Sophomore Elliot Riddick and freshman Ryan Preisch won titles at the Clarion Open, while junior Laike Gardner and sophomore Darian Cruz won titles at ESU. This past weekend sophomore Jon Mele and freshman Cortlandt Schuyler claimed titles at 133 and 141 respectively at the Wilkes Open.
Â
Competition begins Thursday at 9 a.m. from Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Action continues all day Thursday and Friday with the championship matches and medal rounds set for Friday at 7 p.m. Streaming video for every bout at the Southern Scuffle will be available through Flowrestling.org through their subscription-based FloPro package. Live scoring for all bouts will be available via Trackwrestling.com.
Players Mentioned
184
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
141/149
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