Sunday, December 7
2:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
16
vs
17
Rider
No. 22 Rider edges No. 10 Lehigh 17-16 on third criteria
12/7/2014 5:08:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 10 Lehigh saw its five match winning streak come to an end as the Mountain Hawks were done in by the third tiebreaking criteria against a tough No. 22 Rider squad as the visiting Broncs defeated the Mountain Hawks 17-16 Sunday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The teams split ten bouts with both teams picking up one win by major decision, but it was Rider's 46-41 edge in total match points that gave the Broncs the victory.
Lehigh falls to 6-2 with the loss while Rider improves to 6-1.
"They just out-fought us from the first match through the end," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "If you don't shoot you're not going to win matches. It's disappointing because we had a good run going. If you lose it's one thing, but if you don't fight it's another. Hats off to Rider they were well prepared and they took it to us."
The Mountain Hawks struggled offensively all day, with just seven takedowns. Junior Nathaniel Brown posted four of those takedowns in his 10-2 major decision win over Clint Morrison at 184, a win that tied the dual at 13 with two bouts remaining.
Rider's key win came at 197 as Donald McNeil upset 11th-ranked sophomore Elliot Riddick 4-3. Riddick opened the scoring with a first period takedown, but McNeil broke a 2-2 tie in the third with the go-ahead takedown after Riddick chose neutral to open the period.
With McNeil putting the Broncs in front, Lehigh needed a bonus win from sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro against Greg Velasco, but Vollaro could only muster a 4-1 decision, tying the dual at 16 before criteria gave Rider the win. Vollaro escaped in the second period and caught Velasco on his back in the third but was only able to muster a two-point near fall.
Lehigh raced to an early 9-0 lead after three bouts, winning the three matches by a total of three points. At 125, freshman Scott Parker overcame an early J.R. Wert takedown by riding out the second period. Two escapes plus 1:52 of riding time gave Parker a 3-0 lead.
Junior Mason Beckman made it two straight wins for the Mountain Hawks, defeating Rob Deutsch by the slimmest of margins at 133. Beckman and Deutsch were tied 1-1 through regulation and the first sudden victory period and then proceeded to ride each other out in the first set of tiebreakers. After a scoreless second sudden victory period, Beckman escaped in the first half of the second tiebreak. He conceded a penalty point for locked hands in the second half of the tiebreak but was able to ride out Deutsch to win 2-2 on riding time.
Sophomore Randy Cruz gave Lehigh a 9-0 lead with a 4-2 decision over Chuck Zeisloft at 141. Cruz scored a second period takedown off a low single leg shot and held off a late Zeisloft charge.
Rider then answered by winning the next four bouts to take a 13-9 lead. At 149, 14th-ranked B.J. Clagon delivered Rider's lone bonus victory with a 16-5 major decision over freshman Drew Longo. Chad Walsh followed with an 8-6 decision over sophomore Will Switzer to cut Lehigh's lead to 9-7 at intermission.
In the first two bouts after the break, Rider benefitted from third period takedowns to earn wins by decisions. Conor Brennan's third period takedown gave him a 3-2 win over senior Santiago Martinez at 165, while Ryan Wolfe broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown and three point near fall in a 6-2 win over senior Marshall Peppelman at 174.
"They beat us every time in the third period," Santoro said. "We didn't set a pace early in the match. We had been wearing teams out in the third period but we did not do that today. We were hoping for things to happen instead of going out and making things happen."
Brown's major decision pulled Lehigh even but Rider's win at 197 and Vollaro's decision at heavyweight meant the Broncs won on criteria. Rider snapped a three dual losing streak against Lehigh and beats the Mountain Hawks for the first time since November 2011. The Broncs now own two wins by criteria against nationally-ranked opponents.
"They (Rider) held position well," Santoro said. "We weren't very aggressive and you don't deserve to win matches if you're not aggressive."
The Mountain Hawks will now have two weeks off for final exams and will return to action on December 21 with two duals at Grapple at the Garden in New York. Lehigh will face Princeton at 10 a.m. and Edinboro at noon inside the World's Most Famous Arena.
No. 22 Rider 17, No. 10 Lehigh 16
125 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. J.R. Wert (Rider) 3-2
133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Rob Deutsch (Rider) 2-2, r.t.
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) 4-2
149 – B.J. Clagon (Rider) major dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh) 16-5
157 – Chad Walsh (Rider) dec. Will Switzer (Lehigh) 8-6
165 – Conor Brennan (Rider) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) 3-2
174 – Ryan Wolfe (Rider) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) 6-2
184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) major dec. Clint Morrison (Rider) 10-2
197 – Donald McNeil (Rider) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 4-3
285 – Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Greg Velasco 4-1
Rider wins on third criteria – 46-41 advantage in total match points
Attendance – 1,156
Referee – Leonard Gino
Lehigh falls to 6-2 with the loss while Rider improves to 6-1.
"They just out-fought us from the first match through the end," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "If you don't shoot you're not going to win matches. It's disappointing because we had a good run going. If you lose it's one thing, but if you don't fight it's another. Hats off to Rider they were well prepared and they took it to us."
The Mountain Hawks struggled offensively all day, with just seven takedowns. Junior Nathaniel Brown posted four of those takedowns in his 10-2 major decision win over Clint Morrison at 184, a win that tied the dual at 13 with two bouts remaining.
Rider's key win came at 197 as Donald McNeil upset 11th-ranked sophomore Elliot Riddick 4-3. Riddick opened the scoring with a first period takedown, but McNeil broke a 2-2 tie in the third with the go-ahead takedown after Riddick chose neutral to open the period.
With McNeil putting the Broncs in front, Lehigh needed a bonus win from sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro against Greg Velasco, but Vollaro could only muster a 4-1 decision, tying the dual at 16 before criteria gave Rider the win. Vollaro escaped in the second period and caught Velasco on his back in the third but was only able to muster a two-point near fall.
Lehigh raced to an early 9-0 lead after three bouts, winning the three matches by a total of three points. At 125, freshman Scott Parker overcame an early J.R. Wert takedown by riding out the second period. Two escapes plus 1:52 of riding time gave Parker a 3-0 lead.
Junior Mason Beckman made it two straight wins for the Mountain Hawks, defeating Rob Deutsch by the slimmest of margins at 133. Beckman and Deutsch were tied 1-1 through regulation and the first sudden victory period and then proceeded to ride each other out in the first set of tiebreakers. After a scoreless second sudden victory period, Beckman escaped in the first half of the second tiebreak. He conceded a penalty point for locked hands in the second half of the tiebreak but was able to ride out Deutsch to win 2-2 on riding time.
Sophomore Randy Cruz gave Lehigh a 9-0 lead with a 4-2 decision over Chuck Zeisloft at 141. Cruz scored a second period takedown off a low single leg shot and held off a late Zeisloft charge.
Rider then answered by winning the next four bouts to take a 13-9 lead. At 149, 14th-ranked B.J. Clagon delivered Rider's lone bonus victory with a 16-5 major decision over freshman Drew Longo. Chad Walsh followed with an 8-6 decision over sophomore Will Switzer to cut Lehigh's lead to 9-7 at intermission.
In the first two bouts after the break, Rider benefitted from third period takedowns to earn wins by decisions. Conor Brennan's third period takedown gave him a 3-2 win over senior Santiago Martinez at 165, while Ryan Wolfe broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown and three point near fall in a 6-2 win over senior Marshall Peppelman at 174.
"They beat us every time in the third period," Santoro said. "We didn't set a pace early in the match. We had been wearing teams out in the third period but we did not do that today. We were hoping for things to happen instead of going out and making things happen."
Brown's major decision pulled Lehigh even but Rider's win at 197 and Vollaro's decision at heavyweight meant the Broncs won on criteria. Rider snapped a three dual losing streak against Lehigh and beats the Mountain Hawks for the first time since November 2011. The Broncs now own two wins by criteria against nationally-ranked opponents.
"They (Rider) held position well," Santoro said. "We weren't very aggressive and you don't deserve to win matches if you're not aggressive."
The Mountain Hawks will now have two weeks off for final exams and will return to action on December 21 with two duals at Grapple at the Garden in New York. Lehigh will face Princeton at 10 a.m. and Edinboro at noon inside the World's Most Famous Arena.
No. 22 Rider 17, No. 10 Lehigh 16
125 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. J.R. Wert (Rider) 3-2
133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Rob Deutsch (Rider) 2-2, r.t.
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) 4-2
149 – B.J. Clagon (Rider) major dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh) 16-5
157 – Chad Walsh (Rider) dec. Will Switzer (Lehigh) 8-6
165 – Conor Brennan (Rider) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) 3-2
174 – Ryan Wolfe (Rider) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) 6-2
184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) major dec. Clint Morrison (Rider) 10-2
197 – Donald McNeil (Rider) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 4-3
285 – Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Greg Velasco 4-1
Rider wins on third criteria – 46-41 advantage in total match points
Attendance – 1,156
Referee – Leonard Gino
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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