Saturday, December 5
Lawrenceville, N.J.
11:00:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
Rider
No. 12 Lehigh returns from layoff with two duals Saturday in New Jersey
12/3/2015 3:06:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Rider Video | Rider Audio | Princeton Video | Princeton Audio
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After having Thanksgiving weekend off from competition, No. 12 Lehigh returns to action with a pair of duals in New Jersey on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks will begin with Rider at 11 a.m. before heading to Princeton for a 2 p.m. dual with the Tigers. Lehigh will be looking to avenge a loss on criteria to Rider last season before taking on a Princeton team that recently entered the national dual meet rankings.
Â
Two weekends ago, Lehigh opened its home schedule with a pair of impressive wins. The Mountain Hawks won eight of ten bouts in a 27-7 win over Pitt and then won eight bouts, including three pins in a 36-6 win over Edinboro. Six Mountain Hawks posted 2-0 weekends in Lehigh's last action: seniors Nathaniel Brown, John Bolich and Max Wessell, juniors Mitch Minotti and Elliot Riddick, and sophomore Darian Cruz.
Â
Lehigh has wrestlers ranked in eight of ten weight classes in the latest rankings by InterMat, FloWrestling and The Open Mat. Senior Nathaniel Brown is ranked in the top ten in all four polls (the three previously mentioned plus Amateur Wrestling News), while junior Mitch Minotti is the highest-ranked Mountain Hawk in InterMat's rankings. Seven Mountain Hawks appear in the Amateur Wrestling News rankings. Lehigh wrestlers in each weight class are ranked in at least one of the four polls. Brown, Minotti, seniors Mason Beckman, John Bolich and Max Wessell, junior Randy Cruz and sophomore Darian Cruz are ranked across the board.
Â
Despite being the third man up at 133 for the Mountain Hawks, sophomore Dean Somers delivered Lehigh's first dual win of the season at the weight with an impressive 12-0 major decision of Edinboro's Tony Recco. Sophomore Jonathan Mele initially stepped in for All-American Mason Beckman but was injured in a loss against Pitt opening the door for Somers to make just his second career dual meet appearance, and the first as his natural weight class. Somers now owns a 7-6 career record.
Â
When Lehigh meets Princeton, the Mountain Hawks will get re-acquainted with Tiger head coach Chris Ayres '99, a former EIWA Champion, All-American and assistant coach at Lehigh. Ayres, wrestled for the Brown and White from 1995-1999 and coached on Greg Strobel's staff for five seasons, before moving on to Princeton. He won an EIWA title at 150 in 1998 and earned All-American honors with a sixth place finish at 157 in 1999. Ayres wrestled under and then coached alongside Pat Santoro and succeeded him as Lehigh's Harmon-Rauch Assistant Coach in 2003.
Â
Rider opens its home schedule with Saturday duals against Lehigh and Northwestern. The Broncs are 2-2 on the dual season and are coming off a 24-15 loss at Clarion last weekend. Rider opened its season at the EMU duals, where the Broncs lost to Central Michigan but defeated Utah Valley and Kent State. The Broncs also finished second out of 12 teams at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia on November 22. Two Broncs appear in the latest InterMat rankings with B.J. Clagon ranked 12th at 149 and Conor Brennan coming in at No. 14 at 165. Senior Rob Deutsch is also ranked by some outlets at 133. Gary Taylor is in his 38th season as Rider's head coach. He has 419 career dual meet victories, the second highest total among active NCAA coaches.
Â
A 1-2 dual weekend in New York against tough competition helped vault Princeton into the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll in a tie for 25th. The Tigers routed Hofstra and then won four bouts in a loss to Nebraska at Grapple at the Garden, before moving on to the New York Athletic Club where Princeton managed a 5-5 split against a tough Illinois squad, but lost 20-15 thanks to three Fighting Illini bonus wins. Princeton also won the team title at the Navy Classic on November 21. Five of the projected Tiger starters appear in InterMat's rankings, led by Brett Harner, who is ranked tenth at 197. Jordan Laster (17 at 141) lost to Lehigh's Randy Cruz in last year's EIWA finals. Chris Perez moved into the rankings at 149 with a strong showing last weekend, while Jonathan Schleifer (174) and Abram Ayala (184) are also ranked. Former Lehigh All-American and assistant coach Chris Ayres is in his tenth season at Princeton. The Tigers will host Northwestern prior to Lehigh's visit on Saturday.
Â
Lehigh and Rider meet for the 21st time in a series that dates back to 1992. The Mountain Hawks had won four straight against the Broncs prior to last year's Rider victory. Lehigh and Princeton meet for the 58th time overall but just the sixth time in the last 40 years. The Mountain Hawks have won 11 straight against the Tigers and are wrestling a dual at Princeton for the first time since 2003.
Â
Saturday begins for Lehigh with the 11 a.m. match at Rider. The Broncs will have video available on their subscription-based BroncVision platform. Lehigh audio will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as ESPNLV.com. The Mountain Hawks will then head to Princeton to face the Tigers at 2 p.m. Princeton will offer video on the subscription-based Ivy League Digital Network while Lehigh audio will be available on WLVR-FM.
Â
Following Saturday's duals, Lehigh will break for final exams and will close out 2015 with a December 20 match at Oklahoma.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After having Thanksgiving weekend off from competition, No. 12 Lehigh returns to action with a pair of duals in New Jersey on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks will begin with Rider at 11 a.m. before heading to Princeton for a 2 p.m. dual with the Tigers. Lehigh will be looking to avenge a loss on criteria to Rider last season before taking on a Princeton team that recently entered the national dual meet rankings.
Â
Two weekends ago, Lehigh opened its home schedule with a pair of impressive wins. The Mountain Hawks won eight of ten bouts in a 27-7 win over Pitt and then won eight bouts, including three pins in a 36-6 win over Edinboro. Six Mountain Hawks posted 2-0 weekends in Lehigh's last action: seniors Nathaniel Brown, John Bolich and Max Wessell, juniors Mitch Minotti and Elliot Riddick, and sophomore Darian Cruz.
Â
Lehigh has wrestlers ranked in eight of ten weight classes in the latest rankings by InterMat, FloWrestling and The Open Mat. Senior Nathaniel Brown is ranked in the top ten in all four polls (the three previously mentioned plus Amateur Wrestling News), while junior Mitch Minotti is the highest-ranked Mountain Hawk in InterMat's rankings. Seven Mountain Hawks appear in the Amateur Wrestling News rankings. Lehigh wrestlers in each weight class are ranked in at least one of the four polls. Brown, Minotti, seniors Mason Beckman, John Bolich and Max Wessell, junior Randy Cruz and sophomore Darian Cruz are ranked across the board.
Â
Despite being the third man up at 133 for the Mountain Hawks, sophomore Dean Somers delivered Lehigh's first dual win of the season at the weight with an impressive 12-0 major decision of Edinboro's Tony Recco. Sophomore Jonathan Mele initially stepped in for All-American Mason Beckman but was injured in a loss against Pitt opening the door for Somers to make just his second career dual meet appearance, and the first as his natural weight class. Somers now owns a 7-6 career record.
Â
When Lehigh meets Princeton, the Mountain Hawks will get re-acquainted with Tiger head coach Chris Ayres '99, a former EIWA Champion, All-American and assistant coach at Lehigh. Ayres, wrestled for the Brown and White from 1995-1999 and coached on Greg Strobel's staff for five seasons, before moving on to Princeton. He won an EIWA title at 150 in 1998 and earned All-American honors with a sixth place finish at 157 in 1999. Ayres wrestled under and then coached alongside Pat Santoro and succeeded him as Lehigh's Harmon-Rauch Assistant Coach in 2003.
Â
Rider opens its home schedule with Saturday duals against Lehigh and Northwestern. The Broncs are 2-2 on the dual season and are coming off a 24-15 loss at Clarion last weekend. Rider opened its season at the EMU duals, where the Broncs lost to Central Michigan but defeated Utah Valley and Kent State. The Broncs also finished second out of 12 teams at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia on November 22. Two Broncs appear in the latest InterMat rankings with B.J. Clagon ranked 12th at 149 and Conor Brennan coming in at No. 14 at 165. Senior Rob Deutsch is also ranked by some outlets at 133. Gary Taylor is in his 38th season as Rider's head coach. He has 419 career dual meet victories, the second highest total among active NCAA coaches.
Â
A 1-2 dual weekend in New York against tough competition helped vault Princeton into the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll in a tie for 25th. The Tigers routed Hofstra and then won four bouts in a loss to Nebraska at Grapple at the Garden, before moving on to the New York Athletic Club where Princeton managed a 5-5 split against a tough Illinois squad, but lost 20-15 thanks to three Fighting Illini bonus wins. Princeton also won the team title at the Navy Classic on November 21. Five of the projected Tiger starters appear in InterMat's rankings, led by Brett Harner, who is ranked tenth at 197. Jordan Laster (17 at 141) lost to Lehigh's Randy Cruz in last year's EIWA finals. Chris Perez moved into the rankings at 149 with a strong showing last weekend, while Jonathan Schleifer (174) and Abram Ayala (184) are also ranked. Former Lehigh All-American and assistant coach Chris Ayres is in his tenth season at Princeton. The Tigers will host Northwestern prior to Lehigh's visit on Saturday.
Â
Lehigh and Rider meet for the 21st time in a series that dates back to 1992. The Mountain Hawks had won four straight against the Broncs prior to last year's Rider victory. Lehigh and Princeton meet for the 58th time overall but just the sixth time in the last 40 years. The Mountain Hawks have won 11 straight against the Tigers and are wrestling a dual at Princeton for the first time since 2003.
Â
Saturday begins for Lehigh with the 11 a.m. match at Rider. The Broncs will have video available on their subscription-based BroncVision platform. Lehigh audio will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as ESPNLV.com. The Mountain Hawks will then head to Princeton to face the Tigers at 2 p.m. Princeton will offer video on the subscription-based Ivy League Digital Network while Lehigh audio will be available on WLVR-FM.
Â
Following Saturday's duals, Lehigh will break for final exams and will close out 2015 with a December 20 match at Oklahoma.
Â
| Date: | December 5, 2015 |
| Opponent: | Rider Broncs |
| First match: | 11:00 a.m. |
| Arena: | Alumni Gym (1,650) |
| Location: | Lawrenceville, N.J. |
| Lehigh's record: | 4-1 overall, 1-0 EIWA |
| Rider's record: | 2-2 overall, 0-1 EWL |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 14-6 |
| Streak: | Rider won last year's dual |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 10:50 a.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Live Video on BroncVision Live Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.gobroncs.com |
Â
| Date: | December 5, 2015 |
| Opponent: | No. 25 Princeton Tigers |
| First match: | 2:00 p.m. |
| Arena: | Dillon Gym (1,500) |
| Location: | Princeton, N.J. |
| Lehigh's record: | 4-1 overall, 1-0 EIWA |
| Princeton's record: | 1-2 overall, 1-0 EIWA |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 51-5-1 |
| Streak: | Lehigh has won the last 11 duals |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | WLVR-FM (91.3) beginning at 1:45 p.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video on the Ivy League Digital Network Audio at WLVR.org |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.goprincetontigers.com |
Â
Â
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
133/141
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ 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
