Saturday, February 21
Iowa City, Iowa
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Ohio State
Mountain Hawks head to Iowa for NWCA National Duals Finals
2/19/2015 2:27:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
ICA National Duals Digital Magazine | Match Notes | Video
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coming off a 27-9 win over George Mason in the regional round, No. 11 Lehigh heads to Iowa for the championship finals of the NWCA National Duals beginning Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Lehigh will face third-ranked Ohio State in the quarterfinal round. The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Missouri/No. 12 Illinois in the semifinals. Lehigh is making its fifth appearance in the NWCA National Duals. Competing under a different format, the Mountain Hawks finished fourth in 2005, seventh in 2001 and did not place in 2002 or 1998.
Â
The Mountain Hawks overcame a slow start to win six of the final seven bouts against the Patriots, with junior Nathaniel Brown, sophomore Elliot Riddick and junior Mason Beckman posting bonus point victories to lead the Lehigh charge. Brown's first period pin over Daniel Mika at 18 gave Lehigh the lead for good, heading into intermission.
Â
The NCAA released the second of four Coaches' Panel rankings for the 2014-15 season on February 12. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. A panel of coaches ranked the top 33 in each weight class with the Mountain Hawks well represented. Lehigh still has wrestlers ranked in the top 33 in eight of ten weight classes. Sophomore Mitch Minotti was the biggest mover, jumping up six spots to No. 12 at 157.
Â
Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro enters this weekend's action with 99 dual meet victories as the Mountain Hawks' head coach. With one more dual win, Santoro will become the fifth out of Lehigh's eight all-time coaches to win at least 100 duals. Santoro also won 48 duals as Maryland's head coach giving him 147 combined dual wins for his career.
Â
In Saturday's quarterfinal round Lehigh will face No. 3 Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 13-3 in duals this season and have won nine straight, including a 30-7 win at Edinboro in last week's regionals. Ohio State's three losses are to Virginia Tech, Missouri and Iowa, with two of the three coming by a single point. The Buckeyes have nine wrestlers ranked in the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel rankings with all nine appearing in the top 11 of their respective weight classes. Ohio State is led by three-time NCAA Champion Logan Stieber, who is ranked first at 141. Freshmen Bo Jordan and Kyle Snyder are ranked third at 165 and 197, respectively.
Â
Lehigh has a history with six of the other seven teams competing in Iowa City this weekend. The Mountain Hawks are 1-2 versus quarterfinal opponent Ohio State. EIWA rival Cornell is Lehigh's third most-often wrestled foe behind Penn State and Navy. Lehigh has wrestled Cornell and Illinois this season, beating the Fighting Illini in Champaign and losing at home to Cornell. Lehigh has never faced Chattanooga. In addition to Lehigh-Ohio State and Missouri-Illinois, the other quarterfinal matchups feature No. 1 Iowa vs. Chattanooga and No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Cornell.
Â
Saturday's quarterfinal action begins at 12 p.m. CT (1 p.m. ET) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The quarterfinal winners will meet in the semifinals at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET). The first and third place duals are set for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET). Streaming video of the quarterfinals will be available for free online via BTN2Go.com. The semifinals and finals will also be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Â
Fans are encouraged to download the ICA National Duals Magazine, produced by Inside College Athletics and available in the Google Play and Apple App stores. More information on the program can be found HERE.
Â
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coming off a 27-9 win over George Mason in the regional round, No. 11 Lehigh heads to Iowa for the championship finals of the NWCA National Duals beginning Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Lehigh will face third-ranked Ohio State in the quarterfinal round. The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Missouri/No. 12 Illinois in the semifinals. Lehigh is making its fifth appearance in the NWCA National Duals. Competing under a different format, the Mountain Hawks finished fourth in 2005, seventh in 2001 and did not place in 2002 or 1998.
Â
The Mountain Hawks overcame a slow start to win six of the final seven bouts against the Patriots, with junior Nathaniel Brown, sophomore Elliot Riddick and junior Mason Beckman posting bonus point victories to lead the Lehigh charge. Brown's first period pin over Daniel Mika at 18 gave Lehigh the lead for good, heading into intermission.
Â
The NCAA released the second of four Coaches' Panel rankings for the 2014-15 season on February 12. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. A panel of coaches ranked the top 33 in each weight class with the Mountain Hawks well represented. Lehigh still has wrestlers ranked in the top 33 in eight of ten weight classes. Sophomore Mitch Minotti was the biggest mover, jumping up six spots to No. 12 at 157.
Â
Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro enters this weekend's action with 99 dual meet victories as the Mountain Hawks' head coach. With one more dual win, Santoro will become the fifth out of Lehigh's eight all-time coaches to win at least 100 duals. Santoro also won 48 duals as Maryland's head coach giving him 147 combined dual wins for his career.
Â
In Saturday's quarterfinal round Lehigh will face No. 3 Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 13-3 in duals this season and have won nine straight, including a 30-7 win at Edinboro in last week's regionals. Ohio State's three losses are to Virginia Tech, Missouri and Iowa, with two of the three coming by a single point. The Buckeyes have nine wrestlers ranked in the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel rankings with all nine appearing in the top 11 of their respective weight classes. Ohio State is led by three-time NCAA Champion Logan Stieber, who is ranked first at 141. Freshmen Bo Jordan and Kyle Snyder are ranked third at 165 and 197, respectively.
Â
Lehigh has a history with six of the other seven teams competing in Iowa City this weekend. The Mountain Hawks are 1-2 versus quarterfinal opponent Ohio State. EIWA rival Cornell is Lehigh's third most-often wrestled foe behind Penn State and Navy. Lehigh has wrestled Cornell and Illinois this season, beating the Fighting Illini in Champaign and losing at home to Cornell. Lehigh has never faced Chattanooga. In addition to Lehigh-Ohio State and Missouri-Illinois, the other quarterfinal matchups feature No. 1 Iowa vs. Chattanooga and No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Cornell.
Â
Saturday's quarterfinal action begins at 12 p.m. CT (1 p.m. ET) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The quarterfinal winners will meet in the semifinals at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET). The first and third place duals are set for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET). Streaming video of the quarterfinals will be available for free online via BTN2Go.com. The semifinals and finals will also be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Â
Fans are encouraged to download the ICA National Duals Magazine, produced by Inside College Athletics and available in the Google Play and Apple App stores. More information on the program can be found HERE.
Â
| Dates: | February 21-22, 2015 |
| Event: | NWCA National Duals Championship Finals |
| Quarterfinal Opponent: | No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes |
| First match: | 12:00 p.m. CT |
| Arena: | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500) |
| Location: | Iowa City, Iowa |
| Lehigh's Record: | 13-4 overall, 8-1 EIWA |
| Ohio State's Record: | 13-3 overall, 8-1 Big Ten |
| Series: | Ohio State leads 2-1 |
| Streak: | Ohio State won the most recent dual in November 2009 |
| Television: | Semifinals and finals live on Big Ten Network |
| Radio: | None |
| Internet broadcast: | Video of all duals at BTN2Go.com  |
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ 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
