Friday, March 6
10:00 AM
Lehigh University
vs
EIWA Championships
Lehigh to host 111th EIWA Championships Friday-Saturday at Stabler Arena
3/4/2015 10:34:00 AM | Men's Wrestling, Tickets
EIWA Championships home | Tickets | Lehigh Tournament Notes | Video | Audio
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh welcomes the other 15 EIWA member institutions to Stabler Arena Friday and Saturday for the 111th EIWA Championships. The EIWA is the nation's oldest wrestling conference, with Lehigh being the historically dominant team, having won 204 individual titles and 34 team championships. The Mountain Hawks were 14-6 in the dual season and finished ninth in the final NWCA poll. Lehigh finished second to Cornell at last year's tournament and will have the home mat advantage as the Mountain Hawks try to deny Cornell a ninth straight team title. Also at stake are 43 automatic berths to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis.
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The Mountain Hawks have five wrestlers ranked in the latest polls by InterMat and the Open Mat, led by junior Nathaniel Brown, who is ranked in the top five at 184. Six Mountain Hawks are ranked by Flowrestling, with Santiago Martinez and Doug Vollaro joining the rankings after strong showings at the National Duals Finals in Iowa. Lehigh also has six wrestlers ranked by WIN Magazine, with Randy Cruz in and Vollaro out.
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The EIWA pre-tournament rankings, unveiled February 25 feature Lehigh wrestlers ranked in nine of ten weight classes. Mason Beckman is ranked No. 1 at 133 while Mitch Minotti and Nathaniel Brown are ranked second at 157 and 184 respectively. Randy Cruz (141), Santiago Martinez (174) and Doug Vollaro (285) are ranked third. Scott Parker and Elliot Riddick come in at No. 4 at 125 and 197, respectively, while Marshall Peppelman is ranked sixth at 165. The EIWA ranks the top six at each weight, while a minimum of eight wrestlers will be seeded per weight class.
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Lehigh finished up its dual meet season with a fourth place showing at the NWCA National Duals in Iowa City, Iowa. The performance was highlighted by a 21-18 upset of then-No. 3 Ohio State, a dual clinched with a second sudden victory takedown from sophomore Doug Vollaro against Nick Tavanello at heavyweight. Lehigh won six bouts against the Buckeyes and defeated five top-15 ranked wrestlers in the process to earn coach Pat Santoro his 100th dual meet win as Lehigh's head coach. The Mountain Hawks fell to eventual champion Missouri in the semifinals and then dropped a 22-15 match to EIWA rival Cornell for third place. Lehigh finished the dual season ranked ninth in the USA Today/NWCA Poll.
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The two fifth-year seniors in Lehigh's lineup, Santiago Martinez and Marshall Peppelman, switched spots following the Southern Scuffle. In the fall semester, Martinez competed at 165 and Peppelman at 174. Both men competed at 165 at the Southern Scuffle with Peppelman defeating Martinez on the way to a sixth place finish. The move up to a new weight class hasn't seemed to bother Martinez, who is 10-2 at 174 including three wins by fall.
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Lehigh welcomes back two former EIWA Champions who deferred their eligibility last season in sophomore Randy Cruz and junior Nathaniel Brown. Both wrestlers used their deferral year to move up one weight class from where they won their EIWA titles in 2013. Cruz became Lehigh's first true freshman EIWA Champion since 1980 capping a 31-12 campaign. He went 22-8 last season with a win at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic in his move up to 141. Brown successfully bumped up from 174 to 184, going 19-3 and winning Lehigh's Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year award. He won three open tournament titles and finished third at the Midlands. Both men look to follow in the footsteps of Mason Beckman, who competed as a true freshman, deferred as a sophomore and earned All-America honors in his first year back.
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The EIWA received 43 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships when the NCAA announced its qualifier allocations last week. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data including Division I winning percentage, RPI and a coaches ranking. Wrestlers who fail to qualify this weekend will be eligible for one of 70 at-large berths which will be announced on Wednesday, March 11.
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This year the nation's oldest college wrestling conference holds its 111th championships. Lehigh has historically dominated the EIWA's, having won 34 team titles including five straight from 2002-2006. The Mountain Hawks have won at least one individual title in each of the last 15 EIWA tournaments. Beckman won Lehigh's league-leading 204th individual title last year. Also returning are 2013 champions Randy Cruz and Nathaniel Brown, who deferred eligibility last year.
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Lehigh qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships last year, and has qualified at least five wrestlers in each of the last 15 EIWA tournaments.
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Tournament seeds and brackets will be announced Thursday evening following the seeding meeting.
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The 111th EIWA Championships get underway Friday at 10 a.m. from Lehigh's Stabler Arena. Friday's opening session will feature championship bracket matches completed through the quarterfinals plus two rounds of consolations. Session two, featuring the championship semifinals plus consolation third round, consolation semifinals and seventh place matches, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. The final session, featuring matches for first, third and fifth place, will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and will be preceded by the EIWA Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 5 p.m.
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All-session and individual session tickets are still available and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com. Tickets can also be purchased before Friday by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours or in-person at Stabler Arena on Friday or Saturday.
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The EIWA has partnered with Flowrestling to provide streaming video coverage of the entire tournament via its subscription-based Flo Pro service. Audio of Saturday's finals session will be available in the Lehigh Valley on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as online at ESPNLV.com.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh welcomes the other 15 EIWA member institutions to Stabler Arena Friday and Saturday for the 111th EIWA Championships. The EIWA is the nation's oldest wrestling conference, with Lehigh being the historically dominant team, having won 204 individual titles and 34 team championships. The Mountain Hawks were 14-6 in the dual season and finished ninth in the final NWCA poll. Lehigh finished second to Cornell at last year's tournament and will have the home mat advantage as the Mountain Hawks try to deny Cornell a ninth straight team title. Also at stake are 43 automatic berths to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis.
Â
The Mountain Hawks have five wrestlers ranked in the latest polls by InterMat and the Open Mat, led by junior Nathaniel Brown, who is ranked in the top five at 184. Six Mountain Hawks are ranked by Flowrestling, with Santiago Martinez and Doug Vollaro joining the rankings after strong showings at the National Duals Finals in Iowa. Lehigh also has six wrestlers ranked by WIN Magazine, with Randy Cruz in and Vollaro out.
Â
The EIWA pre-tournament rankings, unveiled February 25 feature Lehigh wrestlers ranked in nine of ten weight classes. Mason Beckman is ranked No. 1 at 133 while Mitch Minotti and Nathaniel Brown are ranked second at 157 and 184 respectively. Randy Cruz (141), Santiago Martinez (174) and Doug Vollaro (285) are ranked third. Scott Parker and Elliot Riddick come in at No. 4 at 125 and 197, respectively, while Marshall Peppelman is ranked sixth at 165. The EIWA ranks the top six at each weight, while a minimum of eight wrestlers will be seeded per weight class.
Â
Lehigh finished up its dual meet season with a fourth place showing at the NWCA National Duals in Iowa City, Iowa. The performance was highlighted by a 21-18 upset of then-No. 3 Ohio State, a dual clinched with a second sudden victory takedown from sophomore Doug Vollaro against Nick Tavanello at heavyweight. Lehigh won six bouts against the Buckeyes and defeated five top-15 ranked wrestlers in the process to earn coach Pat Santoro his 100th dual meet win as Lehigh's head coach. The Mountain Hawks fell to eventual champion Missouri in the semifinals and then dropped a 22-15 match to EIWA rival Cornell for third place. Lehigh finished the dual season ranked ninth in the USA Today/NWCA Poll.
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The two fifth-year seniors in Lehigh's lineup, Santiago Martinez and Marshall Peppelman, switched spots following the Southern Scuffle. In the fall semester, Martinez competed at 165 and Peppelman at 174. Both men competed at 165 at the Southern Scuffle with Peppelman defeating Martinez on the way to a sixth place finish. The move up to a new weight class hasn't seemed to bother Martinez, who is 10-2 at 174 including three wins by fall.
Â
Lehigh welcomes back two former EIWA Champions who deferred their eligibility last season in sophomore Randy Cruz and junior Nathaniel Brown. Both wrestlers used their deferral year to move up one weight class from where they won their EIWA titles in 2013. Cruz became Lehigh's first true freshman EIWA Champion since 1980 capping a 31-12 campaign. He went 22-8 last season with a win at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic in his move up to 141. Brown successfully bumped up from 174 to 184, going 19-3 and winning Lehigh's Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year award. He won three open tournament titles and finished third at the Midlands. Both men look to follow in the footsteps of Mason Beckman, who competed as a true freshman, deferred as a sophomore and earned All-America honors in his first year back.
Â
The EIWA received 43 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships when the NCAA announced its qualifier allocations last week. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data including Division I winning percentage, RPI and a coaches ranking. Wrestlers who fail to qualify this weekend will be eligible for one of 70 at-large berths which will be announced on Wednesday, March 11.
Â
This year the nation's oldest college wrestling conference holds its 111th championships. Lehigh has historically dominated the EIWA's, having won 34 team titles including five straight from 2002-2006. The Mountain Hawks have won at least one individual title in each of the last 15 EIWA tournaments. Beckman won Lehigh's league-leading 204th individual title last year. Also returning are 2013 champions Randy Cruz and Nathaniel Brown, who deferred eligibility last year.
Â
Lehigh qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships last year, and has qualified at least five wrestlers in each of the last 15 EIWA tournaments.
Â
Tournament seeds and brackets will be announced Thursday evening following the seeding meeting.
Â
The 111th EIWA Championships get underway Friday at 10 a.m. from Lehigh's Stabler Arena. Friday's opening session will feature championship bracket matches completed through the quarterfinals plus two rounds of consolations. Session two, featuring the championship semifinals plus consolation third round, consolation semifinals and seventh place matches, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. The final session, featuring matches for first, third and fifth place, will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and will be preceded by the EIWA Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 5 p.m.
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All-session and individual session tickets are still available and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com. Tickets can also be purchased before Friday by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours or in-person at Stabler Arena on Friday or Saturday.
Â
The EIWA has partnered with Flowrestling to provide streaming video coverage of the entire tournament via its subscription-based Flo Pro service. Audio of Saturday's finals session will be available in the Lehigh Valley on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as online at ESPNLV.com.
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| Event: | 111th EIWA Championships |
| Dates: | March 6-7, 2015 |
| March 6 Schedule: | Session 1: Championship first round and quarterfinals plus first two consolation rounds: 10 a.m. |
| March 7 Schedule: | Session 2: Championship semifinals, consolation third round, semifinals and 7th place matches: 10: a.m. |
| Â | Session 3: Championship finals (1st, 3rd, 5th): 5:30 p.m. |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Arena: | Stabler Arena (5,600) |
| Lehigh's dual record: | 14-6, 8-2 EIWA |
| History: | Lehigh has won 34 team championships, most of any EIWA school |
| TV: | None |
| Radio: | The finals will air on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 on Saturday beginning at 5:15 p.m. with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell |
| Internet Broadcast: | The EIWA has partnered with Flowrestling to provide streaming video of the entire tournament. Audio of Sunday's finals will be streamed on ESPNLV.com. |
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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