Sunday, January 1
Chattanooga, Tenn.
10:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
Southern Scuffle
Photo by: Rich Warnke
Mountain Hawks set to open 2017 at Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga
12/28/2016 1:53:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Southern Scuffle:Â Match Notes | Southern Scuffle web site | Watch on FloWrestling | Live scoring
Midlands: Midlands Website | Midlands Live scoring | Watch Midlands on BTN2Go
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the third straight season, Lehigh will ring in the New Year in Chattanooga, Tenn. as the Mountain Hawks will compete in the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Clothing, Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena. The Mountain Hawks are expected to send 16 wrestlers to the Southern Scuffle. Lehigh finished third at last year's Scuffle with eight place winners, improving upon a seventh place finish from the 2015 Scuffle. In its last competition of the fall semester, the Mountain Hawks rolled to home dual wins over Princeton and No. 24 Drexel, outscoring the Tigers and Dragons by a combined 65-6. This is the 14th edition of the Southern Scuffle with nine of the top 25 teams from last year's NCAA Championships in the 24-team field. In addition to the 16 wrestlers competing at the Southern Scuffle, four Lehigh wrestlers will compete in the Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill.
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The Mountain Hawks are making their fifth trip to the Southern Scuffle with previous appearances in 2005 and 2006 (December), 2015 and 2016. Lehigh has had a total of 22 place winners in four previous trips, with five each in 2005 and 2006, four in 2015 and eight last year. Cory Cooperman owns Lehigh's lone Southern Scuffle title after beating Ron Tarquinio of Pittsburgh 3-1 in sudden victory to win the 141-pound title in 2005.
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Eleven of Lehigh's probable Southern Scuffle entrants have previously competed at the Scuffle, including four place-winners from a season ago. Darian Cruz, Mitch Minotti and Drew Longo have competed in each of the last two seasons and all three men placed last year. Randy Cruz and Doug Vollaro are also expected to make their third Scuffle appearance. Six others have competed at the Southern Scuffle previously, including Ryan Preisch, who placed at 165 last year. Laike Gardner, Cortlandt Schuyler and Ben Haas also competed last year, as did Ryan Pomrinca, who competed unattached. Scott Parker competed in the 2015 Southern Scuffle.
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Twenty four 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 14th Southern Scuffle, and the sixth since the tournament moved from Greensboro, N.C. to Chattanooga, Tenn. Lehigh competed at the Southern Scuffle in 2005 and 2006 prior to returning to the event the last two years. Penn State has won the last five Southern Scuffle titles and shared the 2010 title with Cornell. The Nittany Lions will not be at this year's Scuffle, but 11 of the top 25 team finishers from last year's NCAA Championship will be competing, including top ten finishers Oklahoma State, Missouri and Cornell.
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In its final action of the fall semester, Lehigh dominated EIWA foes Princeton and Drexel in home duals, outscoring the Tigers and Dragons by a combined 65-6 score on Dec. 9 and 11. The Mountain Hawks won 18 of 20 bouts across the two duals with both losses coming in sudden victory. Lehigh posted four bonus wins, including three technical falls, in a 34-3 win over Princeton and added a major decision and a fall in a 31-3 triumph over Drexel. Senior captain Laike Gardner posted a pair of major decisions, while sophomore Ryan Preisch's first period pin against Drexel was Lehigh's first in a dual meet this season.
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Right before the Christmas holiday, Lehigh sent a contingent of 11 wrestlers to the Dec. 22 Wilkes Open. The contingent featured a mix of attached wrestlers and true freshmen. Eight of Lehigh's entrants placed in the top four of their respective weight classes, including five grapplers who claimed or shared titles. Freshman Ryan Pomrinca won his second open tournament title of the season at 141, while freshman Joe Lobeck claimed his first at 133. Sophomore Cortlandt Schuyler made his season debut with a title at 149. Deferred freshmen Chase Gallik and Cole Walter both reached the finals at 165 but a title bout was not contested. Lehigh's other place winners included freshman Jake Jakobsen, who was runner-up at 197, freshman Paul Dunn, who placed third at 184, and freshman Nick Farro, who was fourth at 133. The other noteworthy occurrence was the season debut of senior captain Mitch Minotti, who went 3-0 with a major decision and two falls at 165 before withdrawing from the tournament.
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Eight Mountain Hawks appear in the latest InterMat rankings, led by senior Randy Cruz, who is ranked fourth at 141 following an 8-1 start to the season. The addition of Ben Haas at 197 gives Lehigh nine wrestlers in FloWrestling's latest rankings, while seven appear in the latest polls from Amateur Wrestling News and The Open Mat. In addition to Cruz, seniors Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro, junior Darian Cruz, sophomores Scott Parker and Ryan Preisch and freshman Jordan Kutler are ranked across the board. Senior Mitch Minotti is not ranked by The Open Mat or Amateur Wrestling News due to his inactivity in the fall.
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While Lehigh sends a full contingent to the Southern Scuffle for the third straight year, four Mountain Hawks are expected to compete unattached at the prestigious 54th Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Midlands was Lehigh's holiday tournament of choice from 2009 to 2013 before the Mountain Hawks decided to switch over to the Southern Scuffle in 2014-15. Deferred freshman Andrew Price will compete at 184 along with three true freshmen who will compete unattached: Luke Karam, Chris Weiler and Jordan Wood.
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Competition at the Southern Scuffle begins Sunday at 10 a.m. from Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Action continues all day Sunday and Monday with the championship matches and medal rounds set for Monday 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. Brackets and live scoring for all bouts will be available via Flo Arena on Flowrestling.org. Comprehensive updates of all Lehigh bouts will be available on Twitter @LehighWrestling.
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With the Southern Scuffle falling on a Sunday and Monday this year, the Mountain Hawks will take this coming weekend off and will return to action with a pair of road duals against EIWA opponents next weekend. Lehigh will visit Navy on Friday, Jan. 13 and will then head to Washington, D.C. to face American the following night. The Navy dual is set for a 7:30 p.m. start, while the American dual will begin at 7 p.m.
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Midlands: Midlands Website | Midlands Live scoring | Watch Midlands on BTN2Go
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the third straight season, Lehigh will ring in the New Year in Chattanooga, Tenn. as the Mountain Hawks will compete in the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Clothing, Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena. The Mountain Hawks are expected to send 16 wrestlers to the Southern Scuffle. Lehigh finished third at last year's Scuffle with eight place winners, improving upon a seventh place finish from the 2015 Scuffle. In its last competition of the fall semester, the Mountain Hawks rolled to home dual wins over Princeton and No. 24 Drexel, outscoring the Tigers and Dragons by a combined 65-6. This is the 14th edition of the Southern Scuffle with nine of the top 25 teams from last year's NCAA Championships in the 24-team field. In addition to the 16 wrestlers competing at the Southern Scuffle, four Lehigh wrestlers will compete in the Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill.
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The Mountain Hawks are making their fifth trip to the Southern Scuffle with previous appearances in 2005 and 2006 (December), 2015 and 2016. Lehigh has had a total of 22 place winners in four previous trips, with five each in 2005 and 2006, four in 2015 and eight last year. Cory Cooperman owns Lehigh's lone Southern Scuffle title after beating Ron Tarquinio of Pittsburgh 3-1 in sudden victory to win the 141-pound title in 2005.
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Eleven of Lehigh's probable Southern Scuffle entrants have previously competed at the Scuffle, including four place-winners from a season ago. Darian Cruz, Mitch Minotti and Drew Longo have competed in each of the last two seasons and all three men placed last year. Randy Cruz and Doug Vollaro are also expected to make their third Scuffle appearance. Six others have competed at the Southern Scuffle previously, including Ryan Preisch, who placed at 165 last year. Laike Gardner, Cortlandt Schuyler and Ben Haas also competed last year, as did Ryan Pomrinca, who competed unattached. Scott Parker competed in the 2015 Southern Scuffle.
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Twenty four 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 14th Southern Scuffle, and the sixth since the tournament moved from Greensboro, N.C. to Chattanooga, Tenn. Lehigh competed at the Southern Scuffle in 2005 and 2006 prior to returning to the event the last two years. Penn State has won the last five Southern Scuffle titles and shared the 2010 title with Cornell. The Nittany Lions will not be at this year's Scuffle, but 11 of the top 25 team finishers from last year's NCAA Championship will be competing, including top ten finishers Oklahoma State, Missouri and Cornell.
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In its final action of the fall semester, Lehigh dominated EIWA foes Princeton and Drexel in home duals, outscoring the Tigers and Dragons by a combined 65-6 score on Dec. 9 and 11. The Mountain Hawks won 18 of 20 bouts across the two duals with both losses coming in sudden victory. Lehigh posted four bonus wins, including three technical falls, in a 34-3 win over Princeton and added a major decision and a fall in a 31-3 triumph over Drexel. Senior captain Laike Gardner posted a pair of major decisions, while sophomore Ryan Preisch's first period pin against Drexel was Lehigh's first in a dual meet this season.
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Right before the Christmas holiday, Lehigh sent a contingent of 11 wrestlers to the Dec. 22 Wilkes Open. The contingent featured a mix of attached wrestlers and true freshmen. Eight of Lehigh's entrants placed in the top four of their respective weight classes, including five grapplers who claimed or shared titles. Freshman Ryan Pomrinca won his second open tournament title of the season at 141, while freshman Joe Lobeck claimed his first at 133. Sophomore Cortlandt Schuyler made his season debut with a title at 149. Deferred freshmen Chase Gallik and Cole Walter both reached the finals at 165 but a title bout was not contested. Lehigh's other place winners included freshman Jake Jakobsen, who was runner-up at 197, freshman Paul Dunn, who placed third at 184, and freshman Nick Farro, who was fourth at 133. The other noteworthy occurrence was the season debut of senior captain Mitch Minotti, who went 3-0 with a major decision and two falls at 165 before withdrawing from the tournament.
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Eight Mountain Hawks appear in the latest InterMat rankings, led by senior Randy Cruz, who is ranked fourth at 141 following an 8-1 start to the season. The addition of Ben Haas at 197 gives Lehigh nine wrestlers in FloWrestling's latest rankings, while seven appear in the latest polls from Amateur Wrestling News and The Open Mat. In addition to Cruz, seniors Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro, junior Darian Cruz, sophomores Scott Parker and Ryan Preisch and freshman Jordan Kutler are ranked across the board. Senior Mitch Minotti is not ranked by The Open Mat or Amateur Wrestling News due to his inactivity in the fall.
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While Lehigh sends a full contingent to the Southern Scuffle for the third straight year, four Mountain Hawks are expected to compete unattached at the prestigious 54th Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Midlands was Lehigh's holiday tournament of choice from 2009 to 2013 before the Mountain Hawks decided to switch over to the Southern Scuffle in 2014-15. Deferred freshman Andrew Price will compete at 184 along with three true freshmen who will compete unattached: Luke Karam, Chris Weiler and Jordan Wood.
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Competition at the Southern Scuffle begins Sunday at 10 a.m. from Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Action continues all day Sunday and Monday with the championship matches and medal rounds set for Monday 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. Brackets and live scoring for all bouts will be available via Flo Arena on Flowrestling.org. Comprehensive updates of all Lehigh bouts will be available on Twitter @LehighWrestling.
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With the Southern Scuffle falling on a Sunday and Monday this year, the Mountain Hawks will take this coming weekend off and will return to action with a pair of road duals against EIWA opponents next weekend. Lehigh will visit Navy on Friday, Jan. 13 and will then head to Washington, D.C. to face American the following night. The Navy dual is set for a 7:30 p.m. start, while the American dual will begin at 7 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
125
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141
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174
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133
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
197
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133/141
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157
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133
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165
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
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133
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
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184
/ Men's Wrestling
149
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285
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
174/184
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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