Friday, January 27
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Virginia Tech
No. 10 Lehigh hosts fifth-ranked Virginia Tech Friday before visiting No. 15 Michigan
1/25/2017 3:38:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Tickets (Virginia Tech) | Video (Virginia Tech) | Video (Michigan) | Audio
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Two nationally-ranked foes await No. 10 Lehigh this weekend as the Mountain Hawks will host No. 5 Virginia Tech Friday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall before traveling to No. 15 Michigan for a Sunday afternoon dual. Lehigh saw its five-match winning streak come to an end last weekend as two late pins helped Cornell erase a 17-3 deficit and rally for a 21-20 victory in the annual Sheridan Dual. The loss to Cornell was preceded by a 28-9 win over Penn Friday night. Five Mountain Hawks posted 2-0 records last weekend, a group that includes seniors Randy Cruz, Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro, junior Darian Cruz, and freshman Jordan Kutler.
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The NCAA released the first of four Coaches' Panel rankings for the 2016-17 season on January 20. 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 has wrestlers ranked in the top 33 in all 10 weight classes, with five of Lehigh's wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes. Kutler leads the way at No. 4 at 157, while sophomore Ryan Preisch is fifth at 174.
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A second semester injury derailed Mitch Minotti's quest for a third consecutive All-American medal. Minotti went 11-3 in his junior season, placing fourth at the Southern Scuffle but was unable to compete after mid-January. After becoming Lehigh's first freshman Midlands Champion in 2013-14, Minotti reached the NCAA semifinals and went on to place sixth at 149. In 2014-15, Minotti moved up to 157 and finished eighth. Minotti earned his degree in finance in May and is now enrolled in graduate school. His bid for a third All-America medal may end up at a third different weight class as Minotti has moved to 165. He went 3-0 at the Wilkes Open before withdrawing and then went 4-1 on the first day of the Southern Scuffle before forfeiting out prior to day two. He recently went 4-1 to finish second at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic and made his season dual debut against Penn. Minotti's 12 victories include two falls and five major decisions.
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Lehigh wrestlers enjoyed a strong fall semester in the classroom, with 12 Mountain Hawks posting a grade point average of 3.20 or better last semester. Deferred freshman Chase Gallik once again led the Mountain Hawks with a 3.78 GPA in Civil Engineering. Gallik also leads the team with a 3.90 cumulative GPA. Eight of the 12 wrestlers with a 3.20 or better in the fall have wrestled in a dual meet already this season.Â
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Fifth-ranked Virginia Tech owns a sparkling 13-1 dual meet record, with the lone loss coming at the hands of then-No. 5 Missouri 23-19 on Nov. 20. The Hokies have since finished third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and then reeled off nine consecutive dual wins, including ACC victories over Pitt and rival Virginia last weekend. Virginia Tech also went 4-0 to claim the title at the Virginia Duals two weekends ago, downing Oklahoma in the finals. The Hokies finished fourth at last year's NCAA Championship, claiming a team trophy for the first time. Virginia Tech's lineup features seven wrestlers ranked by InterMat, five of who are ranked in the top five. Joey Dance is ranked second at 125 while Zach Epperly is ranked second at 174. The Hokies are strong in the upperweights with Epperly, Zach Zavatsky (No. 4 at 184), Jared Haught (No. 3 at 197) and Ty Walz (No. 3 at 285). Kevin Dresser is in his 11th season as Virginia Tech's head coach.
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Lehigh is 2-13 versus teams ranked in the top five in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll since the start of the 2008-09 season with wins over No. 1 Cornell in 2010-11 and No. 3 Ohio State in 2014-15.
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Michigan will host Rutgers in Big Ten action Friday before the Mountain Hawks visit on Sunday. The Wolverines are 5-4 in dual competition and 2-4 in Big Ten duals. Michigan split two duals in Illinois last weekend, falling 34-6 before rebounding with a 38-10 win at Northwestern. All-American Connor Youtsey made his return to action at 125 and is one of five Wolverines ranked by InterMat. The highest-ranked Wolverine is freshman Logan Massa, who is ranked second at 165. Seven of Michigan's listed probables are freshmen, led by ranked Stevan Micic (133) and Miles Amine (174). Youtsey and Brian Murphy (157) are All-Americans who will wrestle in their final home duals against Lehigh on Sunday. Joe McFarland is in his 18th season as Michigan's head coach.
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Other than former Eastern rivals Penn State (105 duals) and Rutgers (45), Michigan (38) is Lehigh's most-often wrestled Big Ten opponent. Lehigh and Michigan met in a dual meet at least once in 34 straight seasons from 1977-78 through 2010-11.
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Lehigh will face both Virginia Tech and Michigan for the first time since 2011. The Mountain Hawks defeated the Hokies in duals in 2000 and 2010 before Virginia Tech won the most recent meeting in Blacksburg. Lehigh and Michigan had met in 34 straight seasons from 1977-78 through 2010-11. The Mountain Hawks have won three of the four meetings with Michigan since Pat Santoro took over in 2008.
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Friday's match with Virginia Tech gets underway at 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
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Sunday's match at Michigan begins at 2 p.m. from Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. The match will be streamed on BTN Plus at BTN2Go.com, while audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com beginning at 1:45.
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Lehigh will be off from competition next weekend and will return to the mats on Friday, February 10 when the Mountain Hawks host EIWA rival Army West Point on Senior Night. Lehigh and Army have met 64 times previously, but this will be the first dual between the two since 2009. Match time is set for 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Two nationally-ranked foes await No. 10 Lehigh this weekend as the Mountain Hawks will host No. 5 Virginia Tech Friday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall before traveling to No. 15 Michigan for a Sunday afternoon dual. Lehigh saw its five-match winning streak come to an end last weekend as two late pins helped Cornell erase a 17-3 deficit and rally for a 21-20 victory in the annual Sheridan Dual. The loss to Cornell was preceded by a 28-9 win over Penn Friday night. Five Mountain Hawks posted 2-0 records last weekend, a group that includes seniors Randy Cruz, Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro, junior Darian Cruz, and freshman Jordan Kutler.
Â
The NCAA released the first of four Coaches' Panel rankings for the 2016-17 season on January 20. 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 has wrestlers ranked in the top 33 in all 10 weight classes, with five of Lehigh's wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes. Kutler leads the way at No. 4 at 157, while sophomore Ryan Preisch is fifth at 174.
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A second semester injury derailed Mitch Minotti's quest for a third consecutive All-American medal. Minotti went 11-3 in his junior season, placing fourth at the Southern Scuffle but was unable to compete after mid-January. After becoming Lehigh's first freshman Midlands Champion in 2013-14, Minotti reached the NCAA semifinals and went on to place sixth at 149. In 2014-15, Minotti moved up to 157 and finished eighth. Minotti earned his degree in finance in May and is now enrolled in graduate school. His bid for a third All-America medal may end up at a third different weight class as Minotti has moved to 165. He went 3-0 at the Wilkes Open before withdrawing and then went 4-1 on the first day of the Southern Scuffle before forfeiting out prior to day two. He recently went 4-1 to finish second at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic and made his season dual debut against Penn. Minotti's 12 victories include two falls and five major decisions.
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Lehigh wrestlers enjoyed a strong fall semester in the classroom, with 12 Mountain Hawks posting a grade point average of 3.20 or better last semester. Deferred freshman Chase Gallik once again led the Mountain Hawks with a 3.78 GPA in Civil Engineering. Gallik also leads the team with a 3.90 cumulative GPA. Eight of the 12 wrestlers with a 3.20 or better in the fall have wrestled in a dual meet already this season.Â
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Fifth-ranked Virginia Tech owns a sparkling 13-1 dual meet record, with the lone loss coming at the hands of then-No. 5 Missouri 23-19 on Nov. 20. The Hokies have since finished third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and then reeled off nine consecutive dual wins, including ACC victories over Pitt and rival Virginia last weekend. Virginia Tech also went 4-0 to claim the title at the Virginia Duals two weekends ago, downing Oklahoma in the finals. The Hokies finished fourth at last year's NCAA Championship, claiming a team trophy for the first time. Virginia Tech's lineup features seven wrestlers ranked by InterMat, five of who are ranked in the top five. Joey Dance is ranked second at 125 while Zach Epperly is ranked second at 174. The Hokies are strong in the upperweights with Epperly, Zach Zavatsky (No. 4 at 184), Jared Haught (No. 3 at 197) and Ty Walz (No. 3 at 285). Kevin Dresser is in his 11th season as Virginia Tech's head coach.
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Lehigh is 2-13 versus teams ranked in the top five in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll since the start of the 2008-09 season with wins over No. 1 Cornell in 2010-11 and No. 3 Ohio State in 2014-15.
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Michigan will host Rutgers in Big Ten action Friday before the Mountain Hawks visit on Sunday. The Wolverines are 5-4 in dual competition and 2-4 in Big Ten duals. Michigan split two duals in Illinois last weekend, falling 34-6 before rebounding with a 38-10 win at Northwestern. All-American Connor Youtsey made his return to action at 125 and is one of five Wolverines ranked by InterMat. The highest-ranked Wolverine is freshman Logan Massa, who is ranked second at 165. Seven of Michigan's listed probables are freshmen, led by ranked Stevan Micic (133) and Miles Amine (174). Youtsey and Brian Murphy (157) are All-Americans who will wrestle in their final home duals against Lehigh on Sunday. Joe McFarland is in his 18th season as Michigan's head coach.
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Other than former Eastern rivals Penn State (105 duals) and Rutgers (45), Michigan (38) is Lehigh's most-often wrestled Big Ten opponent. Lehigh and Michigan met in a dual meet at least once in 34 straight seasons from 1977-78 through 2010-11.
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Lehigh will face both Virginia Tech and Michigan for the first time since 2011. The Mountain Hawks defeated the Hokies in duals in 2000 and 2010 before Virginia Tech won the most recent meeting in Blacksburg. Lehigh and Michigan had met in 34 straight seasons from 1977-78 through 2010-11. The Mountain Hawks have won three of the four meetings with Michigan since Pat Santoro took over in 2008.
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Friday's match with Virginia Tech gets underway at 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
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Sunday's match at Michigan begins at 2 p.m. from Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. The match will be streamed on BTN Plus at BTN2Go.com, while audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com beginning at 1:45.
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Lehigh will be off from competition next weekend and will return to the mats on Friday, February 10 when the Mountain Hawks host EIWA rival Army West Point on Senior Night. Lehigh and Army have met 64 times previously, but this will be the first dual between the two since 2009. Match time is set for 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
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| Date: | January 27, 2017 |
| Opponent: | No. 5 Virginia Tech Hokies |
| First match: | 7:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 8-2 overall, 6-1 EIWA |
| Virginia Tech's record: | 13-1 overall, 3-0 ACC |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 2-1 |
| Streak: | Virginia Tech won the most recent dual |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell beginning at 6:45 p.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at PatriotLeague.tv Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.hokiesports.com |
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| Date: | January 29, 2017 |
| Opponent: | No. 15 Michigan Wolverines |
| First match: | 2:00 p.m. |
| Arena: | Cliff Keen Arena |
| Location: | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Lehigh's record: | 8-2 overall, 6-1 EIWA |
| Michigan's record: | 5-4 overall, 2-4 Big Ten |
| Series: | Michigan leads 24-14 |
| Streak: | Michigan won the most recent dual |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) with Steve Lomangino beginning at 1:45 p.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at BTN Plus Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.mgoblue.com |
Players Mentioned
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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