Friday, February 17
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Rutgers
Mountain Hawks welcome Rutgers Friday as part of NWCA National Duals Championship Series
2/15/2017 2:44:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Tickets | Â Audio | NWCA home and broadcast information
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In the second year of the NWCA's National Duals Championship Series, border rivals No. 11 Lehigh and No. 12 Rutgers were paired against one another for the event with this year's dual to take place Friday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to avenge an 18-15 loss last year in the National Duals Championship Series, in a dual that went down to overtime in the final bout at heavyweight at Rutgers. Lehigh also needs a victory to secure an 18th consecutive season with 10 or more dual meet victories.
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Lehigh returned from a weekend off from competition with a solid 28-10 win over Army West Point Feb. 10 inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks won seven bouts against the Black Knights, including four bonus point victories. Lehigh honored its senior class prior to the match and all four of the nine senior wrestlers who competed posted victories against Army. The Mountain Hawks won the first four bouts, highlighted by technical falls by Darian Cruz, Scott Parker in his return to the lineup and Laike Gardner. Senior Mitch Minotti added a win by major decision for his first bonus point win in dual competition this season. Seniors Randy Cruz and Doug Vollaro also won bouts via decision on senior night. Lehigh has now won 26 straight duals against EIWA opponents not named Cornell since a criteria loss to Bucknell in the 2013-14 season opener.
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Lehigh welcomes NCAA qualifier Scott Parker back into the lineup at 133 after Parker deferred his eligibility last year. Parker went 19-11 as a true freshman at 125 and went 20-6 in his deferred year to earn Lehigh's Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year award. In recent years, Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown earned All-America Honors in the season immediately following their deferred year. Randy and Darian Cruz both followed up deferred years by claiming individual EIWA titles. Parker started 10-2 this season and reached the finals at the Southern Scuffle, but had to default with an injury suffered in the third period of his finals bout. He returned to the lineup against Army West Point and posted a win by technical fall.
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The NCAA released the second of four Coaches' Panel rankings and the first RPI for the 2016-17 season on February 10. The Coaches' Panel 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. Lehigh has wrestlers ranked in the top 33 in all 10 weight classes with Mitch Minotti replacing Cole Walter at 165 in the second ranking. Wrestlers need a minimum of 17 Division I matches to appear in the RPI. Freshman Jordan Kutler is the highest-ranked Mountain Hawk, coming in at No. 4 at 157. Sophomore Ryan Preisch is fifth at 174 and ranks first in the initial RPI.
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Rutgers brings a 12-4 dual mark into its rematch with Lehigh in the National Duals Championship Series. The Scarlet Knights are the sixth-highest ranked Big Ten team, coming in at No. 12. Last time out, Rutgers dominated Northwestern 28-6 to finish Big Ten duals at 6-3. Both Lehigh and Rutgers have four losses, with the two teams having three of the same losses: Cornell, Michigan and Penn State. Both teams own a win over Princeton. Rutgers' only other loss came at the hands of Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights' probable lineup features five wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by InterMat, led by two-time All-American Anthony Ashnault, who is ranked fifth at 141. Senior Ken Theobold (149), junior Nicholas Gravina (197) and sophomores John Van Brill (157) and Jordan Pagano (174) are all ranked in the teens in their respective weight classes. Scott Goodale is in his 10th season as Rutgers' head coach.
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Lehigh has dominated the all-time series versus Rutgers, winning 42 of 45 previous duals. The Scarlet Knights snapped a 38-dual Lehigh win streak with a 17-16 triumph in 2013 in New Jersey and also defeated the Mountain Hawks in last year's NWCA National Duals Championship Series. Rutgers' only other win in the series came by a 16-11 score on February 22, 1950 in New Jersey. Lehigh and Rutgers are meeting for the 15th time in the last 17 seasons. Rutgers left the EIWA for the Big Ten following the 2013-14 season. Lehigh is 25-0 versus Rutgers in duals held in Bethlehem.
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This is the second year of the NWCA National Duals Championship Series, a series of eight dual meets at eight sites matching the top eight Big Ten teams against the top teams of five other conferences (ACC, Big 12, EIWA, EWL and Southern) plus two at-large teams. The EIWA was divided into Ivy League and Patriot League and was allocated two bids. Lehigh went 4-0 against the other Patriot League EIWA members and also defeated Drexel in a conference dual. The Mountain Hawks participated in the NWCA National Duals five times under previous formats, including a fourth place finish in 2015 when Lehigh defeated George Mason and eventual national champion Ohio State before falling to Missouri and Cornell. Lehigh also finished fourth in 2005 and seventh in 2001 and went 0-2 in both 1998 and 2002. The Mountain Hawks visited Rutgers last year in the initial year of the National Duals Championship Series.
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Friday's dual gets underway at 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
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Lehigh will shift focus towards the 113th EIWA Championships, March 3-4 at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to win their first EIWA title since 2006 while trying to deny Cornell an 11th straight crown. Darian Cruz will look to defend his EIWA crown at 125, while Randy Cruz will be bidding to win a third EIWA title. Automatic berths to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis will also be at stake.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In the second year of the NWCA's National Duals Championship Series, border rivals No. 11 Lehigh and No. 12 Rutgers were paired against one another for the event with this year's dual to take place Friday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to avenge an 18-15 loss last year in the National Duals Championship Series, in a dual that went down to overtime in the final bout at heavyweight at Rutgers. Lehigh also needs a victory to secure an 18th consecutive season with 10 or more dual meet victories.
Â
Lehigh returned from a weekend off from competition with a solid 28-10 win over Army West Point Feb. 10 inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks won seven bouts against the Black Knights, including four bonus point victories. Lehigh honored its senior class prior to the match and all four of the nine senior wrestlers who competed posted victories against Army. The Mountain Hawks won the first four bouts, highlighted by technical falls by Darian Cruz, Scott Parker in his return to the lineup and Laike Gardner. Senior Mitch Minotti added a win by major decision for his first bonus point win in dual competition this season. Seniors Randy Cruz and Doug Vollaro also won bouts via decision on senior night. Lehigh has now won 26 straight duals against EIWA opponents not named Cornell since a criteria loss to Bucknell in the 2013-14 season opener.
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Lehigh welcomes NCAA qualifier Scott Parker back into the lineup at 133 after Parker deferred his eligibility last year. Parker went 19-11 as a true freshman at 125 and went 20-6 in his deferred year to earn Lehigh's Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year award. In recent years, Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown earned All-America Honors in the season immediately following their deferred year. Randy and Darian Cruz both followed up deferred years by claiming individual EIWA titles. Parker started 10-2 this season and reached the finals at the Southern Scuffle, but had to default with an injury suffered in the third period of his finals bout. He returned to the lineup against Army West Point and posted a win by technical fall.
Â
The NCAA released the second of four Coaches' Panel rankings and the first RPI for the 2016-17 season on February 10. The Coaches' Panel 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. Lehigh has wrestlers ranked in the top 33 in all 10 weight classes with Mitch Minotti replacing Cole Walter at 165 in the second ranking. Wrestlers need a minimum of 17 Division I matches to appear in the RPI. Freshman Jordan Kutler is the highest-ranked Mountain Hawk, coming in at No. 4 at 157. Sophomore Ryan Preisch is fifth at 174 and ranks first in the initial RPI.
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Rutgers brings a 12-4 dual mark into its rematch with Lehigh in the National Duals Championship Series. The Scarlet Knights are the sixth-highest ranked Big Ten team, coming in at No. 12. Last time out, Rutgers dominated Northwestern 28-6 to finish Big Ten duals at 6-3. Both Lehigh and Rutgers have four losses, with the two teams having three of the same losses: Cornell, Michigan and Penn State. Both teams own a win over Princeton. Rutgers' only other loss came at the hands of Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights' probable lineup features five wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by InterMat, led by two-time All-American Anthony Ashnault, who is ranked fifth at 141. Senior Ken Theobold (149), junior Nicholas Gravina (197) and sophomores John Van Brill (157) and Jordan Pagano (174) are all ranked in the teens in their respective weight classes. Scott Goodale is in his 10th season as Rutgers' head coach.
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Lehigh has dominated the all-time series versus Rutgers, winning 42 of 45 previous duals. The Scarlet Knights snapped a 38-dual Lehigh win streak with a 17-16 triumph in 2013 in New Jersey and also defeated the Mountain Hawks in last year's NWCA National Duals Championship Series. Rutgers' only other win in the series came by a 16-11 score on February 22, 1950 in New Jersey. Lehigh and Rutgers are meeting for the 15th time in the last 17 seasons. Rutgers left the EIWA for the Big Ten following the 2013-14 season. Lehigh is 25-0 versus Rutgers in duals held in Bethlehem.
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This is the second year of the NWCA National Duals Championship Series, a series of eight dual meets at eight sites matching the top eight Big Ten teams against the top teams of five other conferences (ACC, Big 12, EIWA, EWL and Southern) plus two at-large teams. The EIWA was divided into Ivy League and Patriot League and was allocated two bids. Lehigh went 4-0 against the other Patriot League EIWA members and also defeated Drexel in a conference dual. The Mountain Hawks participated in the NWCA National Duals five times under previous formats, including a fourth place finish in 2015 when Lehigh defeated George Mason and eventual national champion Ohio State before falling to Missouri and Cornell. Lehigh also finished fourth in 2005 and seventh in 2001 and went 0-2 in both 1998 and 2002. The Mountain Hawks visited Rutgers last year in the initial year of the National Duals Championship Series.
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Friday's dual gets underway at 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Â
Lehigh will shift focus towards the 113th EIWA Championships, March 3-4 at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to win their first EIWA title since 2006 while trying to deny Cornell an 11th straight crown. Darian Cruz will look to defend his EIWA crown at 125, while Randy Cruz will be bidding to win a third EIWA title. Automatic berths to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis will also be at stake.
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| Date: | February 17, 2017 |
| Event: | NWCA National Duals Championship Series |
| Opponent: | No. 12 Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
| First match: | 7:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 9-4 overall, 7-1 EIWA |
| Rutgers' Record: | 12-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 52-9-3 |
| Streak: | Rutgers won the most recent dual in last year's NWCA National Duals Championship Series |
| 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 TrackWrestling.com Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.scarletknights.com |
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
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