Friday, February 10
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Army West Point
Mountain Hawks return from layoff to host Army West Point Friday on Senior Night
2/8/2017 5:03:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Tickets | Video | Audio
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a weekend off from competition, No. 11 Lehigh returns to action Friday night to kick off the stretch run against Army West Point on Senior Night at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks are looking to stop a three match slide, with Lehigh dropping duals at home against No. 5 Virginia Tech and then at No. 15 Michigan. Junior Darian Cruz and sophomore Ryan Preisch led the way for the Mountain Hawks in their duals two weekends ago. Cruz posted a pair of wins over NCAA All-Americans at 125, while Preisch defeated a pair of top 10-ranked opponents to improve to 18-2 on the season.
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Lehigh will recognize its 10-member senior class prior to Friday's dual. The class includes six fifth-year senior wrestlers, three fourth-year grapplers and manager Kelsey Lynch. The class of 2017 wrestlers include All-Americans Randy Cruz and Mitch Minotti, NCAA qualifiers Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro, plus Matt Bonshak, Ben Haas, Billy Ramsey, Dean Somers and Will Switzer. All nine of Lehigh's senior wrestlers competed in at least one dual meet in their careers.
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The Mountain Hawks headed into the off weekend with three straight dual losses against ranked foes, falling 21-20 to No. 10 Cornell on Jan. 21, 21-15 to No. 5 Virginia Tech on Jan. 27 and 24-13 at No. 15 Michigan on Jan. 29. Those three setbacks marked Lehigh's first three-dual losing streak since January 2011, when the Mountain Hawks lost to Michigan and Kent State at the Virginia Duals, and then were upset at Navy. That year, Lehigh snapped its skid with a 17-15 win over then-No. 1 Cornell. The Mountain Hawks have not dropped four straight duals since December 2007, when Lehigh lost to Penn State, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Michigan.
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Eight Mountain Hawks appear in the latest rankings by InterMat, led by freshman Jordan Kutler and sophomore Ryan Preisch, who are ranked fourth at 157 and 174, respectively. Eight Mountain Hawks are also ranked by Amateur Wrestling News, with freshman Cole Walter replacing senior Mitch Minotti in the AWN poll. Seven Mountain Hawks are ranked by FloWrestling, while six are rated by The Open Mat. In addition to Kutler and Preisch, seniors Randy Cruz, Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro and junior Darian Cruz are ranked across the board. Sophomore Scott Parker fell out of the Open Mat rankings after missing the last month due to injury.
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Like Lehigh, Army West Point is coming off a weekend away from competition. The Black Knights were last in action on Jan. 29 when they claimed the All-Academy Championships in Annapolis, Md. Army had three individual champions with Trey Chalifoux (125), Russ Parsons (157) and Trevor Smith (285) claiming titles. Parsons and Logan Everett (141) are the two Black Knights currently ranked by InterMat as both are ranked 16th at their respective weight classes. The Black Knights are 6-3 in dual competition but have won five straight duals. In its most recent dual action, Army posted an EIWA weekend sweep, winning at Hofstra and Binghamton January 21-22. The Black Knights own wins over American and Penn teams that Lehigh also defeated last month. Army's three dual losses have come at the hands of Penn State, Drexel and North Carolina. Kevin Ward is in his third season as the head coach at Army West Point.
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Army is Lehigh's fifth-most often wrestled opponent, but the schools have not met in a dual since 2009. Lehigh and Army met for 59 straight seasons from 1946-47 through 2004-05 before a Feburary 2006 dual was canceled due to a snowstorm. The Mountain Hawks are 15-1-1 in the last 17 duals with the Black Knights' last win coming in 2008 and the teams dualing to a tie in 1993. Army's last win in Bethlehem was a 19-16 triumph on January 25, 1991.
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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 likely represent the non-Ivy League EIWA members in the NWCA National Duals Championship Series next weekend. The Mountain Hawks will close out the dual meet season by hosting a Big Ten opponent at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on either Feb. 17, 18 or 19. Last year, Lehigh was edged 18-15 at Rutgers in the National Duals Championship Series. Dates and matchups are expected to be announced Feb. 12 or 13.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a weekend off from competition, No. 11 Lehigh returns to action Friday night to kick off the stretch run against Army West Point on Senior Night at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks are looking to stop a three match slide, with Lehigh dropping duals at home against No. 5 Virginia Tech and then at No. 15 Michigan. Junior Darian Cruz and sophomore Ryan Preisch led the way for the Mountain Hawks in their duals two weekends ago. Cruz posted a pair of wins over NCAA All-Americans at 125, while Preisch defeated a pair of top 10-ranked opponents to improve to 18-2 on the season.
Â
Lehigh will recognize its 10-member senior class prior to Friday's dual. The class includes six fifth-year senior wrestlers, three fourth-year grapplers and manager Kelsey Lynch. The class of 2017 wrestlers include All-Americans Randy Cruz and Mitch Minotti, NCAA qualifiers Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro, plus Matt Bonshak, Ben Haas, Billy Ramsey, Dean Somers and Will Switzer. All nine of Lehigh's senior wrestlers competed in at least one dual meet in their careers.
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The Mountain Hawks headed into the off weekend with three straight dual losses against ranked foes, falling 21-20 to No. 10 Cornell on Jan. 21, 21-15 to No. 5 Virginia Tech on Jan. 27 and 24-13 at No. 15 Michigan on Jan. 29. Those three setbacks marked Lehigh's first three-dual losing streak since January 2011, when the Mountain Hawks lost to Michigan and Kent State at the Virginia Duals, and then were upset at Navy. That year, Lehigh snapped its skid with a 17-15 win over then-No. 1 Cornell. The Mountain Hawks have not dropped four straight duals since December 2007, when Lehigh lost to Penn State, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Michigan.
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Eight Mountain Hawks appear in the latest rankings by InterMat, led by freshman Jordan Kutler and sophomore Ryan Preisch, who are ranked fourth at 157 and 174, respectively. Eight Mountain Hawks are also ranked by Amateur Wrestling News, with freshman Cole Walter replacing senior Mitch Minotti in the AWN poll. Seven Mountain Hawks are ranked by FloWrestling, while six are rated by The Open Mat. In addition to Kutler and Preisch, seniors Randy Cruz, Laike Gardner and Doug Vollaro and junior Darian Cruz are ranked across the board. Sophomore Scott Parker fell out of the Open Mat rankings after missing the last month due to injury.
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Like Lehigh, Army West Point is coming off a weekend away from competition. The Black Knights were last in action on Jan. 29 when they claimed the All-Academy Championships in Annapolis, Md. Army had three individual champions with Trey Chalifoux (125), Russ Parsons (157) and Trevor Smith (285) claiming titles. Parsons and Logan Everett (141) are the two Black Knights currently ranked by InterMat as both are ranked 16th at their respective weight classes. The Black Knights are 6-3 in dual competition but have won five straight duals. In its most recent dual action, Army posted an EIWA weekend sweep, winning at Hofstra and Binghamton January 21-22. The Black Knights own wins over American and Penn teams that Lehigh also defeated last month. Army's three dual losses have come at the hands of Penn State, Drexel and North Carolina. Kevin Ward is in his third season as the head coach at Army West Point.
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Army is Lehigh's fifth-most often wrestled opponent, but the schools have not met in a dual since 2009. Lehigh and Army met for 59 straight seasons from 1946-47 through 2004-05 before a Feburary 2006 dual was canceled due to a snowstorm. The Mountain Hawks are 15-1-1 in the last 17 duals with the Black Knights' last win coming in 2008 and the teams dualing to a tie in 1993. Army's last win in Bethlehem was a 19-16 triumph on January 25, 1991.
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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 likely represent the non-Ivy League EIWA members in the NWCA National Duals Championship Series next weekend. The Mountain Hawks will close out the dual meet season by hosting a Big Ten opponent at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on either Feb. 17, 18 or 19. Last year, Lehigh was edged 18-15 at Rutgers in the National Duals Championship Series. Dates and matchups are expected to be announced Feb. 12 or 13.
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| Date: | February 10, 2017 |
| Opponent: | Army West Point Black Knights |
| First match: | 7:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 8-4 overall, 6-1 EIWA |
| Army West Point's Record: | 6-3 overall, 4-1 EIWA |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 52-9-3 |
| Streak: | Lehigh won the most recent dual in 2009 |
| Television: | None |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) with Steve Lomangino beginning at 6:45 p.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at PatriotLeague.TV Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.goarmywestpoint.com |
Players Mentioned
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
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