College Wrestling

Rider University 19, Drexel University 14

LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs won six bouts to defeat Drexel in a come-from-behind Colonial Athletic Association dual meet victory Tuesday. “It was a team effort across the board,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. “Everybody knew what they had to do. Every point was critical.”

Of the six bouts, Rider won two by major decision, as the ?big guns', nationally ranked junior Doug Umbehauer (Shamong, N.J./Lenape) and nationally ranked senior T.J. Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) collected the extra points needed for the victory.

It was the overtime victory at 165, however, that turned the tide. Junior Jason Lapham (West Chazy, N.Y./Beekmantown) won in overtime at 165 to cut the Dragon lead to 10-8. “He (Billy Haydt) has a really good move, a ?cement mixer' and he pins a lot with it,” Lapham said, “and I didn't want to get caught in it, so I was a little more cautious than I normally am. I kept it a lot closer than I should have,” said the top ranked 165 in the CAA at 13-5 overall and 5-0 in the CAA.

 “165 was a key bout,” Taylor said.  “Jason's been sick the last couple of weeks and hasn't been as sharp as he was at the Midlands (where he placed fourth with a victory over the 13^th ranked wrestler), but he's wrestled through it and is coming back, and that was a critical bout, a pivotal match, and he got it done when the team needed him.”

“I was real sick toward the beginning of the week and last week, but I'm starting to get back now,” said Lapham, a transfer from Penn State. “We're very happy to have Jason here,” Taylor said. “He's a great kid and also a great wrestler who keeps getting better and better.”

“My goal is to be an All-American for Coach Taylor and Coach (John) Hangey,” Lapham said. “That is why I came here. It is a lot different here from Penn State. I like it a lot better here. These coaches really care about you.”

Last week they cared about his health, suffering from the flu. “I lost a lot of weight being sick and am still a little under, but I'm coming around,” Lapham said.  Lapham went 8-1 in January with his only loss coming to the fifth ranked wrestler in the nation, before getting sick and losing twice on Saturday to Clarion and Rutgers. The thought of not competing Saturday, however, never entered in. “I don't want to be that kind of teammate,” Lapham said. “I wanted to do whatever I had to do to help my team. I needed a win under my belt tonight. There was no additional pressure, though. I knew we had Umbehauer, TJ and Bordas coming up, three matches where we have our tough guys.”

Umbehauer, ranked 12^th in the nation at 184, and T.J. Morrison, ranked 12^th in the nation at 197, both won by major decisions to give Rider (6-9, 3-2 CAA) a 16-14 lead. “TJ and Doug are both nationally ranked and you expect them to step up when needed, like tonight,” Taylor said. “They provided the leadership and got us what we needed.”

Junior Ed Bordas (Montgomery, N.Y./Valley Central) won 1-0 at heavyweight to seal the victory.

Sophomore Tom Lorenzo (West Orange) upset the fifth ranked wrestler in the CAA to get Rider on the board, and sophomore Fred Rodgers (Perkiomenville, Pa./Boyertown) won 4-0 to give Rider a 5-4 lead. “Tommy did a good job of picking his spots, getting things when he needed to, and Freddy fought hard,” Taylor said.

Steve Mytych, ranked 11^th in the nation, won a major decision to give Drexel (9-11, 4-2 CAA) a 4-0 lead.

Drexel defeated Rider 21-16 in Philadelphia last season, just the eighth time in 32 meetings between these two teams that the Dragons won. Rider placed third at the 2007 CAA Championships, ahead of Drexel at fourth in the 11-team championship.

The Broncs travel to #22 Old Dominion for a CAA dual Sunday evening.

Rider 19, Drexel 14

125:      #11 Steve Mytych-D major dec. Ilyass Elmsaouri R                      15-1                  *0-4

133:      Thomas Lorenzo-R dec. John McDermott-D                                  14-8                  2-4

141:      Fred Rodgers-R dec. Morgan Remillard-D                                     4-0                    5-4

149:      Lewis Baker-D dec. Dustin Renelt-R                                            7-2                    5-7

157:      #10 Ryan Hluschak-D     dec. Rob Morrison-R                              7-3                    5-10

165:      Jason Lapham-R dec. Billy Haydt-D                                             2-1 (ot)              8-10

174:      Scott Hunter-D tech fall Dan Silberman-R                                     28-12                8-14^

184:      #12 Doug Umbehauer-R major dec. Justin Wieller-D                      10-2                  12-14

197:      #12 T.J. Morrison-R major dec. Brian Stouffer-D                            20-6                  16-14

Hwt.      Ed Bordas-R dec. Bryant Deinhardt-D                                          1-0                    19-14

*team point deduction

^no back points

-RU-