LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Nationally-ranked No. 6 Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) pinned No. 7 Nick Wanzek in his final match at Alumni Gymnasium, but the No. 21 Rider University wrestling team fell to No. 18 Minnesota, 32-12, on Senior Night Friday. With the loss, the Broncs slip to 12-5 on the year, while the Golden Gophers are now 8-6.

Minnesota won seven of 10 matches, including three by fall and another by tech fall. Redshirt senior Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin [Rutgers]) got the Broncs on the board with a 6-2 win over Ben Bracale at 141. Walsh was leading, 14-4, in the third period when he pinned Wanzel at 6:10 to cap his final match on Gary Taylor Mat.

Dean Sherry (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) also earned a decision at 3-2 decision over Chris Pfarr at 174 to cut Minnesota's advantage to 17-12. But the Golden Gophers would win the final three matches, two by fall, to close out the dual.

Quotes & Notes
"It's certainly tough because I didn't schedule a powder puff on Senior Night, for sure. But these guys wouldn't have had it any other way, I can tell you that much right now. They wanted Minnesota. They didn't care when we wrestled. It just happened it fell on Senior Night. And we're never going to turn an opportunity down like that because it's great for the kids and it's great for the program. And, yeah, it didn't go the way we wanted. But we'll learn from this and we'll grow from this."

"If you come to practice every day, you see those two guys just get after it. Chad's obviously been our leader since he got here on campus, both by example and verbally. You've just come to expect that performance from Chad. Dippery stepped right in and has been a quiet leader, but he's done his job and he's been very driven and very motivated because it's his senior year. It feels great for them to get the job done on their Senior Nights and I'm really proud of them." – Rider Head Coach John Hangey

"That one felt good to be able to point to kind of the crowd a little bit. I don't get too emotional after matches, but it felt good. I was listening to listening to Joe Rogan's podcast the other day and he was like, 'you've got to strive for those moments in life where you're at a 10.' Sometimes you win a match and it might be a five or a six. But that felt like a 10 to me to win and have all the people cheering for me."

"We tend to bounce back pretty strong, especially guys that really take those losses personal. It was a crazy match, guys getting caught on their back and a couple things really didn't go our way. But I think our team will respond and look to get into practice tomorrow, come back together as a team and really just be ready to fight on Sunday. I know that they'll respond in our last team match for our seniors, our last match together."

"There were a lot of emotions going on before the match. And just having my grandmom, my mom, my dad – all these people that have supported me for five years – it really meant a lot to wrestle in front of them one last time."

"It felt really good to be able to kind of take a look around the crowd one last time and be happy about the place I went to school and the legacy I was able to make here." – Redshirt Senior Chad Walsh

- Minnesota improved to 2-0 all-time against the Broncs. The first meeting came at the Clarion Duals in December 1996.
- Walsh improved to 21-1 on the season and ran his career win total to 112 with 38 wins by fall.
- The Broncs honored their eight-member senior class - student manager Jordan Gervasi and seniors B.J. Clagon, Mauro Correnti, Tyson Dippery, Jesse Rodgers, Wayne Stinson, J.R. Wert and Walsh – prior to the match.
- The Broncs close out the dual season Sunday at 1 p.m. at the University of Maryland.  

Results
125 – #6 Ethan Lizak (MINN) TF J.R. Wert (RID), 15-0 7:00; Minnesota leads, 5-0
133 – #11 Mitch McKee (MINN) WBF Anthony Cefolo (RID), 2:11; Minnesota leads, 11-0
141 – Tyson Dippery (RID) dec. Benjamin Brancale (MINN), 6-2; Minnesota leads, 11-3
149 – Miles Patton (MINN) dec. Jesse Rodgers (RID), 10-6; Minnesota leads, 14-3
157 – #16 Jake Short (MINN) dec. B.J. Clagon (RID), 8-2; Minnesota leads, 17-3
165 – #6 Chad Walsh (RID) WBF #7 Nicholas Wanzek (MINN), 6:10; Minnesota leads, 17-9
174 – Dean Sherry (RID) dec. Christopher Pfarr (MINN), 3-2; Minnesota leads, 17-12
184 – Brandon Krone (MINN) WBF Michale Fagg-Daves (RID), 2:59; Minnesota leads, 23-12
197 – Dylan Anderson (MINN) WBF Wayne Stinson (RID), 2:39; Minnesota leads, 29-12
285 – Rylee Streifel (MINN) dec. Ryan Cloud (RID), 8-2; Minnesota wins, 32-12