CHATTANOOGA, TN – Nationally-ranked No. 19 Jesse Dellavecchia (Great River, NY/East Islip) fell to top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State in the semifinals, but rebounded for a fourth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle on Wednesday. As a team, the Broncs placed 13^th place out of 26 teams competing in the tournament with 41 points.  

Joseph defeated Dellavecchia, 15-5, in the semifinals, before the Broncs' junior bounced back strong by pinning Duke's Zach Finesilver at 2:45. In the third-place match, Dellavecchia fell to Stanford's Shane Griffith, 7-2.

Quotes & Notes
"This is a national caliber tournament and very important and very important for our team to be exposed to this level of competition."

"Overall, there were some good moments and many learning experiences for our team, which will all help with our development."

"Jesse Dellavecchia had a very good tournament and wrestled well. He should gain confidence from it." – Rider Head Coach John Hangey

- Dellavecchia won a team-high four bouts in the tournament, while Laird and Wright each won three matches apiece.
- Ethan Laird (Waterford, PA/General McLane) fell to Navy's Josh Roetman in the consolation bracket at 197, while freshman Chris Wright (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin), wrestling unattached, fell to Stanford's Mason Pengilli.
- Evan Fidelibus (Easton, PA/Easton Area), Richie Koehler (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy)(unattached) and Travis Layton (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) won two matches each yesterday. 
- Dellavecchia now has a team-leading 13 wins on the year.     
- Rider sent a total of 18 wrestlers to the Southern Scuffle, with six wrestling unattached. 
- The Broncs return to action Friday, Jan. 11, when they host Cleveland State and Drexel in a pair of duals at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.