MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Dean Sherry (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) pinned the No. 6 wrestler in the nation, Devin Skatzka, as the Rider University wrestling team earned a statement dual victory tonight, upsetting the nationally-ranked No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 21-17, at Williams Arena.

Rider got off to a quick start with decisions at 125 and 133 from Jonathan Tropea (Harrington Park, NJ/Saint Joseph (Montvale)) and Chris Wright (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) to take a 6-0 lead. Minnesota surged ahead with a fall from nationally-ranked No. 4 Mitch McKee at 141 and another decision from No. 9 Brayton Lee. Jesse Dellavecchia's (Great River, NY/East Islip [Binghamton]) decision over Carson Brolsma knotted the match at 9-9 through five bouts.

Minnesota retook the lead with a major decision at 165, before Sherry pinned Skatzka with six seconds remaining in the opening period. The Gophers briefly retook the lead with a major decision at 184, before No. 14 Ethan Laird (Waterford, PA/General McLane) scored an 11-4 decision over Dylan Anderson at 197 to put Rider on top, 18-17. At 285, Ryan Cloud (Brookville, OH/Northmont) scored an escape in the second period and held on for a 1-0 victory in the night's final bout, securing the 21-17 victory for the Broncs.

Quotes & Notes
"This is a big win for Rider University and our wrestling program."

"A lot of things have to go right to beat a nationally-ranked Big 10 team, especially in their place. Our kids wrestled very well tonight. I'm very proud of them and their effort."

"The match was a great team effort, but the difference in the match was the performance by Tropea and Sherry. We don't win that match without their wins!" – Rider Head Coach John Hangey

- The match was the third in the all-time series with Minnesota. Rider had fallen in 1996-97 and 2017-18 seasons.
- Rider's last win over a Big 10 program came Feb. 18, 2018, against Maryland. The last Rider victory over a Big 10 program other than Maryland was Dec. 5, 2015 against Northwestern in Alumni Gym.
- The Broncs prior win over a ranked team came Jan. 27, 2018, against then-No. 23 Lock Haven, 22-12.  
- Rider returns to action Sunday at Northern Illinois. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. (ET)/12 p.m. (CT).  

Rider 21, Minnesota 17
125 - Jonathan Tropea (Rider) dec. #18 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 10-3; Rider leads, 3-0
133 - #27 Chris Wright (Rider) dec. Brent Jones (Minnesota), 6-5; Rider leads, 6-0
141 - #4 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) WBF Herb Edwards (Rider), 0:40; Match tied, 6-6
149 - #9 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) dec. Gino Fluri (Rider), 11-7. Minnesota leads, 9-6
157 - #4 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) dec. Carson Brolsma (Minnesota), 3-2; Match tied, 9-9
165 - Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) maj. dec. Georgio Poullas (Rider), 17-9; Minnesota leads, 13-9
174 - #27 Dean Sherry (Rider) WBF #6 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota), 2:54; Rider leads, 15-13
184 - Owen Webster (Minnesota) maj. dec. #33 George Walton (Rider) 11-3; Minnesota leads, 17-15
197 - #14 Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. Dylan Anderson (Minnesota) 11-4; Rider leads, 18-17
285 - Ryan Cloud (Rider) dec. Bobby Steveson (Minnesota), 1-0; Rider defeats #6 Minnesota, 21-17