Sunday, December 8, 2019 – 1 p.m.
#20 Rider Broncs (3-0, 2-0 MAC) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (1-1, 1-0 MAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Alumni Gymnasium
Live Video – ESPN+
Live Twitter Updates – Twitter.com/RiderWrestling

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University wrestling team will play host to new Mid-American Conference foe Central Michigan in its home opener on Sunday.
- The Broncs are currently ranked No. 20 in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
- At halftime of the match, the Broncs will celebrate 50 years of Rider Wrestling by welcoming back three members of the inaugural 1969-70 team.
- Rider is 3-0 in the dual season with wins at No. 6 Minnesota, new MAC foe Northern Illinois and, most recently, at Bloomsburg. The Broncs also had a pair of strong tournament showings at the Princeton Open and Keystone Classic. The Broncs placed eight on the podium in Princeton and 12 more at the Keystone Classic, with Jesse Dellavecchia winning the title at both events. George Walton also took the title at 184 at the Keystone Classic.  
- In the upset victory at Minnesota, Dean Sherry pinned nationally-ranked No. 6 Devin Skatzka. For his performance, Sherry was named MAC East Division Wrestler of the Week.
- Dellavecchia has won all 13 of his matches so far this season, leading to Rider Athlete of the Month honors in November. 
- Five Rider wrestlers are currently ranked nationally, led by Dellavecchia (157), whose highest ranking is No. 4 (WrestleStat). Sherry (174) takes the No. 11 ranking from Amateur Wrestling News, while Laird (197) is ranked No. 13 by both TrackWrestling and Intermat. Jonathan Tropea (125) is ranked as high as No. 18 by Amateur Wrestling News, while AWN also ranks George Walton (184) 19th.     
- Central Michigan and Rider will meet for the fourth time, with the Chippewas owning a 2-1 lead in the all-time series. Most recently, the two teams met in November 2015 at the Eastern Michigan Duals, with CMU taking an 18-15 win. The Chippewas also defeated the Broncs at the Virginia Duals in 2013, while Rider took its victory to open the 1992-93 season at the East Stroudsburg Open. Rider Head Coach John Hangey was a senior on the 1992-93 team.
- After falling to Michigan to begin the dual season, Central Michigan scored a minor upset at No. 25 Lock Haven on Friday. The Chippewas were picked fifth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Rankings, while the Bald Eagles were selected third. The Broncs slotted in between the two teams in fourth.
- The Chippewas return 2019 All-American and NCAA Division I Falls Champion Matt Stencel at 285. He's currently ranked as high as No. 4 nationally by WrestleStat. Drew Hildebrandt is ranked as high as No. 8 by Intermat at 125, while Dresden Simon takes the No. 23 ranking from FloWrestling.
- Rider, along with its six other former Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) teams joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for 2019-20, creating a 15-team league that's the second-largest in NCAA Division I wrestling. The Broncs will face tough new competition from the likes of perennially top-ranked Missouri, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Old Dominion, Ohio and Northern Illinois.
- Rider returns four national qualifiers this season in Dean Sherry, who made his second-straight NCAA Championship appearance at 174 last year, along with Anthony Cefolo, Jesse Dellavecchia and Ethan Laird.
- Sherry and Laird both won EWL titles last year, while Cefolo and Dellavecchia finished as runners-up.
- The Broncs were picked fourth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, while five Broncs were ranked in the top six in their weight classes, led by Ethan Laird in the top spot at 197. Dean Sherry was picked second at 174, Jesse Dellavecchia and Anthony Cefolo took third at 157 and 125, respectively, while Chris Wright took sixth at 133. 
- A Rider wrestler has achieved All-American status on 17 occasions, including 15 different wrestlers. Current assistant coaches Chad Walsh and Ryan Wolfe were the last Broncs to earn All-American in 2017.