Sunday, February 9, 2020 – 7 p.m.
Rider Broncs (9-2, 5-1 MAC) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-5, 3-4 Big 10)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Alumni Gymnasium
Tickets – GoBroncsTix.com
Live Video – ESPN+
Live Twitter Updates – Twitter.com/RiderWrestling

What You Need To Know:
- The Rider University wrestling team hosts Garden State rival Rutgers on Sunday night at Alumni Gym. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

-  Very few reserved tickets remain and are expected to sell out.  General admission tickets do remain, but seating is first come, first served.  Tickets can be purchased online at GoBroncsTix.com or by calling the Rider Athletics Ticket Office at 609-896-5054.

- During the match, the Broncs will honor their first All-American, Lou DiSerafino '80, 40 years after he accomplished the feat. DiSerafino was the all-time winningest Bronc wrestler, setting Rider records for wins and team points in a career, along with wins in a season. He finished third in the nation at the 1980 Nationals, won five Wilkes Open Championships and qualified for the 1984 Olympic Trials.  DiSerafino was inducted into the Rider Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990. 

- Former Bronc Shawn Scannell '01 will also be recognized during the match as it is the 20^th anniversary of his All-America honors. Scannell earned All-America honors as a junior in 2000, finishing eighth in the nation. He compiled 95 career wins and was the Rider Male Athlete of the Year in 2000. A three-time ECWA champion and an ECWA runner-up as a freshman, Scannell was 24-7 as a senior after beginning the season ranked sixth in the nation. He was 13-2 in duals and 5-0 in ECWA duals and then won the ECWA title to advance to Nationals. Scannell was inducted into the Rider Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

- Rider leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 12-7, dating back to its inception in 1994-95. However, the Scarlet Knights have won the last six duals, including a 28-6 victory in Piscataway on Dec. 16, 2018.

- Rider's current 141-pound wrestler Peter Lipari was a 2019 NCAA Qualifier while at Rutgers before leaving the program and joining the Broncs this past December.

- Rutgers has six wrestlers ranked in the latest NCAA Division I Coaches Panel Rankings, led by Sammy Alvarez (133) at No. 9. Nic Aguilar (No. 14, 125), Jordan Pagano (No. 18, 197), Billy Janzer (No. 21, 184), Joe Grello (No. 30, 174) and Brett Donner (No. 32, 165) also represent the Scarlet Knights in the poll.     

- The Broncs were ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll as recently as two weeks ago. Earlier in the season, Rider ranked as highly as No. 20 in the nation.

- FloWrestling has ranked Rider No. 1 in the MAC using individual rankings and a tournament scoring rubric that does not factor in bonus points. Meanwhile, the most recent MAC Coaches Rankings have Rider second.

- Since the calendar turned to January, Rider has won six-straight duals, including wins over Duke, Maryland and then-No. 22 Virginia in winning its first-ever championship at the 40^th Annual Virginia Duals. The Broncs' momentum continued with victories over MAC foes Edinboro, Old Dominion and George Mason.  

- Jesse Dellavecchia has won his last nine matches and has a team-best 23 wins so far this season. Included in the mark was a 1-0 decision in his most-recent match over Old Dominion's Larry Early, who was ranked No. 12 in the nation, had won eight-straight matches and was the reigning MAC East Division Wrestler of the Week entering the bout.

- Peter Lipari has won his last six matches, including a 5-4 decision over Old Dominion's Sa'Derian Perry, who was ranked No. 1 at 141 lbs. by the MAC's Coaches, both before and after the match. The win avenged a major decision loss in the Journeyman Classic Championship match in November, before Lipari had joined the Broncs.

- Five Rider wrestlers are currently ranked in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings, led by Jesse Dellavecchia (157) at No. 6. Ethan Laird is No. 9 at 197, Dean Sherry is No. 18 at 174, Peter Lipari is No. 29 at 141 and Jonathan Tropea is No. 32 at 125.

- All five Broncs are also ranked in various polls, with Dellavecchia's highest ranking being No. 4 (WrestleStat). Laird (197) is ranked as highly as No. 7 by FloWrestling, while Sherry (174) takes the No. 18 ranking from FloWrestling. FloWrestling also has Peter Lipari (141) ranked No. 25, while TrackWrestling tabs Jonathan Tropea (125) at No. 28.

- Peter Lipari, Jesse Dellavecchia and Dean Sherry each went 3-0 at the Virginia Duals, while Jonathan Tropea and Joe Casey posted 2-0 marks. 

- Rider earned a statement victory over then-No. 6 Minnesota on Nov. 15. In the upset victory, Dean Sherry pinned nationally-ranked No. 6 Devin Skatzka. For his performance, Sherry was named MAC East Division Wrestler of the Week.

- The Broncs also had strong tournament showings at the Princeton Open, Keystone Classic and Southern Scuffle. 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. Dellavecchia, Laird and Sherry each reached the podium at the Southern Scuffle, placing second, third and sixth, respectively.  

- Dellavecchia was named Rider Athlete of the Month for November. 

- 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.