Friday, February 7, 2020 – 7 p.m.
Rider Broncs (9-2, 5-1 MAC) vs. Lock Haven Bald Eagles (6-5, 2-2 MAC)
Location: Lock Haven, PA – Thomas Fieldhouse
Live Video –
YouTube
Live Twitter Updates –
Twitter.com/RiderWrestling
What You Need To Know
- The Rider University wrestling team travels to conference rival Lock Haven Friday night.
- The Broncs had won eight-straight duals against the Bald Eagles dating back to 2008 prior to a setback last February 8 at Lock Haven. The Bald Eagles lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1975-76, by a 15-10 margin.
- Lock Haven has five wrestlers ranked in the latest NCAA Division I Coaches Panel Rankings, led by Luke Werner (125) at No. 15. Kyle Shoop (No. 20, 141), DJ Fehlman (No. 28, 133), Alex Klucker (No. 29, 157) and Jared Siegrist (No. 32, 174) also represent the Bald Eagles 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.