LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – In a tale of two very different duals, the Rider wrestling team posted a 2–0 weekend for the second straight week, defeating MAC foe Edinboro to remain perfect in conference action before edging Ivy League opponent Princeton to retain the MAC–Ivy Trophy on Saturday afternoon inside Alumni Gym.

Rider vs. Edinboro
#22/19 Tyler Klinsky opened the dual at 125 pounds against Chris Vargo in a tightly contested bout. A scoreless first period gave way to the match's first point when Vargo escaped to open the second. Klinsky continued to pressure, drawing two stall calls to earn a point before finishing the period with a low single-leg takedown to take a 4–1 lead. An early third-period escape extended Klinsky's lead to 5-1 but Vargo would find his offense and secure a takedown to cut the defecit to 5-4. Vargo cut Klinsky to try and find one last second but Klinsky's defense held strong to secure the 6-4 decision.

Rider built momentum quickly as Will Betancourt earned an 8–2 decision at 133 pounds, followed by #16/14 Elijah Griffin's 14–5 major decision to push the team score to 10–0.

Edinboro responded with a decision at 157 and a fall at 165 to cut the deficit to 14–9, but #31 Enrique Munguia stopped the Fightins Scots' momentum with a big fall in the second period after locking up a cradle.

After Edinboro picked up a technical fall at 184, #22/22 Brock Zurawski answered with a dominant 16–1 technical fall at 197 to put the Broncs back in control. 

Hogan Swenski closed out the dual with a gritty 4–2 decision, sealing a 28–10 victory for Rider.

Match Results
Rider 28, Edinboro 14
125: #22/19 Tyler Klinsky (Rider) over Chris Vargo (Edinboro) (Dec 6-4)
133: Will Betancourt (Rider) over Landon Bainey (Edinboro) (Dec 8-2)
141: #16/14 Elijah Griffin (Rider) over Jacob Brenneman (Edinboro) (MD 14-5)
149: Dylan Layton (Rider) over Parker Sentipal (Edinboro) (MD 14-2)
157: Garrett McChesney (Edinboro) over Gianni Maldonado (Rider) (Dec 5-3)
165: #32/29 Ryan Burgos (Edinboro) over Brendon Abdon (Rider) (Fall 2:57)
174: #31 Enrique Munguia (Rider) over Tate Geiser (Edinboro) (Fall 4:34)
184: #22/16 Jared McGill (Edinboro) over Giovanni Alejandro (Rider) (TF 15-0 6:35)
197: #22/22 Brock Zurawski (Rider) over Brody Evans (Edinboro) (TF 16-1 6:32)
285: Hogan Swenski (Rider) over Aden Roe (Edinboro) (Dec 4-2)

Rider vs. Princeton
Klinsky once again set the tone at 125 pounds, rolling to a dominant 22–6 technical fall that featured seven takedowns. Betancourt followed with a forfeit at 133, giving Rider an early 11–0 advantage.

#16/14 Elijah Griffin used a first-period takedown to carry a 3–1 lead into the second, but Matthew Martino cut the margin to one with an escape. Griffin opened the third period with a quick escape to extend the lead to 4–2 before Martino swung the bout in his favor, locking up double unders and throwing Griffin to his back to surge ahead 9–5 and pull off the upset for the Tigers.

At 149 lbs Dylan Layton battled returning NCAA qualifier #15/11 Elijah Rivera into overtime before Rivera secured the sudden-victory takedown, trimming the Rider lead to 11–6.

The Tigers added a decision at 157, though a team point was deducted due to unsportsmanlike conduct, making it 11–8.

Princeton then took victories at 165 -184 to grab a 19–11 team lead heading into the final two bouts.

Needing some bonus points, #22/22 Brock Zurawski delivered in a big way at 197, scoring a third-period fall over Gabe Garibaldi to pull Rider within two at 19–17.

With the dual on the line, Swenski needed only a decision at heavyweight and delivered just that, earning a 4–1 win over Conor McCloskey to clinch a dramatic 20–19 victory and keep the MAC–Ivy Trophy in Lawrenceville.

Match Results
Rider 20, Princeton 19
125: #22/19 Tyler Klinsky (Rider) over Dale O`Blia (Princeton) (TF 22-6 5:57)
133: Will Betancourt (Rider) wins by Forfeit
141: Matthew Martino (Princeton) over #16/14 Elijah Griffin (Rider) (Dec 9-5)
149: #15/11 Eligh Rivera (Princeton) over Dylan Layton (Rider) (SV-1 4-1)
157: Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) over Gianni Maldonado (Rider) (Dec 4-1)
165: #22/12 Ty Whalen (Princeton) over Brendon Abdon (Rider) (MD 16-6)
174: Holden Garcia (Princeton) over #31 Enrique Munguia (Rider) (MD 11-2)
184: Xavier Giles (Princeton) over Giovanni Alejandro (Rider) (TB-1 4-1)
197: #22/22 Brock Zurawski (Rider) over Gabe Garibaldi (Princeton) (Fall 4:53)
285: Hogan Swenski (Rider) over Conor McCloskey (Princeton) (Dec 4-1)
*Princeton was deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct during the 157-pound match*

Quotes and Notes
"I thought we wrestled pretty flat overall. Not necessarily any one individual, but as a team we weren't at our best. Sometimes you have to find ways to win when you're not firing on all cylinders, and we did that today.With Princeton, that rivalry always brings emotion and intensity. There's always something at stake, and the fact that we were able to pull it off in back-to-back years feels really, really good.

Against Edinboro, any time you face a conference opponent it's important to send a message that you're one of the best teams in the league.

Brock really put the team on his shoulders against Princeton. He embraced the moment, stayed within himself, didn't try to do too much, and just went out and chipped away. You couldn't ask for a better guy in that spot. We dropped a few matches we didn't expect to, but that's part of wrestling, and the team still found a way to get it done." - Rider Head Coach John Hangey

Up Next
The Broncs return to action on Jan. 30 they travel to Virginia to take on George Mason in a MAC dual. 
First whistle is set for 5 p.m.