Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Wrestling Hosts Liberty, No. 18 Old Dominion this Weekend
1/22/2009 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 22, 2009
About this Weekend's Matches
Bucknell hosts a pair of duals this weekend against Liberty and No. 18 Old Dominion. The Bison will face the Flames Saturday at 1 p.m., while 24 hours later they will take on the nationally ranked Monarchs. Both matches will take place inside Davis Gym. Liberty enters the weekend with a 5-6-1 record, but is in the midst of a three-match winless streak. Old Dominion, which has been nationally ranked all season, is 12-5 and has won 10 of its last 11 duals since Jan. 1. Bucknell, which has not lost consecutive matches since late November, has won six of its last eight duals and sits at 7-6 this year.
Bucknell vs. Liberty
Bucknell leads the all-time series with Liberty by a 2-1 margin. The teams have split two meetings in the last two years with the visiting team winning each time. Liberty posted a 25-24 win two years ago, while Bucknell bounced back with an easy 25-9 road victory last January.
Last Meeting: Bucknell 25, Liberty 9 (Jan. 26, 2008 - Lynchburg, Va.)
*125: Greg Hart (B) dec. Sean Katz (L), 6-2
133: No. 15 David Marble (B) dec. T.J. Mitchell (L), 7-5
141: Tim Harner (L) pinned Luke Chohany (B), 1:57
149: Kevin LeValley (B) maj. dec. Scott Clymer (L), 10-0
157: Brantley Hooks (B) dec. Shaun Smith (L), 4-2 (sv)
165: No. 19 Andy Rendos (B) dec. Chad Porter (L), 9-4
174: Shane Riccio (B) dec. Aaron Kelley (L), 4-0
184: David Thompson (B) dec. Chris Daggett (L), 7-6
197: Charlie Wonsettler (B) dec. Jacobi Johnson (L), 8-4
HWT: Patrick Walker (L) dec. George Hingson (B), 4-0
* - starting weight
Bucknell vs. Old Dominion
Bucknell leads the all-time series with Old Dominion by a 2-1 margin. Old Dominion, which waas ranked 22nd nationally at the time, defeated the Bison 30-6 last year in Norfolk, Va. The squads previously met in 1974-75 (27-8 Bucknell win) and 1986-87 (21-18 Bucknell win).
Last Meeting: No. 22 Old Dominion 30, Bucknell 6 (Jan. 27, 2008 - Norfolk, Va.)
*125: No. 12 James Nicholson (ODU) maj. dec Greg Hart (B), 11-3
133: Kyle Hutter (ODU) pinned No. 15 David Marble (B), 5:38
141: No. 17 Ryan Williams (ODU) maj. dec Luke Chohany (B), 11-1
149: Kaylen Baxter (ODU) dec. Kevin LeValley (B), 5-3
157: Brantley Hooks (B) dec. Dan Rivera (ODU), 7-3
165: No. 20 Chris Brown (ODU) dec. No. 19 Andy Rendos (B), 5-3 (sv)
174: Shane Riccio (B) dec. Nick Pullano (ODU), 4-2
184: Jesse Strawn (ODU) dec. David Thompson (B), 7-0
197: David Mendoza (ODU) maj. dec Jay Hahn (B), 13-3
HWT: Andy Totusek (ODU) dec. George Hingson (B), 3-2 (tb)
* - starting weight
Brown Recap
Bucknell started a stretch where it will compete in five duals in a 16-day span last Saturday at Brown. The Bison posted a 20-12 victory as they won six of the first eight individual bouts to take a commanding 20-6 advantage into the two heaviest weight classes. Nine of the 10 matches were decided by decision with David Marble's technical fall at 133 pounds the only non-decision result.
Nearing Three-Year Wins Record
With seven victories this year, Bucknell has upped its win total over the last three years to 28, equaling the most in a three-year span since 1988-89 to 1990-91. The program record for wins in a three-year span is 30.
Ranked Opponents
Bucknell has faced four ranked opponents this season. The Bison are 0-4 in those matches, but are 7-2 against unranked foes. No. 18 Old Dominion is on the docket for this weekend, while No. 1 Iowa and No. 8 Lehigh are on the upcoming schedule. Last year the Bison battled five ranked opponents and were 0-5 against them.
Starting Lineups
Bucknell has utilized 10 different starting lineups in its 13 dual matches this season. The Bison have not used the same lineup in back-to-back matches since Nov. 29 at the Northeast Duals. Each of the last eight matches have featured a different starting unit.
Ranked Wrestlers
For the first time this season Bucknell has just one nationally ranked wrestler as David Marble fell out of the top 20 at 133 pounds this week despite a technical fall victory at Brown in his only bout last week. Junior Andy Rendos remains No. 12 at 165 pounds as he looks to improve on his 20-3 record this weekend. Rendos posted the best win by a Bison this season when he upset then-No. 1 Nick Marable of Missouri in November.
Rendos will not be the only ranked wrestler inside Davis Gym this weekend as Old Dominion has five ranked wrestlers in the latest USA Today/Intermat/NWCA poll: No. 9 James Nicholson (125), No. 19 Kyle Hutter (133), No. 7 Ryan Williams (141), No. 15 Chris Brown (165) and No. 15 Jesse Strawn (197).
Top 10
Both David Marble and Andy Rendos now appear among the top 10 in Bucknell history in victories. Rendos stands eighth in program history with 75 wins, while Marble is 10th with 70. Additionally, Rendos, who is 18-1 against unranked opponents this year, ranks sixth in program annals with a .789 career winning percentage. Marble is just outside the top 10 in that category with a .714 career winning percentage.
Wins Leader
Freshman Derek Reber leads the Bison in wins this year with 23. He is one of 10 Bucknell grapplers to accumulate at least 10 victories this season and he is one of four Bison to earn 20 wins this season. He currently ranks seventh on Bucknell's single-season wins list since the program returned to varsity status in 2006-07.
Most Single-Season Wins (since 2006-07)
1. Andy Rendos - 28 (2007-08)
2. Eric Lapotsky - 27 (2006-07)
David Marble - 27 (2007-08)
Andy Rendos - 27 (2006-07)
5. Shane Riccio - 25 (2007-08)
6. David Marble - 24 (2006-07)
7. Derek Reber - 23 (2008-09)
Duals Wins Leader
In addition to leading the team in overall victories (23), freshman Derek Reber paces Bucknell with 11 duals victories. The 125-pound Lewisburg, Pa., native is 11-0 against unranked foes in duals. Only David Thompson, who as accumulated seven of his 13 victories this season in duals, has a higher percentage of wins in dual matches than Reber.
Riccio on a Roll
Junior Shane Riccio has been on quite a streak recently. He has posted seven consecutive victories and is 12-3 in his last 15 bouts. He has not lost in a dual match since Nov. 29 at the Northeast Duals, while in eight of his victories he has not allowed his opponent to score a point. Last year he shutout nine of his foes and went 18-1 during one stretch.
Success vs. EIWA
Bucknell does not face an EIWA opponent again until Feb. 1 and Andy Rendos and Derek Reber are both not happy about that. Those two grapplers have combined to post an 8-0 record this season in EIWA duals.
Closing in on Pins List
Even though he has not recorded a pin since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational the first weekend of December, Andy Rendos is just two pins shy of joining the Bucknell career pins list. Rendos has six pins this year, which give him 17 in his career. Robert Greenly, Doug Mays and Gene Santoli are currently tied for 10th place on that list with 19.
Wirnsberger in Second Place on Bucknell Wins List
Bucknell head coach Dan Wirnsberger has moved into second place on the Bison career wins list with 28. In three seasons of competition, Wirnsberger has an overall mark of 28-26-2 at Bucknell. He recently coached his 100th career match (Dec. 19 vs. Wagner) and is 54-48-2 in his coaching career, which has been split between Bloomsburg and Bucknell.
Up Next
Bucknell will hit the road next week for its most anticipated road trip of the 2008-09 campaign as it travels to Iowa for a Friday (Jan. 30) night match. The Hawkeyes are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation with a sparkling 15-0 record. The Bison return to Davis Gym two days later to wrap up the home portion of their schedule with a 1 p.m. match against EIWA foe Columbia.
