Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Wrestling Heads to Princeton for EIWA Championships
3/1/2012 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 1, 2012
In the Herd: EIWA Championships Preview
About the EIWA Championships
The 108th EIWA Championships will take place this weekend at Princeton's Jadwin Gym. A total of 14 teams will be competing in the historic event. Cornell has won the team championship the last five years, while Lehigh won it the previous five years. Tournament seeds and brackets are expected to be released Friday evening, March 2.
Tournament Schedule (all times approximate)
Saturday, March 3
8 a.m.: Doors Open
9 a.m.: Session I begins (round of 16)
11 a.m.: Quarterfinals and consolation
1:15 p.m.: Consolations
2:30 p.m.: Session II begins (semifinals)
Sunday, March 4
9 a.m.: Doors Open
10 a.m.: Session III begins (semi-consolations)
11 a.m.: Place finals
1 p.m.: Jadwin Gym cleared and reset
2 p.m.: Doors re-open
2:45 p.m.: EIWA Hall of Fame Introductions
3 p.m.: Session IV begins (championships)
2011 EIWA Championships
Bucknell hosted the 2011 EIWA Championships and placed eighth in the 13-team field. The Bison had five placewinners and the weekend was highlighted by Kevin LeValley's overtime victory over top-seeded Kyle Dake from Cornell in the 149-pound championship match. It was the second EIWA title in program history, following Andy Rendos' 165-pound crown in 2010.
Bucknell's EIWA Championships History
Bucknell first joined the EIWA in 1999-2000 and has wrestled at the EIWA Championships eight times. The first year the Bison competed they were not awarded team points. Since then, they have finished 10th, 12th, ninth, eighth, tied for third, fourth and eighth.
Bucknell's EIWA Team Finishes
2000: no team points awarded
2001: 10th (30 points)
2002: 12th (12.5)
2007: 9th (40)
2008: 8th (43.5)
2009: t-3rd (79)
2010: 4th (103.5)
2011: 8th (59)
Bucknell Individuals at EIWA Championships
Only three of Bucknell's nine projected wrestlers at the EIWA Championships have previous postseason experience. The three grapplers have combined for a 6-6 career mark at the EIWA Championships. A Bucknell wrestler has captured an EIWA title each of the last two years (Andy Rendos - 2010, Kevin LeValley - 2011).
Bucknell Individuals at EIWA Championships
• Alex Pellicciotti (Career at EIWAs: 0-2)
- 2011: 0-2 (133 pounds)
Jacob Bucha (Franklin & Marshall), L, 10-8
Jordan Thome (Army), L, 8-2
• John Regan (Career at EIWAs: 3-2)
- 2010: 3-2 (7th place at 141)
Zachary Kulczycki (Brown), W, 12-4
Trevor Melde (Rutgers), L, 6-1
Ryan Doyle (Columbia), W, Fall (2:46)
Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh), L, MD 9-0
Casey Thome (Army), W, Fall (4:49)
• Corey Lear (Career at EIWAs: 3-2)
- 2011: 3-2 (7th place at 165)
Erik Gobbo (Harvard), W, MD 16-5
Justin Kerber (Cornell), L, 8-2
Alex Smith (Army), W, Fall (3:56)
Patrick Graham (American), L, 6-3
Mason Bailey (Navy), W, 3-1 (tb1)
• Austin Miller, Shawn Armato, Derrik Russell, Stephen McPeek, Jamie Westwood, Tyler Lyster
- Career: 0-0
NCAA Qualifiers from EIWA Championships
The EIWA will have 46 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, which will take place March 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo. Forty additional at-large qualifiers who do not earn automatic berths will be selected at the conclusion of all conference tournaments. The at-large qualifiers will be announced March 7.
EIWA Automatic NCAA Qualifiers by Weight Class (46)
125: 3 165: 4
133: 5 174: 4
141: 6 184: 4
149: 6 197: 5
157: 6 285: 3
Bucknell's NCAA Qualifiers
Since the reinstatement of its program prior to the 2006-07 season, Bucknell has had eight different wrestlers combine for 18 NCAA appearances. No current Bison has made an NCAA appearance. The Bucknell program has had 66 all-time individual NCAA berths, including two last year.
Individual Ranked Opponents
Bucknell wrestlers will see plenty of ranked opponents at the EIWA Championships since 25 EIWA grapplers show up in the lastest Intermat rankings. The nine Bison entrants in the EIWAs combined to go 2-39 when facing a ranked individual this season. Austin Miller and Corey Lear earned the two victories.
Bucknell's EIWA Entrants vs. Ranked Opponents (Intermat)
125 - Austin Miller (1-4)
133 - Shawn Armato (0-4)
141 - Derrik Russell (0-5)
149 - Alex Pellicciotti (0-3)
157 - John Regan (0-4)
165 - Corey Lear (1-3)
174 - Stephen McPeek (0-5)
184 - Jamie Westwood (0-5)
197 - Tyler Lyster (0-6)
Starting Lineups
Bucknell used 10 different starting lineups in its 20 dual matches this year.
Difficult Schedule
Bucknell faced five ranked opponents in 2011-12. The Bison have now wrestled 31 ranked foes since the program was reinstated prior to the 2006-07 campaign.
Streaking
Stephen McPeek (4), Austin Miller (3), Alex Pellicciotti (2) and John Regan (2) all enter the EIWA Championships on winning streaks.
Wirnsberger Second on Wins List
Bucknell head coach Dan Wirnsberger ranks second on the Bison career wins list with 55. He has guided the Bison to a 55-62-2 mark over the last six years and trails only longtime Bison mentor Bob Ferraro, who posted a 169-175-6 mark from 1974-97. On a career level, Wirnsberger owns a solid 82-84-2 mark.
Return of Bucknell Wrestling
The Bucknell wrestling program was discontinued following the 2001-02 season, but was brought back in 2005 thanks in large part to a generous donation from Bill Graham '62. The Bison's first season of competition after reinstatement was 2006-07 and they are 55-62-2 (.471) since then. Eight different wrestlers have combined for 18 NCAA appearances and four All-America certificates over that span.
Bucknell's Year-by-Year Records Since Reinstatement
2006-07: 12-9-1, 3-3-1 EIWA
2007-08: 9-11-1, 4-4 EIWA
2008-09: 11-9, 5-3 EIWA
2009-10: 12-6, 6-0 EIWA
2010-11: 7-11, 2-5 EIWA
2011-12: 4-16, 2-4 EIWA
Bison Headlines
• Austin Miller leads Bucknell in wins this year (19).
• Corey Lear's 57-31 career record edges out John Regan's 53-33 for most victories by a current Bucknell wrestler.
• Austin Miller (13), Stephen McPeek (11), Corey Lear (10) and John Regan (10) all reached double figures in dual victories in 2011-12.
• Bucknell wrestled in three tournaments during the regular season. The Bison competed at the Navy Classic in November and the Penn State Open and Midlands Championships in December.
• John Regan is the lone senior on the Bucknell roster this year.
• Fourteen different Bison earned starting assignments in 2011-12.
• Corey Lear missed the first semester of competition, but made his debut on Dec. 17. His 13 victories after that date led the Bison during that span. He lost consecutive matches on only one occasion all season and strung together four separate winning streaks.
• Junior co-captain Joe McMullan, who wrestled at 285 pounds at last year's EIWA Championships, suffered an injury in late January and will not be competing this weekend.
• Bucknell's EIWA lineup includes three freshmen (Miller, Armato, Lyster), three sophomores (Russell, McPeek, Westwood), two juniors (Russell, Lear) and one senior (Regan).
• Austin Miller posted six different winning streaks during the regular season. He posted a season-high four victories in a row on two separate occasions and was 6-2 in bouts decided by bonus points.
• Six of Alex Pellicciotti's 21 career victories have come by fall.
• John Regan posted a 9-2 record in his final 11 bouts. Five of those wins went for bonus points (3 falls, 2 MD).
• Derrik Russell enters the EIWA Championships needing one win to reach a new career high. He is 11-16 this year, equaling his freshman-year win total.
Following the EIWA Championships
Internet Broadcast: Live video of the entire tournament on GoPrincetonTigers.com. A subscription is required.
Up Next
Bucknell's NCAA qualifiers will participate in the NCAA Championships March 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo. Last year, two Bison (Jay Hahn, Kevin LeValley) earned automatic berths in the NCAA Championships.
