Bucknell University Athletics
Paul Petrov Named The Bucknellian Male Rookie of the Year, EIWA Adds Four Teams
5/3/2013 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
LEWISBURG, Pa. –Bucknell wrestling freshman Paul Petrov (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) was recently named The Bucknellian Male Rookie of the Year. The 133-pounder posted a 20-14 record in 2012-13 and finished sixth at the EIWA Championships.
Petrov, who earned the team's inaugural Freshman of the Year Award last week, posted a 2-3 record at the EIWA Championships as his sixth-place showing matched his seed. He was one of four Bison to collect 20 wins this past season and posted an 11-3 record during a late-season stretch.
A runner-up finisher at the early season Navy Classic and a third-place finisher at the season-opening Michigan State Open, Petrov recorded nine bonus-point victories and his six wins by major decision led the team.
Another recent news item also involved the Bison wrestling program as the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) announced it will be adding four teams in 2013-14. Binghamton, Boston U., Drexel and Hofstra will join the conference, bringing total membership to 18, which includes Bucknell.
Complete EIWA Release on Expansion:
Effective with the next academic year, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) will add Binghamton University, Boston University, Drexel University and Hofstra University to full membership in the nation's oldest wrestling conference.
The announcement came from Greg Strobel, Executive Director of the EIWA.
“We had an extensive application process,” said Strobel. “We were contacted by several teams about joining our conference, and we had full involvement of our wrestling coaches and school administrators in making our decision.”
The first formal application came from Binghamton last fall, and Boston announced that they were joining the Patriot League in all sports. The Patriot League does not sponsor wrestling, but all Patriot League teams which sponsor wrestling are members of the EIWA.
Formal applications were also received from Drexel and Hofstra.
The EIWA Executive Committee, consisting of athletic administrators from American, Bucknell, Cornell and Navy, recommended approval of the applications, and the coaches and administrators from the fourteen member schools unanimously approved the recommendation.
Boston University has announced that wrestling will be discontinued after the 2014 season, but an aggressive campaign is being waged to save the sport. For more information about Save BU Wrestling, go to Facebook.com/savebuwrestling or Twitter: #savebuwrestling
Binghamton is coached by Matt Dernlan. The Bearcats qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships in 2013.
Boston is coached by Carl Adams, who just completed his 33rd year as head coach. The Terriers had three NCAA qualifiers in 2013.
Drexel is coached by Matt Azevedo. The Dragons had two NCAA qualifiers in 2013.
Hofstra is coached by Robert Anspach. The Pride had three NCAA qualifiers in 2013, and won several conference championships during their tenure in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The EIWA had its origins as the nation's first wrestling conference in 1905, when students at Columbia, Penn, Princeton and Yale formed the first intercollegiate wrestling conference.
For many years, the conference grew and effectively served as a national championship until the emergence of wrestling in the Midwest, and the formation of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 1928.
Current members of the EIWA are American, Army, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Cornell, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Lehigh, Navy, Penn, Princeton, Rutgers and Sacred Heart.
