Bucknell University Athletics
No. 23 Wrestling Makes Short Trip to Bloomsburg Sunday
1/29/2015 12:11:00 PM | Wrestling
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The accomplishments of the Bucknell wrestling team this season are very impressive. The Bison are ranked 23rd nationally, have won six consecutive duals, hold down first place in the EIWA standings and are just one victory shy of tying the school record for wins in a season. Bucknell will try to add to those positives this Sunday when it travels just a short distance east to take on non-conference foe Bloomsburg in a dual. Start time is 2 p.m. at Nelson Field House.
Bucknell (11-3, 5-0 EIWA) has been hot of late, bringing a six-match winning streak into Sunday's match. It is the longest winning streak for the Bison since the 2000-01 season. The last time a Bucknell squad won more consecutive matches was when the 1992-93 team won seven straight.
The Bison enter the weekend as one of just two EIWA teams with unblemished conference records, along with Cornell. Bucknell's 5-0 mark in conference matches puts its one win ahead of the Big Red.
With a win Sunday, the Bison will match the 2006-07 squad for the most dual victories in a season in program history. This year's team is already just the 11th in school annals to reach double figures in victories and Bucknell now has back-to-back double-figure win campaigns for just the second time.
There has been plenty of success on an individual level as well. Joe Stolfi (29), Tyler Lyster (23) and Tom Sleigh (22) have already reached the 20-win plateau this season, while Victor Lopez and Paul Petrov will hit that mark with one more win apiece.
Stolfi, who leads the nation in pins with 15, has been extremely impressive. The senior is 29-5 on the year, including 14-0 in duals. He has won 16 consecutive bouts and is ranked 15th nationally at 285 pounds. Stolfi is up to second on Bucknell's all-time pins list with 47. He needs just three more falls to pull into a first-place tie with Brian Pitzer.
Lyster did not wrestle this past Sunday in road duals at Havard and Brown, but is still second on the team in victories. The senior 197-pounder has won 12 of his last 14 bouts and is 10-0 over the last two years in matches decided by pin.
Sleigh is a freshman 184-pounder who is 5-1 in his last six bouts. He is 4-1 in EIWA duals and has had four winning streaks of at least three bouts this season.
Petrov is ranked 14th nationally at 125 pounds and has seven straight wins. His 13-1 dual record places him second on the team behind Stolfi in that category, while he is an unblemished 5-0 in EIWA duals.
The Bison were last in action last weekend when they hosted Columbia on Friday evening and then traveled to New England to face Harvard and Brown. Bucknell won all three matches by a combined 83-38 margin.
Bloomsburg is 0-6 on the season and most recently was in action last weekend in a home dual vs. Edinboro, which resulted in a 38-3 loss. The Huskies will host Rider at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Bucknell will be idle until Feb. 7 when it travels to American for an EIWA match. Start time is 7 p.m. in Bender Arena.
Bucknell vs. Bloomsburg
Record: Bloomsburg leads 12-1-1
First Meeting: 1974
Streak: Bloomsburg +6
Last Bucknell Win: 1995
Last Bloomsburg Win: 2014
Series:
Jan. 12, 1974 – Bloomsburg 33, Bucknell 5 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Feb. 4, 1975 – Bloomsburg 21, Bucknell 21 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Dec. 2, 1975 – Bloomsburg 37, Bucknell 3 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Jan. 12, 1977 – Bloomsburg 33, Bucknell 14 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Jan. 11, 1978 – Bloomsburg 29, Bucknell 24 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Feb. 15, 1992 – Bloomsburg 25, Bucknell 13 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Feb. 13, 1993 – Bloomsburg 30, Bucknell 10 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Jan. 5, 1995 – Bucknell 22, Bloomsburg 19 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Feb. 5, 1998 – Bloomsburg 29, Bucknell 7 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Feb. 4, 1999 – Bloomsburg 23, Bucknell 18 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Feb. 3, 2000 – Bloomsburg 35, Bucknell 6 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Feb. 1, 2001 – Bloomsburg 36, Bucknell 9 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Dec. 17, 2006 – Bloomsburg 31, Bucknell 12 (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Jan. 10, 2014 – Bloomsburg 24, Bucknell 11 (Hampton, Va.)
Bucknell Projected Lineup
125: No. 14 Paul Petrov (19-3)
133: Grim Gonzalez (15-8)
141: Tyler Smith (14-5)
149: Victor Lopez (19-8)
157: Logan Kerin (14-12)
165: Robert Schlitt (12-14)
174: Connor Wagh (1-7)
184: Tom Sleigh (22-14)
197: Tyler Lyster (23-11) or Tyler Greene (11-10)
285: No. 15 Joe Stolfi (29-5)
Bloomsburg Projected Lineup
125: Jon Haas (9-10)
133: Andy Schutz (13-10)
141: Tanner Cahill (11-13)
149: Kevin Laubach (10-14)
157: Matt Hammerstone (4-13)
165: Kurt Meske (3-4)
174: Auston Hummel (13-13)
184: Open
197: Michael Mirra (10-12)
285: Dominic Carfagno (6-11)
Players Mentioned
