Wrestling Heads to New England for EIWA Matches at Harvard and Brown

1/19/2017 1:45:00 PM | Wrestling

By: TBD

Setting the Scene
What: Bucknell (3-4, 1-1 EIWA) at Harvard (0-3, 0-1 EIWA)
When: Saturday, Jan. 21 (2 p.m.)
Where: Malkin Athletic Center (Cambridge, Mass.)
Watch: Ivy League Digital Network
Live Results: TrackWrestling.com

Setting the Scene
What: Bucknell (3-4, 1-1 EIWA) at Brown (1-2, 0-0 EIWA)
When: Sunday, Jan. 22 (12 p.m.)
Where: Pizzitola Sports Center (Providence, R.I.)
Watch: Ivy League Digital Network

About the Bison
-- Bucknell wraps up a busy stretch where it wrestles six consecutive duals away from home with matches at Harvard (Saturday) and Brown (Sunday) this weekend.

-- Bucknell is coming off a 2-2 performance at the Virginia Duals last weekend. The Bison defeated Campbell and Chattanooga, but lost to No. 19 Arizona State and No. 24 Virginia.

-- Bucknell has faced four nationally ranked opponents this season.

-- Bucknell is a perfect 3-0 against unranked foes this year. Neither Harvard nor Brown are in the national top 25 this week.

-- Tyler Smith (141), Victor Lopez (157) and Tom Sleigh (197) remain in the national rankings according to a number of polls. Lopez and Sleigh are nationally ranked in their weight classes by Intermat, The Open Mat and FloWrestling, while Smith is ranked by The Open Mat and FloWrestling.

-- Sleigh posted a team-best 4-0 record at last week's Virginia duals and brings a 10-bout winning streak into the weekend. He is a team-best 19-4 this year and now owns a 77-32 career record. Sleigh has seven wins by major decision this year.

-- Bucknell has competed in 70 bouts in its seven duals this year and freshmen have wrestled in 24 of those bouts. Freshman Jordan Gessner has been in the lineup at 125 pounds in all seven duals, while classmates Joey Gould (133) and Seth Hogue (149) have started in six matches apiece. Rookie Garrett Hoffman has been slotted at 184 pounds in five duals.

-- Lopez ranks ninth in program history in victories. He has compiled a 95-48 record in his four-year Bison career. He is 11 victories behind eighth-place Tom Marchetti, a member of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame.

-- Bucknell head coach Dan Wirnsberger last week earned his 100th win at Bucknell. He is 101-101-2 in his Bison career and ranks second on the program's all-time wins list.

Projected Bucknell Lineup
125: Jordan Gessner (7-12)
133: Joey Gould (5-9)/Ben Bliss (1-7)
141: No. --/15/14 Tyler Smith (16-6)
149: Seth Hogue (7-12)
157: No. 13/11/17 Victor Lopez (15-4)
165: Logan Kerin (5-9)/D.J. Hollingshead (15-11)
174: Chad Reese (3-7)
184: Garrett Hoffman (14-11)/Drew Phipps (11-8)
197: No. 16/12/17 Tom Sleigh (19-4)
285: Tyler Greene (9-8)
Note: 2016-17 record in parentheses; Rankings are Intermat/The Open Mat/FloWrestling

Projected Harvard Lineup
125: Matthew Rodriguez (1-11), Connor Sakmar (0-4)
133: Jeffrey Ott (10-13), Samuel Goldman (1-6)
141: AJ Jaffe (13-8), Ryan Friedman (4-6)
149: Hunter Ladnier (10-9), Aaron Kruk (3-4)
157: Zeth Dean (5-9), Colby Knight (2-5)
165: Kyle Bierdumpfel (9-7), Peter Bearse (2-7)
174: Josef Johnson (20-6), Rico Stormer (3-7)
184: Kanon Dean (5-9)
197: Logan Kirby (5-8), LJ Barlow (0-0)
285: Nicholas Gajdzik (14-11), Angus Cowell (3-2)
Note: 2016-17 record in parentheses

Projected Brown Lineup
125: Michael Russo (11-12) or Trey Keeley (9-11)
133: Jimmy Pawelski (12-8) or Nick Lattanze (4-4)
141: Zeke Salvo (12-11)
149: Travis Vasquez (5-4) or Zach Krause (2-2)
157: Steven Galiardo (3-3) or William McDonald (4-10) or Matt Lattanze (9-12)
165: Jon Viruet (16-11)
174: Andrew LaBrie (4-4)
184: CJ LaFragola (14-9)
197: Tucker Ziegler (13-12) or Josh Durso-Finley (2-8)
285: Ian Butterbrodt (11-6)
Note: 2016-17 record in parentheses

About Harvard
-- Harvard is 0-3 overall this season and 0-1 against EIWA foes.
-- Harvard's lone EIWA match was a 23-16 loss to Binghamton
-- Harvard will be wrestling at home for the first time in 2016-17 this weekend. The Crimson will also face Franklin & Marshall (12 p.m.) on Saturday.
-- 174-pounder Josef Johnson has been Harvard's most successful wrestler this year, posting a team-best 20-6 record. He was an NCAA qualifier a year ago.

Series History vs. Harvard
-- Harvard leads the all-time series 3-1-1.
-- The Crimson won last year's meeting in Lewisburg by a 26-21 score.
-- Bucknell won the last meeting at Harvard, 26-9 in January 2015.
Dec. 1, 1973 – Harvard 20, Bucknell 15 (Newark, N.J.)
Nov. 22, 1997 – Harvard 31, Bucknell 3 (Boston, Mass.)
Feb. 17, 2007 – Bucknell 21, Harvard 21 (Cambridge, Mass.)
Jan. 25, 2015 – Bucknell 26, Harvard 9 (Cambridge, Mass.)
Jan. 23, 2016 – Harvard 26, Bucknell 21 (Lewisburg, Pa.)

About Brown
-- Brown is 1-2 overall this season. The Bears have not yet faced an EIWA opponent.
-- Brown's first dual matches of the season came last weekend at the Pitt Duals. The Bears defeated VMI, but lost to Edinboro and Rider.
-- Seven wrestlers expected to be in the Brown lineup on Sunday have reached double-figures in victories this season.
-- Brown will host Bloomsburg and Franklin & Marshall on Saturday as they host three weekend home matches as part of Alumni Weekend.
-- This weekend marks the beginning of a seven-match homestand for Brown.

Series History vs. Brown
-- Bucknell leads the all-time series 8-2 and has won seven in a row against Brown.
-- This is the fourth consecutive January Bucknell and Brown have squared off in a dual.
-- Bucknell holds a 3-2 edge in Providence.
Jan. 20, 1988 - Bucknell 23, Brown 11 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Jan. 20, 2001 - Brown 34, Bucknell 14 (Providence, R.I.)
Jan. 13, 2007 - Brown 22, Bucknell 12 (Providence, R.I.)
Jan. 18, 2008 - Bucknell 21, Brown 12 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Jan. 17, 2009 - Bucknell 20, Brown 12 (Providence, R.I.)
Jan. 21, 2010 - Bucknell 28, Brown 13 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Feb. 19, 2011 – Bucknell 31, Brown 7 (Providence, R.I.)
Jan. 18, 2014 – Bucknell 22, Brown 19 (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Jan. 25, 2015 – Bucknell 28, Brown 10 (Providence, R.I.)
Jan. 23, 2016 – Bucknell 27, Brown 15 (Lewisburg, Pa.)

Up Next
-- Bucknell will return home next Friday, Jan. 27, to host EIWA foe Penn. The match is slated for 7 p.m. in Davis Gym. The Bison are 3-9 all-time against the Quakers with Penn winning last year's matchup by a slim 19-18 score in Philadelphia.