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#25 Wrestling Welcomes Northwestern, #12 Lehigh For Saturday Home Openers
December 04, 2015 | Wrestling
The Princeton wrestling team will make its home debut Saturday in different fashion than it has anytime in decades. On Saturday, the Tigers will welcome both Northwestern (11 am) and No. 12 Lehigh (2 pm) as a nationally ranked team; Princeton is currently ranked 25th in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.
| Date • Times • Location | Dec. 5 • Northwestern (11 am) / Lehigh (2 pm) • Dillon Gym |
| Live Video | Ivy League Digital Network |
| Live Results | Northwestern at Princeton l Lehigh at Princeton |
| @TigerWrestling l @PUTigers l @PUTigersLive | |
| Rosters | Princeton l Northwestern l Lehigh |
| Schedules | Princeton l Northwestern l Lehigh |
| Last Week | Princeton goes 1-2 during Grapple at the Garden Sunday |
| Next Week | Navy at Princeton • Dec. 11, 7 pm, ILDN |
Princeton is 1-2 on the season, with two close losses coming against No. 5 Nebraska (21-12) and No. 11 Illinois (20-15) last Sunday. They will close the 2015 dual portion of the season with three straight home matches, including the duo in Dillon Saturday, both of which will be streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Northwestern at Princeton, 11 am
Princeton nearly knocked off 16th-ranked Northwestern last season, but the Wildcats won the final two matches of the dual for an 18-15 home win. The rematch comes Saturday morning, and Princeton will be the team with the national ranking this time.
The most intriguing match of the dual could come at 149, where reigning national champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern, currently ranked third by Intermat, could take on 20th-ranked Chris Perez. The 2015 EIWA finalist is coming off a terrific performance in New York City, which included a win over 7th-ranked Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska.
Lehigh at Princeton, 2 pm
The 12th-ranked Mountain Hawks own a 51-5-1 record all-time against Princeton, and they haven't lost a dual match to the Tigers since 1968. This will be the first time Lehigh has visited Dillon Gym since 2003, when the Tigers were led by reigning national finalist Greg Parker.
The Mountain Hawks, who will take on Rider Saturday at 11 am, bring eight ranked wrestlers to the mat, including 11th-ranked Randy Cruz at 141. Cruz won the 2015 EIWA title over Princeton's Jordan Laster, who broke into the Top 20 this past week. Those two met in the season-opening Binghamton Classic, where Cruz pulled out a 3-1 win in sudden victory.
All three matches between 174-197 will also feature two ranked wrestlers. You can see the projected lineups for all three teams below.
| Weight | #25 Princeton | Northwestern | #12 Lehigh |
| 125 | Patrick D'Arcy | Garrison White | #15 Darian Cruz |
| 133 | Trey Aslanian | Dominick Malone | #14 Mason Beckman |
| 141 | #17 Jordan Laster | Jameson Oster | #11 Randy Cruz |
| 149 | #20 Chris Perez | #3 Jason Tsirtsis | Laike Gardner |
| 157 | Francesco Fabozzi | Bryce Brill | #6 Mitch Minotti |
| 165 | Judd Ziegler | Luke Norland | Ryan Preisch |
| 174 | #16 Jonathan Schleifer | Mitch Sliga | #20 Elliot Riddick |
| 184 | #14 Abram Ayala | Regis Durbin | #8 Nathaniel Brown |
| 197 | #10 Brett Harner | Jacob Berkowitz | #12 John Bolich |
| 285 | Ray O'Donnell | Conan Jennings | #16 Max Wessell |