Streak-Busting Tigers Look To End Another Drought Thursday vs. Rider On ESPN+

Princeton carried the weight of a 14-match losing streak to Lehigh into Leeman-Turner Arena last month and pulled out a 21-19 victory that head coach Chris Ayres deemed the best in his 13 years as head coach.

Is there a little more weight involved in an 18-match losing streak? Maybe, but it's a much shorter trip when you're only carrying it to Dillon Gymnasium.

Princeton will try to end an 18-match losing streak to Rider, which dates back to a 24-19 Tiger victory on Jan. 5, 1982, when the two Mercer County rivals meet Thursday, Dec. 20, at Dillon Gym in Princeton's home debut this season. The match, like all home duals for Princeton this season, will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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Three of the last five Rider wins were decided by six points or fewer, including a 17-16 Broncs win in Dillon Gym during the final dual match of the 2015-16 season. Even last year's match, a 21-12 victory for a nationally ranked Rider squad, was closer than it appeared; the Broncs won a pair of one-point decisions that helped them extend their streak over Princeton.

This Princeton team has tested itself against four Top-15 programs already this season, including its memorable win over #8 Lehigh, as well as close losses at both Wisconsin and Virginia Tech. Ayres talked about the progress that comes from these early-season tests, as well as the development of some of his ranked wrestlers, during the debut edition of the "Higher Standard" podcast from earlier this week. He hopes that growth will help the Tigers end yet another long drought, as well as send them into the 2018 Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) with some momentum.

Princeton has been led this season by the highly ranked duo of Matthew Kolodzik and Patrick Brucki, both of whom have combined to go 15-0 on the young season. Kolodzik has spent the entire season at the #1 spot at 149 pounds, and his 5-0 record doesn't include a main event win at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Brucki is 10-0 (he got five extra matches by competing at the Tiger Open while Kolodzik was at the All-Star Classic), and half of Brucki's wins have come against top-20 competition, including a first-period pin of Virginia's Jay Aiello on Dec. 8.

This will be the first home dual for the Princeton Class of 2022, and as many as five Tiger freshmen could start against the Broncs. Leading the way for the Princeton rookies has been 125-pound and two-time New Jersey state champion Patrick Glory, whose only loss this season came to defending national champion Spencer Lee of Iowa.

PRINCETON PROBABLES
125 - #14 Patrick Glory (8-1)
133 – Jake Adkins (0-4) or Jonathan Gomez (1-5)
141 – Marshall Keller (6-4)
149 - #1 Matthew Kolodzik (5-0)
157 – Quincy Monday (4-6)
165 – Grant Cuomo (1-1) or Dale Tiongson (4-4)
174 – Travis Stefanik (6-4)
184 – Kevin Parker (7-3)
197 - #4 Patrick Brucki (10-0)
285 – Kendall Elfstrum (2-4) or Obinna Ajah (2-5)

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