Wrestling Set to Host First Ivy Matchup of the Season Against Columbia

Friday, January 26

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

Columbia

Buy Tickets

Wrestling Set to Host First Ivy Matchup of the Season Against Columbia

January 24, 2024 | Wrestling

vs. Columbia
Janurary 26 (Fri.) | 7:00 p.m. | Jadwin Gym
Watch | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Program

PRINCETON, NJ - On Friday, January 26th, the Princeton wrestling team (2-3, 0-1) is set to face Columbia at Jadwin Gym, with the wrestling action kicking off at 7:00 P.M. The event will be streamed on ESPN+. In the matchup history since 2002, Columbia holds a 12-9 record against the Tigers. In their last encounter on 1/20/2023, Columbia secured a 27-13 victory over the Tigers, but their away record against the Tigers is 5-6. Luke Stout, who secured a win in the previous year's match, aims to claim another victory this year against the Lions.

Friday's match is University Day and all Princeton employees will have the opportunity to claim four free tickets to the game via their NetID. Information regarding how to claim your tickets can be found here. Offer not valid at the box office. Princeton Faculty & Staff members will go home with a Princeton Athletics car magnet.

Series History

9-12 against Columbia since the 2002
6-5 record at home

Probables

Princeton	Weight	Columbia
Drew Heethuis	125	Nick Babin or Sulayman Bah
Sean Pierson	133	Yanni Vines
Tyler Vazquez or Chris Martino	141	Kai Owen or Lorenzo Frezza
12/26 Eligh Rivera or Cody Tavoso	149	Richard Fedalen
Rocco Camillaci	157	Jaden Le or David Berkovich
Blaine Bergey	165	Kyle Mosher or Andy Garr
Mikey Squires	174	Lennox Wolak
20/24 Nate Dugan	184	Aaron Ayzerov or Jack McGill
10/13 Luke Stout or Aidan Conner	197	Jack Wehmeyer
Sebastian Garibaldi or 27/30 Matt Cover	285	Billy McChesney or Vincent Mueller

Dubuque's Debrief

"We are fired up to get the Ivy League schedule started against a tough Columbia team," said head coach Joe Dubuque. "Coach Tanelli has done a great job with that program and their record does not reflect how tough they are and we will be ready for a 7 minute scrap."

Princeton head coach Joe Dubuque clinched dual NCAA titles during his stint at Indiana, claiming victories at 125 in both 2005 and 2006. He shares the distinction of being a two-time NCAA champion in Indiana's wrestling history with Charlie McDaniel (275, 1935 & 38). Dubuque, a three-time All-American, secured an eighth-place finish in 2004 and concluded his collegiate career with an impressive 114-18 record.

Know Your Tigers

The Tigers took down Rider on Thursday, 20-19, to take home the MAC IVY Trophy. The victory signified the inaugural dual win for the program under the new head coach, Joe Dubuque. The Tigers captured their second win of the season against Morgan State.
The Tigers fell to Drexel on January 19th in a heavily contested battle, 20-15.
Princeton kicked off their dual schedule with a competitive match against Indiana and only lost by a close margin of 18-15. However, they managed to achieve a split in match victories, securing five wins in competition. In the second dual against No. 14 Rutgers, Princeton fell but saw wins from No. 11 Eligh Rivera, Blaine Bergey, and Matt Cover.
125: Freshman Drew Heethuis holds a 12-4 record this season following his first collegiate dual victory in a 10-8 decision against Indiana. Heethuis went 4-1 at the 2024 F&M Open, securing a 5th place finish.
133: Sean Pierson placed 5th at this year's Navy Classic having three wins by decision and one win by technical fall, 18-2 in 6 minutes and 31 seconds.
149: Freshman No. 12 Eligh Rivera holds a 10-6 record with three wins over ranked top-25 opponents. Rivera had a strong showing at his first Midlands Championships where he knocked off No. 19 Kelly Dunnigan (Penn). Rivera set the tone for his start of the dual season with an impressive win overcoming a 3-1 deficit and securing a 7-4 (SV) decision victory and knocking off No. 8 Graham Rooks of Indiana. Rivera also notably took 4th place at the Navy Classic.
165: Blaine Bergey has a 10-7 record this season with a notable win against No. 25 Anthony White from Rutgers by decision 5-4 (SV)
174: Mikey Squires' record this season is 8-8. At the Princeton Open, Squires showcased his dominance by securing a notable 5th place finish after a series of three impressive victories by technical fall in a row. At the Navy Classic he had three victories and took 3rd place.
184: No. 20 Nate Dugan currently holds a 13-4 record this season notably taking first place at this year's Princeton Open, sixth place at the 2023 Midlands Championships and securing third place at the Navy Classic. Dugan knocked off the one-seeded Layne Malczewski at this season's Midlands Championships and had a quarterfinals run.
197: No. 10 Luke Stout, the junior and two-time NCAA qualifier maintains a 15-3 record this season. Stout recently placed 2nd at the 2023 Midlands Championships where he went 4-1 in the tournament.
285: No. 27 Matt Cover dug deep for a 5-4 win over No. 32 Nick Wilhelm from Indiana at heavyweight in the first dual this season. Cover has a 11-3 record since the start of the 2023-24 season and placed 3rd at the Princeton Open and 5th at the Navy Classic.

In The Rankings

As of January 22nd, the Tigers have four wrestlers ranked by national media outlets:

149 - Eligh Rivera
InterMat: 26 (-)
WrestleStat: 12 (-)
FloWrestling: 29 (-1)

184 - Nate Dugan
InterMat: 20 (-1)
WrestleStat: 24 (-)
FloWrestling: 25 (-1)

197 - Luke Stout
InterMat: 10 (-)
WrestleStat: 13 (-)
FloWrestling: 12 (-)

285 - Matt Cover
InterMat - 30 (+1)
WrestleStat - N/A
FloWrestling - 27 (-1)

The First 2024 NCAA Coaches' Poll

Eligh Rivera (149) - #21
Nate Dugan (184) - #20
Luke Stout (197) - #11
Matt Cover (285) - #24

Season Tickets

Don't miss out on any home meet action. All eight Princeton home duals will be ticketed events. Purchase your season, group or individual tickets for Princeton duals here.

Social Media

For the latest news and updates, follow along with the Princeton wrestling social media.

Twitter: @tigerwrestling
Instagram: @princetonwrestling