Wrestling Heads to Rider on Thursday

Thursday, January 11

Lawrenceville, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

Rider

January 09, 2024 | Wrestling

vs. RIDER
Janurary 11 (Thurs.) | 7:00 p.m. | Alumni Gym
Watch | Tickets

PRINCETON, NJ - The Princeton wrestling team (0-2, 0-0) will travel a short distance to take on Rider (2-4) on Thursday. Wrestling action will begin at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 11th in Alumni Gym and will be streamed on ESPN+.

In the series since 2010, Rider is ahead with a record of 10 wins and 3 losses and is currently on a one win streak. From 2018-2022, the Tigers went on a three-match winning streak. Last season, the Rider Broncs barely edged the Tigers with a 19-18 victory at Jadwin Gymnasium.

Probables

Princeton	Weight	Rider
Drew Heethuis	125	Tyler Klinsky
Sean Pierson	133	Koehler or Almovodar
Tyler Vazquez or Joe Davi	141	Bell or Betancourt
11/33 Eligh Rivera	149	Quinn Kinner
Rocco Camillaci	157	Colton Washleski
Blaine Bergey	165	Jake Silverstein
Mikey Squires	174	Michael Wilson
20/25 Nate Dugan	184	Isaac Dean
10/12 Luke Stout	197	Azeem Bell
Matt Cover or Sebastian Garibaldi	285	David Szuba

Dubuque's Debrief

"We're excited about the upcoming battle against Rider on Thursday, especially given the significance we attach to our New Jersey rivalries," said head coach Joe Dubuque. "Last year, they secured a narrow win, motivating us to approach this year's matchup with a renewed sense of energy. We anticipate some exciting wrestling and we're determined to bring a different level of intensity."

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). Notably, Dubuque is Indiana's second-most recent NCAA champion, succeeded by Angel Escobedo, the current head coach, who secured his victory at 125 in 2008. 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 Princeton Tigers 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 10-3 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. 11 Eligh Rivera had a strong showing at his first Midlands Championships where he knocked off No. 19 Kelly Dunnigan (Penn), his second ranked win of the season. 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 9-5 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 7-6. 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 10-5 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 14-3 record this season. Stout recently placed 2nd at the 2023 Midlands Championships where he went 4-1 in the tournament.
285: 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 2nd, the Tigers have three wrestlers ranked by national media outlets. Luke Stout, the junior and two-time NCAA Qualifier, ranked No. 10 on Intermat and No. 12 on WrestleStat and FloWrestling. The senior, Nate Dugan came in at a ranking of No. 20 on InterMat and No. 25 on FloWrestling and WrestleStat. Eligh Rivera, the freshman, ranked No. 11 on WrestleStat and No. 33 on Intermat,

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

Up Next

The Princeton wrestling squad will host Morgan State on January 13th at 2:00 P.M. in Jadwin Gym