Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Bucknell
Wrestling Hosts Final Dual of the Season Against Bucknell Friday Night, Senior Night
February 21, 2024 | Wrestling
vs. Bucknell (8-7, 4-4 EIWA)
February 23rd (Fri.) | 7:00 p.m. | Jadwin Gym
Watch | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Program
PRINCETON, NJ - On February 23rd, the Princeton wrestling team will face off against Bucknell at 7:00 p.m. in Jadwin Gymnasium to cap off the 2023-2024 dual meet season. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats can be found on TrackWrestling.
Series History
- 2-3 against Bucknell since 2006
- Last matchup (2/10/23): Princeton 22, Penn 12
Probables for Bucknell
|
Princeton |
Weight |
Bucknell |
|
125 |
Grayson McLellan |
|
|
133 |
Kurt Phipps |
|
|
Tyler Vazquez |
141 |
Dylan Chappell |
|
27/29 Eligh Rivera |
149 |
Braden Bower |
|
157 |
Riley Bower |
|
|
165 |
Noah Mulvaney |
|
|
174 |
Myles Takats |
|
|
19/19/22 Nate Dugan |
184 |
Mikey Bartush |
|
11/12/14 Luke Stout or Aidan Conner |
197 |
Logan Deacetis |
|
27/31 Matt Cover |
285 |
Dorian Crosby |
Dubuque's Debrief
"We are excited to conclude our regular season at home against a tough Bucknell team," said head coach Joe Dubuque. "It'll also be a nice night to honor our seniors who have made a huge impact during their time here at Princeton. It's going to be a great night in Jadwin"
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
- 125: Freshman Drew Heethuis holds a 14-7 record this season. Heethuis had 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. 27 Eligh Rivera holds a 13-10 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 12-12 record this season with a notable win against No. 25 Anthony White from Rutgers by decision 5-4 (SV). Bergey defeated Brown's Keegan Rothrock by decision, 9-2 in last Sunday's matchup.
- 174: Mikey Squires' record this season is 10-11. 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. 19 Nate Dugan currently holds a 18-5 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. Last weekend, Dugan defeated #17 Maximus Hale (PENN) by decision: SV 4-1
- 197: No. 11 Luke Stout, the junior and two-time NCAA qualifier maintains a 18-5 record this season. Stout recently placed 2nd at the 2023 Midlands Championships where he went 4-1 in the tournament. Stout is a standout in the Tiger's dual lineup.
- 285: No. 30 Matt Cover returned to the dual meet lineup last weekend and secured back-to-back victories with bonus points at Harvard and Brown. Cover has a 14-6 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 February 19th, the Tigers have four wrestlers ranked by national media outlets:
149 - Eligh Rivera
InterMat: 29 (+5)
WrestleStat: 27 (+9)
FloWrestling: N/A
184 - Nate Dugan
InterMat: 19 (-5)
WrestleStat: 19 (-2)
FloWrestling: 22 (-1)
197 - Luke Stout
InterMat: 12 (-)
WrestleStat: 14 (-)
FloWrestling: 11 (-)
285 - Matt Cover
InterMat - 31 (-)
WrestleStat - N/A
FloWrestling - 27 (+1)
The Second 2024 NCAA Coaches' Poll
Eligh Rivera (149) - #27
Nate Dugan (184) - #21
Luke Stout (197) - #12
Matt Cover (285) - #25
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 wrestlers will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to compete in the 120th EIWA Championships hosted by Bucknell University. Competition will take place from Friday, March 8th to Saturday, March 9th. Tickets are on sale here.
Fri, March 8
Session 1: 10:30am - Preliminaries & Consolation First Round
Session 2: 4:30pm Quarterfinals & Consolation Second/ Third Round
Sat, March 9
Session 3: 10:30am Semifinals & Quarterfinal/ Semi-final Consolations
Session 4: 4:30pm Finals, 3rd, 5th matches
Players Mentioned
