Lehighsports.com

NEW YORK – No. 24 Lehigh won six of ten bouts to win its third straight dual of the weekend and fourth straight overall, as the Mountain Hawks held off No. 24 Columbia 19-16 Sunday afternoon at Levien Gym. Senior Matt Cassidy cemented the victory for the Brown and White with a 12-4 major decision over Kirk Davis at 197, as Lehigh improves to 12-6 on the dual season, while handling the Lions their first dual loss of the year.

The Mountain Hawks raced to a fast start winning four of the first five bouts by decision to take a 12-3 lead at the halfway point. Sophomore Matt Fisk won a 2-1 decision over Brandon Kinney to get the dual started.

After Seth Ciasulli lost a 6-3 bout to No. 17 Matt DeLorenzo, older brother Matt gave Lehigh the lead, scoring a takedown and two-point near fall in sudden victory to defeat Sal Tirico 5-1.

At 149, junior Jeff Santo returned to the Lehigh lineup in place of the injured Trevor Chinn and responded with a 5-2 victory over Matt Dunn. Senior Dave Nakasone closed the Lehigh run with a 9-5 triumph over Derek Sickles at 197.

Columbia cut Lehigh’s lead to two with a major decision at 165 and a regular decision at 174. At 184 David Craig took down his second ranked opponent in as many days. Keyed by a first period reversal, three point near fall combination, Craig earned a 9-4 decision over No. 14 Justin Barent.

Cassidy’s major decision secured the dual for Lehigh, before senior Paul Weibel was caught on his back and pinned by Kevin Lester in the final bout at heavyweight.

The Mountain Hawks will wrestle their fourth and final dual of the weekend Sunday at 5 p.m. versus No. 6 Hofstra at the New York Athletic Club.

Referee – Fred Richardson