Lehighsports.com

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 7 Lehigh returns to the mats for the first time in two weeks as the Mountain Hawks will wrap-up their home dual schedule with matches against Virginia Tech Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall and Rutgers Saturday at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks were off last weekend after rallying from a 15-6 deficit with three bouts remaining to tie Cornell 15-15 in Ithaca, N.Y. back on January 22. Lehigh will have to contend with two more ranked foes this weekend. Virginia Tech has risen to 19th in the latest polls, with wins in four of its last five duals, while Rutgers entered the rankings at No. 23 this week, and is in the midst of a school-record 12-dual unbeaten streak.

After starting the season 2-6, sophomore Joe Kennedy has bounced back, winning nine of his last 13 bouts. More than half of Kennedy’s bouts have come against wrestlers currently ranked in the InterMat top 20, including nine matches with men ranked in the top 10. Kennedy already owned wins over sixth-ranked Eric Lapotsky of Oklahoma and eighth-ranked Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin. The Milford, Pa. native then added a 5-4, two-tiebreaker win over No. 5 Cam Simaz of Cornell in Lehigh’s 15-15 tie with the Big Red on January 22. The win vaulted Kennedy into the national rankings at No. 19.

Freshman Joey Napoli is the latest in a recent string of true freshmen who have earned starting spots in the Lehigh lineup. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, eight true freshmen have started duals for the Brown and White, including Kennedy last season. Napoli made his dual debut at the Northeast Duals in November. He owns a 17-9 overall record and enters this weekend’s action having won his last four dual matches.

Virginia Tech brings a 14-4 dual record into Bethlehem on Friday night. Since the New Year, the Hokies have posted an 8-3 record and have soared into the top 25 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Virginia Tech had won four straight duals, including its second win this season over rival Virginia, before dropping a 21-17 decision to Central Michigan in Blacksburg, Va. last weekend.

The Hokies boast five ranked wrestlers, led by Jesse Dong, who was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Virginia Duals and is ranked fifth at 157. Other ranked Hokies include Jarrod Garnett (No. 14 at 125), Chris Diaz (No. 10 at 141), Matt Epperly (No. 20 at 165) and Tommy Spellman (No. 19 at 184). Kevin Dresser is in his fourth season as head coach at Virginia Tech and led the Hokies to a record 20 dual wins and eight NCAA Qualifiers last season.

Rutgers brings one of its strongest teams in recent memory into Stabler Arena. The Scarlet Knights are 16-4-1 in duals and are currently riding a school-record 12-dual unbeaten streak. Last weekend Rutgers picked up impressive wins over Virginia and Navy, which vaulted the Scarlet Knights into the national rankings at No. 23.

The Scarlet Knights have three wrestlers currently ranked by InterMat, led by heavyweight Dominick Russo, the reigning EIWA Wrestler of the Week, who comes in at No. 8.  Also ranked for the Scarlet Knights are senior Lamar Brown (No. 17 at 197) and junior Daryl Cocozzo (No. 20 at 157). Lehigh and Rutgers wrestlers crossed paths at the Midlands with Zach Rey defeating Russo 7-2 in the quarterfinals, and Rutgers’ Trevor Melde upsetting Seth Ciasulli in the Round of 16. The Scarlet Knights will have several familiar faces on their bench as John Leonardis (Lehigh ‘97) and Cory Cooperman (Lehigh ‘06) serve on the staff of third-year head coach Scott Goodale.

The Mountain Hawks have dominated the all-time series versus Rutgers winning 38 of 39 meetings including 35 in a row against the Scarlet Knights. Lehigh has a much smaller history with Virginia Tech, as the schools have only met once in wrestling: a 27-6 Mountain Hawks win in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Virginia Duals.

Action gets underway Friday night when Lehigh hosts Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear brown to the match. Lehigh will also recognize its 11-member senior class prior to Friday’s dual. Saturday’s Pennsylvania-New Jersey EIWA showdown between Lehigh and Rutgers is set for a 1 p.m. start from Stabler Arena. Tickets to both duals are still available and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting the arena box office on match day.