EIWA Newsletter - Dual Meet Outlook
EIWA Divisional Dual Meet Outlook
By: Austin Sommer, EIWA Sports Information Director
The dual meet portion of the season is about to get underway. Many of the conference matchups will take place over the next month. Within these matches, there are important bouts for individual wrestlers. Each head-to-head result is vital in determining the seeds for the conference tournament in March. Obviously, head-to-head results are not the only factor. However, these play a vital role in the algorithm to help establish these seeds.
Besides seeding complications, the dual meets carry more weight compared to years past. Last season was the inaugural year where the EIWA was split into two divisions – the Patriot and Independence divisions. This year’s Patriot Division has been renamed the Liberty Division. The Liberty Division is made up of six teams – American, Army West Point, Bucknell, Lehigh, Morgan State, and Navy. The Independence Division is also made of six teams – Binghamton, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, Hofstra, LIU, and Sacred Heart. Last year’s division champs were Drexel in the Independence Division, while Lehigh and Navy tied for the Patriot Division title.
At the moment, Binghamton is at the top of the leaderboard thanks to wins over Hofstra and LIU. They have a big weekend of wrestling coming up. On January 16, they wrestle Drexel, the defending Independence Division Champion. Drexel is coming off a very impressive third place finish at the NWCA Mid-Major National Duals.
A key match in the Binghamton v. Drexel match will be at 125 lbs. Drexel's Desmond Pleasant is having a great year and is coming of a 4-0 showing at the NWCA Mid-Major National Duals. For Binghamton, Carson Wagner is also having a great year and is coming off a 6th place finish at the always tough David Lehman F&M Open. Wagner reached his NCAA match limit to earn sixth place after taking an upset loss in the first round to storm back with win five straight victories!
Perhaps the most anticipated match will take place at 174lbs where Drexel's No. 16 Jasiah Queen is slated to wrestle No. 27 Carter Baer. Queen was an NCAA qualifier last year and Baer is on track to earn a trip to Clevland this year!
If Binghamton gets past Drexel, it will face F&M two days later. F&M, who currently sits second in the Independence Division at 1-0. It's obvious that these key matches have the potential to shake up the Independence Div. standings and ultimately decide the divisional championship!
Now, let’s take a look at the Liberty (formally Patriot) Division. Before the weekend gets underway, we have three teams tied with a 1-0 record in the division. Bucknell, Lehigh, and Navy all have undefeated records in both the division and conference. Army West Point is 1-0 in the conference but has yet to wrestle a divisional opponent.
This weekend’s matchup between Navy and Lehigh will play a pivotal role in the standings. More so, it’s a rematch between last year’s division al co-champions. Lehigh will host Navy on Saturday. Both teams are extremely balanced and feature strong entries at all ten weights.
The most anticipated match will be at 285 lbs. where No. 7 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) takes on outstanding freshman No. 13 Spencer Lanosga (Navy). If the dual meet starts as is tradition at 125lbs, it's quite possible the 285lb. show-case match will decide the outcome of the dual meet!
Regardless of the outcome between Lehigh and Navy, both teams will have still have a tough road ahead in the quest for a Liberty Division Championship.
Lehigh will wrestle Army West Point on February 1 and then face Bucknell on February 14. Navy will face Army, in both teams' most important match of the year, on February 20. A match fitting for the season finale as one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports!
(Reprinted with permission from the EIWA Newsletter)
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