Wrestling Slobberknocker on Friday

[ngineer]

This coming Friday, #9 Lehigh will be hosting #12 Penn State. Advance tickets are over 3,000. The match will be held in Lehigh's Stabler Arena (5,600), so the good crowd--one of the biggest in the country this year for a dual meet--should add to the excitement. Although I'd prefer the match be held in venerable Grace Hall aka "The Snake Pit", but Stabler allows many more people to attend.
Lehigh is very banged up, having four starters, including #1 Troy Letters at 165 injured or ill. Will learn later this week who will be able to weigh-in.
The Lehigh/Penn State rivalry is one of the oldest in the US, going back to 1911. This will be the 94th meeting. PSU holds a 58-32-2 edge.
However, since Lehigh went to scholarships ten years ago, the Mountain Hawks have been narrowing the gap. With alot of Penn State grads in the Lehigh Valley there should be a lot of spirited chanting. Last I heard, PCN may be televising.

[ngineer]

With the Nittany Lions looming on the horizon, Lehigh will be without the services of former NCAA Champ and #1 ranked Troy Letters at 165. Pinched nerve in neck/shoulder-out 'for several weeks' according to Strobel. Same for 133 pounder Santos--only his is a knee problem. Santos has been ranked around #20 during the season. Hwt. Curl may also be out with back problems that prevented him from wrestling this past weekend. Crowd of over 4,000 expected at Stabler. Match will be telecast on the web at Lehighsports.com if you subscribe to the video package.

[ngineer]

Missing three starters including #2 Letters and #18 Santos, Penn State defeated Lehigh 24-12 at Stabler Arena before 4,636 fans. Despite the large crowd, it was somewhat subdued from the beginning with the seeming realization that the expected 'down to the wire nailbiter' would not materialize. There were some bright spots, however, where #20 Frick upset #12 Yonushonis 3-2 at 174 and Unranked Cassidy at 197 upset #6 Davis. #3 Cooperman at 141 put on a strong show beating #12 Driscoll. The fourth Lehigh victory came at 157 with #13 Zinck defeating #15 Galloway.
With Lehigh's injuries, I would expect Lehigh to drop significantly in the national polls. Letters and Santos are expected to be out 6 weeks. Hwt. Curl is done for the year due to 'academic insufficiency'...Obviously his finals in December did not go well...