(PLEASE NOTE VENUE CHANGE TO MCCOMB FIELDHOUSE)

Edinboro Match Notes

LIVE STATS: TrackWrestling.com


PROBABLE LINEUPS


EDINBORO FIGHTING SCOTS
Record -- 1-2, 1-0 EWL
125 #18/#17 Kory Mines (Jr.-r, 10-2, Bedford, OH)
133 #2/#3 A.J. Schopp (Jr.-r, 12-0, Tyrone, PA)
141 #1/#1 Mitchell Port (Jr.-r, 8-0, Bellefonte, PA)
149 #8/#7 Dave Habat (Jr., 13-1, Parma, OH)
157 Johnny Greisheimer (Sr.-r, 7-5, Wantagh, NY)
165 Kasey Burnett-Davis (Jr.-r, 8-2, Meadville, PA)
Zach Towers (Fr.-r, 4-2, Meadville, PA)
174 Patrick Jennings (So.-r, 5-2, Ridge, NJ)
184 #10/#8 Vic Avery (So.-r, 3-1, Foxboro, MA)
197 Vince Pickett (So., 7-3, Galloway, OH)
Hwt. Ernest James (Sr.-r, 8-3, Medford, NY)

HEAD?COACH: Tim Flynn (Penn State '87, 174-67-5, 17th year)
Rankings: InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News

RIDER BRONCS
Record -- 5-1, 1-0 EWL
125 NR/#18 Robert Deutsch (So.-r, 8-2, Cherry Hill, NJ)
133 Chuck Zeisloft (Jr.-r, 7-4, Woodbury Hts., NJ)
141 Paul Kirchner (Fr.-r, 5-5, Somerville, NJ)
149 Curt Delia (So., 5-5, Mullica Hill, NJ)
157 Wayne Stinson (Fr., 2-7, Wrightstown, NJ)
165 #12/#15 Ramon Santiago (Sr.-r, 7-3, Sayreville, NJ)
174 Conor Brennan (So.-r, 8-4, Brick, NJ)
Jim Resnick (Sr., 0-1, Media, PA)
184 Clint Morrison (Jr.-r, 4-2, Mechanicsburg, PA)
Jim Resnick (Sr., 0-1, Media, PA)
197 Donald McNeil (Jr.-r, 7-3, Plainville, MASS)
Hwt. Greg Velasco (So.-r, 3-6, Union Beach, NJ)

HEAD?COACH: Gary Taylor (East Stroudsburg '76, 395-222-4, 36th year)
Rankings: InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News

THE?SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS?4-1

LAST?MEETING
2009-10: EDINBORO 18, RIDER 12 -- the Fighting Scots and Broncs last met in the Sprawl &?Brawl Classic in Binghamton, NY on November 22, 2009. The match was ultimately decided at heavyweight, as 11th-ranked Chris Birchler won a 3-1 decision in sudden victory over 18th-ranked Ed Bordas to seal the win.

THE?COACHES
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86) is in his 17th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots. He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 174-67-5 record. Edinboro has had 11 top-20 finishes and three in the top ten at the NCAA?Division I?National Championships during his tenure. He has produced three national champions and 30 All-Americans. All told, Flynn has been named the EWL?Coach of the Year five times and the PSAC?Coach of the Year 11 times.

RIDER -- Gary Taylor (East Stroudsburg '76) is in his 36th season as the head coach at Rider. During that period he has compiled a 395-222-4 record, the second-highest victory total in the NCAA among active coaches. The pinnacle of Taylor's career came in 1997, when the Broncs cracked the top ten in the national poll and were ranked seventh in the nation over the final five weeks of the season by the Amateur Wrestling News. Three wrestlers earned All-American honors that year. To date 13 of Taylor's wrestlers have earned All-America honors, including two in the last seven years. He led Rider to 13 conference championships. A seven-time East Coast Wrestling Association Coach of the Year, Taylor has turned out 96 conference champions and has taken 152 Broncs to the NCAA Championships, including four in 2013 and 39 in the last nine years. In the fall of 2010 he was presented the Frank N. Elliott Award for dedicated service to Rider University.


THE MATCH STORIES
Edinboro hosts its final dual meet before taking a few days off for Christmas, hosting Rider. The Broncs are one of two newcomers to the Eastern Wrestling League this year, along with George Mason. Edinboro comes off an impressive 40-3 win at Clarion last Sunday in its EWL debut. The Fighting Scots received four pins and a major decision while winning nine of ten matches. The win boosted Edinboro to 1-2 overall, with the losses to Virginia Tech (23-14), ranked eighth at the time, and top-ranked Iowa (22-19).

The Edinboro-Rider match was to have had a different look to it, taking place in the Mike S. Zafirovski Sports & Recreation Dome. However, the match has been moved back in to McComb Fieldhouse, with scheduled refinishing of the gym floor delayed a few days. The Zafirovski Dome has hosted the Edinboro Open and the Red &?White Wrestleoffs, but it would have been the first dual meet in the Dome. It also marks the first meeting between the Edinboro and Rider since the Fighting Scots claimed an 18-12 victory in the Sprawl &?Brawl Classic in Binghamton, NY early in the 2009-10 season.

Edinboro continued its climbed up the national rankings this week. The Fighting Scots are now up to sixth in the latest InterMat poll after being 15th two weeks ago. The Scots remained 15th in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll. In addition, they are 12th according to WrestlingReport.com and 16th in WIN's Tournament Power Index.

The Edinboro lineup features five ranked wrestlers, led by Mitchell Port, who has ascended into the top spot in the rankings at 141 lbs. Port finished as the runnerup at 141 lbs. at the NCAA?Division I?National Championships last March, earning All-American honors for the first time. He owns an 8-0 record and is number one according to InterMat, Amateur Wrestling News and WrestlingReport.com, and second in the WIN?rankings. A.J. Schopp, another junior, is second in the AWN rankings, and is third in the InterMat poll. In addition, he is fourth according to WrestlingReport.com and fifth in the WIN rankings. Schopp joined Port as an All-American a year ago with a fourth place showing at 133 lbs. He has a 12-0 record, including a win over then top-ranked Tony Ramos iof Iowa, with nine falls. Two other Boro grapplers also show up in the top ten. Dave Habat (13-1) shows up at third at 149 lbs. in the WIN rankings, plus seventh by AWN and WrestlingReport and eighth by InterMat. Vic Avery is ninth in the AWN rankings at 184 lbs. and tentrh according to InterMat and WIN. Kory Mines (10-2) is the fifth Edinboro wrestler in the AWN and InterMat polls, ranked 17th and 18th, respectively. Heavyweight Ernest James (25th) and 157-pounder Johnny Greisheimer (31st) appear in the WrestlingReport rankings, which rank 33 wrestlers per weight class.

Edinboro recently won its third straight PSAC title and eighth in the last nine years. The Fighting Scots have now won 14 PSAC?titles in head coach Tim Flynn's 17 seasons. Edinboro crowned six champions, with three wrestlers finishing second and one third. A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.), Mitchell Port (141) and Dave Habat (149) all won their third straight PSAC?championships, with Schopp selected the Outstanding Wrestler. He pinned all four of his opponents.

Vic Avery finally made his return to the Edinboro lineup in the PSAC?Championships. The redshirt sophomore was injured in his first match at the Michigan State Open and was unable to continue, also missing the Virginia Tech and Iowa duals. He was a national qualifier as a true freshman in 2011-12 before redshirting last year. Avery reached the PSAC finals with a pair of wins before aggravating his injury and sitting out the finals.

Head coach Tim Flynn has once again assembled a demanding schedule, with no fewer than five teams ranked in this week's InterMat Top 25 or USA?Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll. Leading the way is Iowa, which visited McComb Fieldhouse on December 5 as the top-ranked team in the country. Using the NWCA?poll, which is a measure of dual meets, Iowa is currently ranked third. Pittsburgh is now up to 12th, while Virginia Tech has been ranked as high as eighth and is now 14th. Rider is ranked 25th, and upcoming opponent Bloomsburg is 22nd. The Fighting Scots are also scheduled to compete in the Virginia Duals, which traditionally has several highly-ranked squads. Throw in the Midlands Championships and Edinboro's wrestlers will once again face some top talent.

Rider is coached by Gary Taylor, who is in his 36th season as head coach and has 395 career wins. The Broncs are ranked 25th in the latest USA?Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll and have two wrestlers showing up in the individual rankings. Rider has not competed since a 29-6 win over Binghamton on December 7. Now 5-1, the Broncs most impressive win was an 18-14 triumph over Kent State. The lone loss came to now top-ranked Penn State 34-8. Rider picked up its first EWL win with a 23-12 decision over Lock Haven. Rider previously competed in the Colonial Athletic Association.