Sophomore Ryan Preisch capped the 8-0 Lehigh run with an impressive 9-1 major decision over returning All-American Casey Kent at 174.
"He's just steady," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said of Preisch. "He's getting a little bit better each week and is in the middle of a really tough stretch (of opponents). He's excited for the opportunity to wrestle these guys and see where he is and what he needs to do for the NCAA Tournament."
Junior Darian Cruz and senior Randy Cruz also delivered bonus wins to pace the Brown and White.
Penn's Frank Mattiace opened the dual with a 5-2 win over senior Ben Haas at 197 but senior Doug Vollaro pulled the Mountain Hawks even, making a late first period takedown stand in a 4-0 decision over Tyler Hall.
Darian Cruz's 17-6 major decision over Jeremy Schwartz at 125 gave Lehigh a lead it would not relinquish. Cruz finished with six takedowns and benefitted from three stalling points but had to settle for the four team points when Schwartz narrowly avoided a stalling disqualification.
Freshman Joe Lobeck's Grace Hall debut was a victorious one as he defeated Tristan DeVincenzo 8-3 at 133. Lobeck scored a takedown in the first six seconds of the bout and added a second period reversal while remaining strong on top. DeVincenzo battled back to secure a takedown of his own but Lobeck clinched the win with a late takedown and finished with nearly four minutes of riding time.
Randy Cruz closed out the first half of the dual with an impressive 15-0 technical fall over A.J. Vindici. Cruz scored an early takedown and then scored three four-point near falls, before closing out the match with an escape six seconds into the second period. Cruz's 94th career win gave Lehigh a 15-3 lead at intermission.
"Any time you can get bonus points in a dual meet it's huge," Santoro said. "Every match can go either way but if you keep winning them it looks like a blowout, when in reality, there were a lot of good matches. The bonus points did help create some separation."
At 149, senior Laike Gardner yielded the first takedown against Joe Oliva, but battled back for an 11-5 decision. Gardner reversed Oliva in the first period and then tilted Oliva for four early in the second. He clinched the match with a late takedown that got him to exactly one minute of riding time.
Freshman Jordan Kutler and senior Mitch Minotti both made first period takedowns stand in their respective bouts at 157 and 165. Kutler scored an early takedown and added a second period escape plus riding time in a 4-1 decision over May Bethea. Minotti scored an early takedown against Brooks Martino, but Martino rode out the second period and then forced Minotti to survive a late scramble to win 3-1.
"Mitch did a nice job," Santoro said. "(Martino) is a tough kid. It was Mitch's first time out in Grace Hall in a while, but it was good for him to execute the way he does."
Sixth-ranked Preisch was impressive in his major decision win over No. 10 Kent, Preisch's 16th win of the season against just one loss. Preisch tallied takedowns in each period plus a second period escape and nearly two minutes of riding time.
The final bout of the dual went to the Quakers as Joe Heyob won by injury default in 6:53 over freshman Kyle Gentile. It was Gentile who scored the first takedown, but Heyob came back to lead 4-3 late in the third period. Gentile was injured trying to defend a Heyob takedown attempt with Heyob awarded two plus two before Gentile was unable to continue.
Takedowns finished 17-6 in favor of Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks captured their fourth straight victory over the Quakers, who fall to 1-4 in duals and 0-3 against EIWA foes.
"We didn't have a lot of pop tonight but that's in part to the training phase we're in," Santoro said. "Hopefully day two we're a little better, like last weekend, but we need to respond and focus on what we need to do tomorrow."
The Mountain Hawks return to action Saturday afternoon when they welcome No. 10 Cornell to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for the annual Billy Sheridan Memorial Dual. The 2 p.m. match is close to sold out but a limited number of tickets remain at LehighTickets.com.
Results:
197 - Frank Mattiace (Penn) dec. Ben Haas (Lehigh) 5-2
285 - Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Tyler Hall (Penn) 4-0
125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) major dec. Jeremy Schwartz (Penn) 17-6
133 - Joe Lobeck (Lehigh) dec. Tristin DeVincenzo (Penn) 8-3
141 - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) tech fall A.J. Vindici (Penn) 15-0, 3:06
149 - Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. Joe Oliva (Penn) 11-5
157 - Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. May Bethea (Penn) 4-1
165 - Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Brooks Marino (Penn) 3-1
174 - Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) major dec. Casey Kent (Penn) 9-1
184 - Joe Heyob (Penn) injury default Kyle Gentile (Lehigh) 6:53
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