“I’ve always told our guys that to get to the top you have to compete against the best,” said Santoro who begins his third season as head coach. “That’s what this schedule does. Right out of the chute we’re facing teams like Pitt, Penn State and Michigan plus Virginia, Missouri and George Mason at the Northeast Duals. We’re facing a number of top-15 teams in the first five weeks of the season.”
Santoro continued, “We have some young guys and some guys with experience, but very early on we’ll find out where we are and what we need to be working on to get ready for the postseason. The postseason is always going to be the focus for our program and this schedule that we’ve put together should prepare our team well for March. ”
The 102nd season of Lehigh wrestling begins with the annual wrestle-offs, scheduled for Thursday, October 28 inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The dual season begins on Friday November 5, when the Drexel Dragons come to town. Lehigh has won 90 percent of its duals (39-4-1) in Pat Santoro’s first two seasons as head coach.
The following weekend brings a pair of tough tests against long-time in-state rivals. On Friday November 12, Santoro will square off against his alma mater when the Mountain Hawks face Pittsburgh. Two days later, Lehigh will face Penn State at Rec Hall in the 99th meeting between the longtime rivals.
As a prelude to the Lehigh-Lafayette football game on November 20, the Mountain Hawks will face rival Michigan on Friday November 19 in the first of two duals this season slated for Stabler Arena. Lehigh and Michigan will be wrestling a dual meet for the 34th straight season, with the Mountain Hawks having won the last two duals.
For the fourth straight year, Lehigh will spend Thanksgiving weekend in the capital region of New York as the Mountain Hawks will take part in the Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y. on November 27. Lehigh will wrestle three duals on the day beginning with NCAA 15th-place finisher Virginia and tenth-place finisher Missouri before wrapping up against George Mason.
In March, Bucknell will host the EIWA Championship for the first time. Lehigh will get a preview of Lewisburg when the Mountain Hawks face Bucknell on Friday December 3. The final dual of the fall semester will be Sunday, December 12 when Lehigh hosts Central Michigan at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
After breaking for final exams and the holidays in December, action will pick up once again on December 29 and 30 when Lehigh heads to Evanston, Illinois for the Midland’s Championships, hosted by Northwestern. Last year Lehigh made its first Midlands appearance since 2004 and the Mountain Hawks came away with a school-record six place-winners.
Lehigh will usher in 2011 with its fourth straight appearance at the Virginia Duals, January 7-8 at the Hampton Coliseum. The Mountain Hawks have posted back-to-back second place finishes at the Duals, losing to Central Michigan in 2009 and Oklahoma State in 2010.
The Mountain Hawks will follow up their Virginia Duals appearance by facing two of their oldest rivals. On January 15, Lehigh travels to Annapolis, Maryland to face Navy and then on Thursday January 20, the Mountain Hawks will welcome four-time defending EIWA Champion and NCAA runner-up Cornell to Stabler Arena. Lehigh and Cornell staged a memorable dual last year in Ithaca, N.Y. with the Mountain Hawks winning the final three weight classes to earn a 15-15 tie.
The next weekend will be a busy one for the Brown and White. Lehigh heads to Blacksburg, Virginia to meet the Hokies of Virginia Tech on January 28. Two days later its back home to Leeman-Turner Arena as the Mountain Hawks host EIWA rivals Harvard and Brown.
Lehigh’s three February duals will all be against EIWA opponents. The Mountain Hawks will host American on Sunday February 6 at Grace Hall. Following a weekend off, Lehigh will visit upstart Rutgers on Thursday the 17th before wrapping up the dual season against Penn inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on February 20.
Bucknell will host the 107th EIWA Championships at Sojka Pavilion on March 5 and 6, while the NCAA Championships will be in Philadelphia at the newly renamed Wells Fargo Center (formerly Wachovia Center) March 17-19.
“We’re excited to have the NCAAs in Philadelphia,” Santoro explained. “It’s great for east coast wrestling. There are a very high percentage of schools that will be within driving distance. Not having to travel as far will certainly be helpful for our team. I know the fans are excited about it and our wrestlers are excited too.”
The Mountain Hawks return four NCAA qualifiers including EIWA Champion and All-American Zach Rey for the 2010-11 season.
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