The first four weights in Lehigh's lineup all went 2-0 on the day as did senior Nathaniel Brown at 184 and both Mountain Hawk heavyweights picked up victories as well.
With the wins, Lehigh improves to 6-1 overall and 2-0 against EIWA opponents.
"The difference between the first and second match was that we stayed intense the whole time," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "Princeton has a really good team. They had a couple starters out of their lineup which made a difference but our guys wrestled really hard in that match"
The Rider match began with a forfeit to sophomore Darian Cruz at 125 before Lehigh won the first three contested bouts to take a 16-0 lead after 149.
Senior Mason Beckman returned to action with a 6-0 decision over Zach Valcarce at 133, while junior Randy Cruz followed with the first of his two bonus wins on the day, a 14-2 major decision over Paul Kirchner at 141. Cruz led 2-0 after one and broke the bout open with a reversal and two four-point near falls in the second period.
Junior Laike Gardner delivered the biggest upset of the day for Lehigh, knocking off returning All-American B.J. Clagon 9-7 at 149. Gardner trailed 2-1 in the first period when he used a modified cement mixer to score a takedown and four point near fall to go up 7-2. Escapes in the second and third periods provided cushion to hold off the 12th-ranked Bronc.
Rider picked things up with three straight victories by a combined four points. At 157 Chad Walsh forced overtime with a late third period takedown and went on to upset junior Mitch Minotti 8-7 in the tiebreakers. Walsh tilted Minotti for two points in the first half of the tiebreaker before Minotti reversed, but a Walsh escape in the second half proved to be the difference.
The Broncs' Conor Brennan moved to 9-0 on the season with a 6-5 win over freshman Ryan Preisch at 165. Wayne Stinson made it three straight for the home team with a 5-3 win over junior Elliot Riddick.
Brown put Lehigh back on track with his first pin of the season. He built an 8-0 lead before using arm bars to pin Steven Nelson at 2:03.
Rider posted another close win at 197 as Ryan Wolfe edged senior John Bolich 3-1 but senior Max Wessell closed the dual with an impressive 12-3 major decision win over Mauro Correnti.
In its second dual of the day against Princeton, Lehigh won the first eight bouts, with two pins and a major decision, while taking advantage of the Tigers missing a pair of nationally-ranked starters.
Darian Cruz started the dual with a 3-1 win over Pat D'Arcy before Beckman posted his first bonus win of the season, a 15-5 major decision over Trey Aslanian.
At 141, Randy Cruz met Jordan Laster in a rematch of last year's EIWA finals. Laster scored the opening takedown to go up 2-0 but Cruz reversed Laster into a cradle late in the first period and secured the fall with just two seconds remaining.
"He just kept wrestling," Santoro said. "Randy is never out of a match. He needs to move his feet more. Laster is really good on his feet but we have to get more leg attacks ourselves. We can't wait for a guy to shoot on you because that can be trouble."
Wins by decision from Gardner, Minotti and Preisch extended Lehigh's lead to 22-0.
Riddick bounced back from the earlier loss with a win by fall over Nick Maselli at 174. The bout was tied at 1-1 early in the third period before Riddick opened up with a pair of takedowns. A third takedown saw Riddick work Maselli to his back to record the fall in 6:16.
Brown picked up his second win of the day, edging Abram Ayala in a matchup of top-15 ranked wrestlers at 184. Brown rode out the second period and was given a third period escape to account for the scoring, which put Lehigh up 31-0 in the dual.
Princeton's lone win came at 197 as Brett Harner used a first period takedown to edge Bolich 3-1.
Junior Doug Vollaro made his season debut a day earlier than expected after Wessell suffered a cut near his eye in his match against Correnti earlier in the day. Matched up against Ray O'Donnell, the bout went into sudden victory, where O'Donnell initiated a throw attempt but Vollaro ended up on top for the winning score in a 3-1 decision.
"We've been close to having some outstanding performances as a full team, but we're not quite there yet," Santoro said. "As I said a few weeks ago, there's another level to this team, another gear we haven't hit yet. We have to keep plugging away. Now we're starting to get on legs but we're not finishing legs. Before we weren't even doing that so its one step at a time."
The Mountain Hawks will now break for final exams and will close out 2015 when they travel to Norman, Okla. to face the No. 7-ranked Sooners on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. (ET). The match will be broadcast on WLVR (91.3 FM).
No. 12 Lehigh 26, Rider 12
125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) won by forfeit
133 - Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Zach Valcarce (Rider) 6-0
141 - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) major dec. Paul Kirchner (Rider) 14-2
149 - Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. B.J. Clagon (Rider) 9-7
157 - Chad Walsh (Rider) dec. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 8-7, tb
165 - Conor Brennan (Rider) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 6-5
174 - Wayne Stinson (Rider) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 5-3
184 - Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) Fall Steven Nelson (Rider) 2:03
197 - Ryan Wolfe (Rider) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 5-3
285 - Max Wessell (Lehigh) major dec. Mauro Correnti (Rider) 12-3
No. 12 Lehigh 34, Princeton 3
125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Pat D'Arcy (Princeton) 3-1
133 - Mason Beckman (Lehigh) major dec. Trey Aslanian (Princeton) 15-5
141 - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Jordan Laster (Princeton) 2:58
149 - Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. Mike D'Angelo (Princeton) 6-3
157 - Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Francesco Fabozzi (Princeton) 4-2
165 - Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Judd Ziegler (Princeton) 9-4
174 - Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) Fall Nick Maselli (Princeton) 6:16
184 - Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Abram Ayala (Princeton) 2-0
197 - Brett Harner (Princeton) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 3-1
285 - Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Ray O'Donnell (Princeton) 3-1, sv
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