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Bob Lombardo

Wrestling takes the mats for EIWA Championships on Saturday

| By: Sydney Harbaugh (sharbau1@binghamto.edu)

Bearcats set to battle for NCAA bids; tournament to take place March 3-4

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Binghamton wrestling team heads to Hofstra's Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex for the 2018 EIWA Championships, which will begin on Saturday, March 3. At the 114th edition of the tournament, wrestlers from 16 teams look to punch their ticket to Cleveland, OH for their chance to wrestle at the 2018 NCAA Championships.

Schedule of Events 
 
Saturday, March 3 Sunday, March 4
Session I 11 AM: Championship 1st Round Session III 10 AM: Semifinals
2:15 PM: 1st Round Wrestlebacks 11:45 AM: Wrestleback Semifinals
Session II 6 PM: Championship Quarterfinals 12:35 PM: 7th Place Matches
7:30 PM: Wrestleback Quarterfinals Session IV 3 PM: 1st, 3rd & 5th Place Matches

Where to Watch

Fans unable to attend the championships can watch live via FloWrestling.

A Year Ago

Bearcat wrestling made program history last season at the 2017 EIWA Championships, placing eight out of 10 wrestlers and finishing eighth out of 16 teams. Binghamton scored a total of 66 team points at the tournament, which was also a program high. No. 13 Steven Schneider earned his second consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with a 4th place finish at 184 pounds.

This Year's Lineup

A Bearcat squad that has made a splash in the rankings over the course of the season will take the mat's Saturday morning with seven new faces from last year's starting lineup. 125-pounder Joe Nelson, 133-pounder Jacob Nicholson, 141-pounder Joe Russ, 149-pounder Frankie Garcia, 165-pounder Vincent DePrez, 197-pounder Alex Melikian and heavyweight Sean Dee look to place at the tournament for the first time in their career.

Returners from last year's lineup include No. 13 Schneider, redshirt sophomore Tristan Rifanburg and redshirt junior Anthony Lombardo. Schneider heads into this weekend aiming to place in his fourth consecutive EIWA tournament and earn his third consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships. 157-pounder Rifanburg and 174-pounder Lombardo each earned an eighth place finish at their respective weights at the 2017 championships.

Spotlights

Nelson finished the regular season ranked at No. 27 on the updated RPI list with a 22-9 overall record and a 10-5 dual mark.

Garcia earned a top-33 ranking in the final NCAA Coaches Poll of the season, finishing with a 24-10 overall record and a 13-4 mark in duals.

Schneider stayed consistent with a No. 14 spot on the final NCAA Coaches Poll and RPI rankings. In the national spotlight, the senior is ranked at No. 13/14 on TrackWrestling and FloWrestling, respectively. Schneider finished the dual portion of the season riding a 12-match win streak to fuel a 12-1 dual record and a 16-4 overall mark.

DePrez did double duty with final rankings, coming in at No. 29 in the NCAA Coaches Poll and sitting at No. 22 in the updated RPI. The redshirt junior finished the regular season 23-8, recording a team-high 15 bonus point wins. DePrez finished the dual portion of the schedule with a 14-3 mark, leading the Bearcats with 59 team points over the course of the season.

EIWA Pre-seeds

On Thursday, March 1, the EIWA announced the pre-seeds for the tournament. The top 10-11 wrestlers in each weight class were ranked during the pre-seeding, with the Coaches meeting on Friday afternoon determining the full seeding. Eight out of 10 Binghamton wrestlers made the seeding list below:

125 - No. 5 Joe Nelson
133 - No. 8 Jake Nicholson
141 - No. 6 Joe Russ
149 - No. 10 Frankie Garcia
157 - No. 12 Tristan Rifanburg
165 -  No. 6 Vincent DePrez
174 - No. 8 Anthony Lombardo
184 - No. 3 Steven Schneider

NCAA Bids for EIWA
Below are the qualifier allocations given out by the NCAA on Feb. 23 to the EIWA conference. A total of 47 spots, the second highest behind the B1G, are up for grabs this weekend.
 
WT 125 133 141 149 157 165 174 184 197 HWT
Bids 1 3 4 4 6 6 5 7 6 5

We encourage you to follow along with us on twitter and instagram this weekend for live updates and behind the scenes championship experience. Keep up with our Facebook page for live interviews and tournament updates. 

 
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