2007-08 Outlook
2007-08 Rider University Wrestling Outlook
With the return of six wrestlers who have competed at the NCAA National Championship Tournament, the 2007-08 Broncs will take on the toughest schedule in the illustrious history of the sport at Rider. “This is by far the most challenging schedule in the history of Rider wrestling,” said Rider Head Coach Gary Taylor, who’s 330 wins is second most among active NCAA Division I coaches. “We feel that we have the individuals to handle this type of competition. It will certainly prepare them to be All-Americans and possibly win a National Championship.”
Last season Rider took six wrestlers to Nationals and came home with its 12th All-American in the last 27 years. The Broncs are looking to do more of the same this year.
The returnees are led by six National qualifiers: senior 141/149 Don Fisch, junior 184 Doug Umbehauer, senior 197 TJ Morrison, junior 133 Zac Cunliffe, junior 157 Mike Kessler and sophomore 174 Mike Miller.
Fisch finished his junior season fifth in the nation at the NCAA Championships to become Rider’s 12th All-American. “In my opinion Donnie is as good as anybody in the country and is training hard for a national championship,” Taylor said. “He was two seconds away from being in the finals last year. He led the entire match in the semi-finals over the number one seed.”
Umbehauer was a CAA Champion at 174 and placed second at the prestigious Midlands Tournament last season and moves up to 184 this year, beginning the season ranked 12th. “Doug was probably our most successful wrestler in the first half of last season and impressed a lot of people at Midlands,” Taylor said. “He has already beaten some of the top kids in the country and we expect him to do that again.”
TJ Morrison is a three-time National qualifier and begins the season ranked 11th in the nation after winning a pair of bouts at the 2007 Nationals. “TJ won some matches over some big-time people at Nationals and has improved a lot in every area since last year,” Taylor said. “Having been to Nationals three times, he has been able to focus more this year, knowing this is his last run. This should by far be TJ’s best year.”
Cunliffe was a CAA champion and National qualifier in 2006, but red-shirted last season with a knee injury and begins this season ranked second in the CAA. “Zac is very strong for his weight and very tough on top,” Taylor said, “and he is very explosive. He can score a lot of points in a short amount of time.”
Kessler was the CAA runner-up as a sophomore and made his second trip to Nationals last year with a record of 21-11.
Miller finished runner-up at the CAAs last year and took a 24-13 record to Nationals as a freshman.
Two transfers will also play major roles this season, junior 165 Jason Lapham and junior heavyweight Ed Bordas.
Lapham transferred to Rider from Penn State. “Jason is a kid with a lot of ability,” Taylor said. “We expect big things out of him. This should be his break-out year. He beat some very good people at Penn State and was going to be a starter for them until an injury.”
Bordas transferred from a CAA team and therefore, due to league rules, was forced to sit out two years. “He’ll come right in and start for us,” Taylor said, “once the first semester ends.” Bordas was 6-3 at Binghamton but one of those wins was against the CAA heavyweight champion. In high school he was a New York State Champion.
Other key Broncs this year include sophomores Robbie Morrison and Tom Lorenzo, junior Peter Reid, and freshmen Mitch Fenton, Joe Ferber, Aaron Nester, Dustin Renelt and Fred Rodgers.
Rob Morrison was named to the CAA All-Rookie team last year. “Robbie is vastly improved over last year and is still getting better,” Taylor said. “He has good genes and is very competitive. We expect him to wrestle at 157, down from 165 last year.”
Reid placed sixth at the Keystone Classic last season. “Peter has gotten bigger, strong, better,” Taylor said. “TJ might seem some action at heavyweight but if TJ is at 197, Peter will battle Bordas for the heavyweight.”
Darling red-shirted last season. “Mike is developing and will have a heck of a baptism with Missouri and Iowa State coming in to start the season,” Taylor said.
Ferber was second in Section XI and was a two-time League One Champion, but was injured his senior year at Sachem High. “Joe has a bright future,” Taylor said. “He is better than he showed in high school. He’s talented and strong.”
Nester was twice a Pennsylvania State runner-up and also placed third one year at Reynolds High. “Nester is an outstanding competitor,” Taylor said. “If Fisch wrestles at 141, Nester is our 149.”
Renelt came to Rider from nearby Steinert High School and was a three-time State qualifier. “Dustin is a local kid who we felt could be a diamond in the rough,” Taylor said. “He’s strong and explosive, a quick athlete who has the potential to become good.”
Rodgers red-shirted last season after being a Pennsylvania State runner-up at Boyertown High. “Fred is a competitive wrestler who will fight for time at 141 or 149, depending on where Fisch is,” Taylor said. “He’s hard worker.”
The schedule features home meets with Missouri, Iowa State, Purdue and Nebraska. “Our reputation has been good on the national level for a few years now,” Taylor said. “We’ve earned the respect of some of the top teams in the nation and they realize we have some good kids who can give them a battle.”
Rider will once again take part in the Keystone Classic at Penn, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Open and the prestigious Midlands Championships in Illinois. Other non-conference dual meets are with Clarion and Rutgers at home, and at Bloomsburg.
In the Colonial Athletic Association, Rider will host Drexel and compete at Old Dominion, Boston University and Sacred Heart, and at the CAA Duals, hosted by George Mason.
“Hofstra is ranked seventh in the nation and they are the team to beat, but we are still going to try to challenge for the CAA Championship,” Taylor said. “It would have to happen that other people besides Rider wrestlers would have to knock off some Hofstra kids. Old Dominion and Drexel have good teams coming back and will also be fighting for that top spot.”
The CAA Championships will be held March 7-8 at Hofstra. The CAA will send 23 wrestlers to the 2008 Nationals, held March 20-22 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Broncs plan on being among those 23.
