January 6, 2007 - Burlington County Times - Wrestling Wrapup / By: PHIL CHAPPINE

Umbehauer, Miller join forces again

By PHIL CHAPPINE
Burlington County Times

Doug Umbehauer and Dave Miller were wrestling teammates for one year at Lenape High School. They're together again this season at Rider University.

Umbehauer has followed up a strong freshman season with a solid sophomore year to date. He finished second in the 174-pound bracket in the Midlands Championships at Northwestern University, probably the top holiday tournament in the country. Umbehauer was the first Rider finalist there since 1998.

Miller is back for his senior year after sitting out last season with an injury. He is 6-4 this season and 51-22 in three years at Rider. That followed a 10-9 freshman campaign at North Carolina State, after which he transferred to Rider and sat out the 2002-03 season.

Umbehauer reached the Midlands final with a 5-3 decision over the No. 1 seed (who is ranked third in the country at 174), then lost a 6-4 overtime decision to the fifth-ranked 174-pounder. His finish paced Rider to 13th place among 50 teams.

Earlier this season, he won his bracket in the Keystone Classic at Penn and was sixth in the Cliff Keen Tournament, another national-level event. Umbehauer is 12-6 this season, 32-14 in his career and has risen to 13th in the national rankings. He was an NCAA qualifier last March after placing second at 174 in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

Miller, a two-time NCAA qualifier in his time at Rider, began the season ranked 15th in the nation at 157. He placed second in the Keystone Classic.

He and Umbehauer go back a long way. In the 2000-01 high school season, Miller was a senior and wrapped up a 138-5 career with his second straight state title. Umbehauer was a freshman who looked like he would soon join the list of Lenape greats (he was state runner-up as a senior in 2004).

Also in the Rider wrestling room is freshman Mike Darling, a Moorestown graduate slated for backup duty in the 174/184 range. The Broncs' season resumed yesterday with a match against Bloomsburg (Pa.).

Phil Chappine is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times. E-mail him at pchappine@phillyBurbs.com.