Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Duke
Dragons Set for Saturday Double Header Against Maryland and Duke
11/30/2021 4:30:00 PM | Wrestling
PHILADELPHIA – After a split weekend against a pair of heavyweight Midwest teams, the Drexel wrestling team returns to the east coast for a busy weekend in College Park, Maryland. The Dragons will compete in a double header on Saturday, Dec. 4, against the University of Maryland and Duke. DU has amassed a 1-2 dual record through three contests, including two matchups with ranked opponents.
AMONG THE RANKS
The Dragons enter their fourth weekend of competition with two athletes ranked nationally by InterMat in their respective weight classes. Parker Kropman, Drexel's seasoned starter at 157lbs, cracked the top 33 in the country at 157, ranked #32 overall. The graduate student boasts a 9-3 overall record and 2-1 in dual competition, tied for the most wins on the team.
Kropman is joined amongst the ranks by teammate Mickey O'Malley who is ranked #14 nationally at 174lbs. This is the fourth week in a row that O'Malley has cracked the top 20. The redshirt-junior currently holds the team's strongest record (9-1). O'Malley went undefeated in his first four appearances, only picking up his first loss against No. 16 Dustin Plott from Oklahoma State.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The host Terrapins enter this weekend looking for their first win of the year. Maryland is 0-2 against opponents in dual competition. Maryland started its dual schedule with a home loss to UVA (24-9) on the 12th, followed by a road loss to Pitt (26-7) on the 22nd.
The Terrapins are headlined by their lone ranked wrestler heavyweight, #33 Zach Schrader (26-7).
SCOUTING DUKE
Duke is coming off a strong outing at the Boilermaker Duals, where they battled to a 2-1 record, beating Bellarmine (35-10) and Northern Illinois (25-17). Despite picking up a loss to Purdue, the Blue Devils battled the Boilermakers, capturing 15 points on key victories from Jonah Niesenbaum (285), #7 Matt Finesilver (174) and #13 Josh Finesilver (149). All three wrestlers finished with a 3-0 record on the weekend and improved to nine wins on the season.
In the heavyweight portion of the lineup, Matt Feinstein has been a driving force for Duke, currently undefeated at 174lbs, presently carrying an 11-0 record into this weekend.
THE SERIES
Drexel has had several run-ins with Duke and Maryland previously. The Dragons and the Blue Devils will meet for the sixth time in program history and the 11th time with the Terrapins. Both schools hold the advantage against Drexel, and Duke leads the Dragons 4-1, and Maryland leads 7-3.
The last time the Dragons competed against the Blue Devils was Jan. 31, 2015, and more recently, against the Terrapins on Feb. 18, 2017.
DREXEL PROBABLES
125- Mininno
133- Maroney/Pleasant
141- Donahue
149- G. Onorato / Williams
157- Kropman/Martinak
165- Barczak
174- M. O'Malley
184- McLaughlin/Stillings
197- Morina
285- Anthony
MARYLAND PROBABLES
125- Zach Spence
133- King Sandoval
141- Danny Bertoni
149- Will Berkowitz
157- Lucas Cordio
165- John Martin Best
174- Dom Solis
184- Kyle Cochran
197- Jaron Smith
285- No.33 Zach Schrader
DUKE PROBABLES
125- Logan Agin
133- Drake Doolittle
141- Patrick Rowland
149- #11 Josh Finesilver
157- Wade Unger
165- Brandon LaRue
174- #7 Matt Finesilver / Conor Becker
184- Vincent Baker
197- Kaden Russell
285- Jonah Niesenbaum
DRAGONS ON FLOWRESTLING/NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA
Drexel Wrestling and FloSports have renewed their agreement to provide live and on-demand coverage of all home matches for the 2021-22 season on FloWrestling. In addition, two of the Dragons matchups will receive regional coverage on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The following Drexel home matches will appear on FloWrestling:
Jan. 23 // Bucknell
Feb. 5 // Hofstra &LIU
Feb. 6 // Cornell
The following Drexel home matches will appear on NBC Sports Philadelphia:
Jan. 9 // Oregon State
Feb. 18 // Rider
CONFERENCE LINEUP
The Dragons conference slate will feature seven of the EIWA's 17 member schools.
Jan. 14 // at Brown
Jan. 15 // at Binghamton
Jan. 23 // vs Bucknell
Jan. 30 // at American
Feb. 5 // vs Hofstra & LIU
Feb. 6 // vs Cornell
Feb. 13 // at Penn
THE FINALE
The 118th EIWA tournament is set to be hosted by Cornell University on Saturday, Mar. 5 and Sunday, Mar. 6 in the Newmann Arena at Bartels Hall. The EIWA Championships serve as an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships and is recognized as one of the most competitive conference tournaments in the nation. It's also the largest, with 17 schools competing for the prestigious EIWA team title and numerous automatic berths to the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Tournament will be held Mar. 17-19 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Players Mentioned
