F&M Wrestling Vs. Millersville (Friday, February 11; 7 p.m.) - RUPP CUP

Last Week

• F&M won all nine contested bouts during a 44-6 victory vs. McDaniel, improving to 7-1 on the year
• The win tied F&M for its highest dual win total under head coach Mike Rogers with two duals remaining on the schedule
• The Diplomats put up bonus points in seven of their nine victories, including pins from Cristiaan Dailey (149 lbs.), James Conway (184 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.)
• Gio Diaz (125 lbs.), Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Wil Gil (141 lbs.) and Chase McCollum (157 lbs.) added technical falls to the victory
• With his technical fall, Gil became just the third wrestler in program history, and second under head coach Mike Rogers, to reach the 100 win milestone.
• Franklin & Marshall also sent a small contingent of wrestlers to the Messiah Open where Noah Fox (174 lbs.) and Mike Waszen (197 lbs.) both captured the first individual titles of their collegiate careers

Millersville

Friday, February 11 (7 p.m.)

Pucillo Gymnasium (Millersville, Pa.)

Series History

F&M vs. Millersville

• First meeting: 1993-94 season; F&M won 28-19
• All-Time: Millersville leads 16-12
• At Millersville: F&M: Diplomats are 6-8
• Most recent: February 13, 2020; F&M won 23-10
• The Diplomats have won eight of the nine meetings under head coach Mike Rogers
• Millersville's last victory in the series came on February 13, 2019 when the Marauders won on criteria, 22-21
• This Rupp Cup was first presented in honor of Lancaster County's wrestling patriarch Ted Rupp during the 2008 season
• F&M leads the Rupp Cup series by a 9-4 margin

Rupp Cup

• The Franklin & Marshall Diplomats and the Millersville Marauders meet annually for the battle of the Rupp Cup in honor of Lancaster County’s wrestling patriarch, Ted Rupp.
• A student at the F&M Academy and Franklin & Marshall, Rupp maintained strong ties to both his alma mater and Millersville University.
• In 1948-49, Rupp coached both Millersville and F&M, finishing with a 20-2 combined record.
• That is believed to have been the only time in collegiate wrestling history when one man coached two colleges concurrently.
• In 1950-51 when F&M head coach Austin Bishop was recalled to the Pentagon for military service, Rupp took over the Diplomats' program on a temporary volunteer basis while maintaining his position with Millersville.
• In spite of difficulties, he earned a conference title at Millersville (10-0) and a 10-1 dual meet record at Franklin & Marshall, with the lone loss coming to Lehigh University, for a combined 20-1 record.
• He also assisted Roy Phillips with F&M coaching duties in 1961-62 when his regular assistant was called back to military service.
• In his retirement, Rupp continued to support the Diplomats' wrestling program. In 1995, he agreed to spearhead a fundraising drive to endow the Franklin & Marshall coaching position.
• Rupp graduated from Franklin & Marshall as a member of the Class of 1935 and started his teaching career at the F&M Academy in 1935 where he also coached wrestling, guiding the teams to four consecutive national prep-school championships.
• After the Academy closed in 1943, he taught for a year in Pittsburgh and spent two years as a Naval Officer in WW II before teaching at Millersville for 36 years
• Rupp started the wrestling program at Millersville and also served as a professor in French and Spanish, retiring from that position in 1979
• At Millersville, Rupp posted an 71-18-2 record (.791 winning ratio) in 11 season from 1946 to 1952, including the only conference titles in program history
• In 1995, Rupp was inducted into the inaugural class of the Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame and remains one of just a few non-Millersville graduates selected.
• Rupp was also inducted into the following halls of fame: Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches (1975), PSAC Wrestling Coaches (1983), Franklin & Marshall College (1990), and the Pennsylvania/Susquehanna Valley Chapter (1992)
• He received the prestigious George Kirchner Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to Lancaster County sports in 1984 and received a Lifetime Service Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999.
• Rupp was additionally a PIAA Certified High School official for 50 years.
• In honor of his distinguished service to both institutions, the Rupp Cup is now awarded to the winner of the annual meeting.

Most Individual Victories in the Rupp Cup

Four-time winners

• Andrew Murano (F&M) (2011-14)
• Robert Ruiz (F&M) (2012-15)
• Rick Durso (F&M) (2012-14, 16)

Three-time winners

• Jake Bucha (F&M) (2008, 10-11)
• Mike Greck (MVILLE) (2008-09, 11)
• Rob King (F&M) (2013, 15, 17)
• Anthony Mancini (F&M) (2015-17)
• Paddy Quinlan (F&M) (2015, 17, 19)
• Antonio Pelusi (F&M) (2016, 18-19)
• Evan Morrill (MVILLE) (2018-20)

Milestone Met

Wil Gil (100-43 career record) achieved his 100th career win with a technical fall against McDaniel on Wednesday, February 2

Gil was receiving honorable mention in FloWrestling's preseason national rankings and is 20-5 during his senior season

F&M's senior captain has won at least 20 matches during each of his four seasons wrestling for the Diplomats, achieving a career-best 31 wins during the 2020 season

He is 9-1 against EIWA opponents with victories against Army, Cornell, Penn, Brown, Bucknell, Drexel, Sacred Heart (2x), and LIU

Gil is the third wrestler in program history to reach the 100 win milestone, joining All-Americans Rick Durso '16 (145-38 career record) and Craig Blackman '81 (111-31-2 career record)

Gil is a two-time EIWA place winner and was the alternate to the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships

Weekly Notables

F&M Notables

• The Diplomats have excelled in duals with a 59-19 record in those bouts, a .756 winning percentage
• Wil Gil (141 lbs.) is a perfect 8-0 in dual meets
• Gio Diaz (4-0 at 125 lbs.), Pat Phillips (7-0 at 133 lbs.), and Noah Fox (4-0 at 174 lbs.) are also undefeated in dual meets
• Cristiaan Dailey (6-1 at 149 lbs.), Chase McCollum (6-2 at 157 lbs.), John Crawford (3-1 at 174 lbs.), James Conway (7-1 at 184 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (6-1 at 285 lbs.) all have winning records in dual meet action
• F&M has started its season 7-1 just 16 times in school history. This is the first such occassion since the the 1966-67 season
• Only 13 wrestling teams in school history held a record of 8-1 or better after nine duals, a feat the Diplomats can accomplish with a win on Friday night
• The Diplomats have already secured their first winning season since 2013-14 and have matched the highest single-season win total under head coach Mike Rogers
• F&M has a strong balance of experience and youth as six Diplomats have previously competed at the EIWA Championships

Individual Winning Streaks (3+)

• Gio Diaz - 6 straight (7-2 since dropping to 125 lbs.)
• James Conway - 6 straight (undefeated in 2022)
• Noah Fox - 5 straight (all coming last week)
• Cenzo Pelusi - 5 straight (8-1 in last nine matches)
• Mike Waszen - 4 straight (all coming last week)
• Pat Phillips - 3 straight (7-2 since December 2020)
• Wil Gil - 3 straight (including two tech falls)
• Chase McCollum 3 straight (including two tech falls)

Double digit wins this season

• Gio Diaz: 10-8 (125/133 lbs.)
• Pat Phillips: 14-8 (133 lbs.)
• Wil Gil: 20-5 (141 lbs.)
• Cristiaan Dailey: 11-5 (149 lbs.)
• Chase McCollum: 11-11 (157 lbs.)
• Noah Fox: 18-8 (174 lbs.)
• James Conway: 17-9 (184 lbs.)
• Cenzo Pelusi: 11-5 (285 lbs.)
• Mike Waszen can join that group with a win on Friday
• F&M's 10+ win wrestlers include four seniors and four wrestlers making their collegiate debuts this season (two sophomores, two first-years)

Millersville Notables

• Millersville is 4-7, 1-5 PSAC and looking to snap a six-match losing streak after falling on criteria during their most recent dual
• Four of those recent defeats have come to nationally-ranked Division II programs
• The Diplomats and Marauders have no common dual opponents this season
• F&M is 3-2 in head-to-head individual bouts with Millersville on the season, with Nick Tewell, Chris Hisey, and Harrison Shapiro earning victories
• Anthony Yacovetti (10-2 at 174 lbs.) is ranked #15 in the latest Intermat DII national rankings
• Yacovetti placed fourth overall at the David H. Lehman F&M Open in January
• The Marauders also have wrestlers with winning records at 133 lbs. (Devin Flannery; 12-4), 165 lbs. (Brandon Connor; 14-9 & Guy DeLeonardis; 19-12), and 285 lbs. (Bishop McCoy; 13-11)
• There are no projected rematches from F&M's most recent 23-10 victory over Millersville during the 2020 season, but Wil Gil (141 lbs.), Cristiaan Dailey (149 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) were all victorious in the most recent Rupp Cup

Assistant Coach Steve Borja

• Entering ninth season at Franklin & Marshall
• Previously served as an assistant coach at Millersville University and Manheim Central High School
• Graduated from Virginia Tech in 2008 where he was a two-time first-team All-CC wrestler who was ranked as high as fourth in the country during the 2007 season

UP NEXT

vs. Hofstra (Senior Day)

Sunday, February 20 (2 p.m.)