F&M Wrestling Vs. McDaniel (Wed., Feb. 2) / At Messiah Open (Sat, Feb. 5)

Last Week

• F&M defeated Gettysburg (44-6) and Sacred Heart (28-13) in a pair of road matchups
• The Diplomats won 16 of the 20 contested bouts, running their season record to 6-1
• F&M is now a perfect 2-0 in EIWA matches after the win at Sacred Heart
• Gio Diaz (125 lbs.), Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Wil Gil (141 lbs.), Chase McCollum (157 lbs.), John Crawford (174 lbs.), James Conway (184 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) all went 2-0 on the week
• Crawford, Conway, and Pelusi recorded bonus points in both of their victories while Phillips had a tech fall at Sacred Heart and received a forfeit at Gettysburg

McDaniel

Wednesday, February 2 (7 p.m.)

Mayser Center

at Messiah Open

Saturday, February 5 (10 a.m.)

Series History

F&M vs. McDaniel

• First meeting: January 26, 1924; F&M won, 24-5
• All-Time: F&M leads series: 12-0
• At F&M: Diplomats are 11-0
• Most recent: January 6, 1998; F&M won 26-19 (also closest match in series history)
• Five of the 12 matches have resulted in F&M shutouts
• McDaniel competes in the Centennial Conference where the majority of F&M's programs compete on the Division III level
• Franklin & Marshall is the only primarily Division III school to compete in Division I wrestling
• The Diplomats have already defeated Centennial Conference foes Ursinus (48-4) and Gettysburg (44-6)

Messiah Open

Tournament History

• F&M will be competing at the Messiah Open for the eighth time in head coach Mike Rogers' 12 seasons (2011, 2012, 2016-pres.)

Past F&M champions

• Jake Bucha '11 (133 lbs.; 2011)
• Robert Ruiz '15 (133 lbs.; 2012)
• Philip Robilotto '19 (2017; unattached at 197 lbs.)
• Cenzo Pelusi '22 (2017; unattached at 285 lbs.)
• Wil Gil '22 (2018; 149 lbs.)
• Parker Fox (2019, 285 lbs.)

F&M place winners on current roster:

• Wil Gil (1st; 2018)
• Cenzo Pelusi (1st; 2017)
• Mike Waszen (3rd; 2020)
• John Crawford (4th; 2020)
• Cristiaan Dailey (6th; 2019)
• Chris Bolletino (7th; 2019)

100 WIN COUNTDOWN

Wil Gil (99-43 career record) was receiving honorable mention in FloWrestling's preseason national rankings and is 19-5 during his senior season

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

Gil is currently tied for third in program history in career wins with Brian "Nip" Brown '80

Gil was previously named the EIWA Wrestler of the Week after starting his season 6-0

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 50-19 record in those bouts
• Wil Gil (141 lbs.) is a perfect 7-0 in dual meets while Pat Phillips (3-0 at 125 lbs.) and Noah Fox (3-0 at 174 lbs.) are also undefeated in dual meets
• F&M has now started 6-1 or better as a team in 18 seasons, but this is the first such occasion since the 1979-80 campaign
• The Diplomats have already secured their first winning season since 2013-14 and can match the highest single-season win total under head coach Mike Rogers win a victory vs. McDaniel
• Gio Diaz is 6-2 since dropping to 125 lbs. and riding a five-match win streak into the week
• Cristiaan Dailey (149 lbs.) had won seven straight matches before his defeat on Sunday vs. NCAA qualifier Nick Palumbo of Sacred Heart
• James Conway (184 lbs.) is 5-0 during the 2022 calendar year
• Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) has won four straight matches entering the week

Double digit wins this season

• Pat Phillips: 13-8 (133 lbs.)
• Wil Gil: 19-5 (141 lbs.)
• Cristiaan Dailey: 10-5 (149 lbs.)
• Chase McCollum: 10-11 (157 lbs.)
• Noah Fox: 12-8 (174 lbs.)
• James Conway: 16-9 (184 lbs.)
• Cenzo Pelusi: 10-5 (285 lbs.)
• Gio Diaz (125 lbs.) can join that group with a win on Wednesday.
• F&M's 10+ win wrestlers include four seniors and three wrestlers making their college debuts (one sophomore, two first-years)
• The Diplomats have a strong balance of experience and youth as six Diplomats have previously competed at the EIWA Championships

McDaniel Notables

• McDaniel is 6-6 this season
• The Green Terror own a 35-7 victory over Gettysburg, but fell 37-16 vs. Ursinus in their common opponents with the Diplomats
• The Green Terror have a young roster with no seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, and five first-years in the projected starting lineup
• Alex LaVeck was named the Centennial Conference Wrestler of the Week on November 16 and also captured the Petrofes Tournament title

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

at Millersville (Rupp Cup)

Friday, February 11 (7 p.m.)