LAST ACTION
Matmen Open
- First competition in just over two weeks for the Diplomats
- Wil Gil (141 lbs.) led F&M at the Matmen Open with a 2-2 record, falling just one win short of the medal round in the nationally-acclaimed tournament which took the place of Midlands
- John Crawford also won two matches at 174 lbs
- Gio Diaz (125 lbs.), Chase McCollum (157 lbs.), and Noah Fox (174 lbs.) each won a match at the prestigious event
F&M Probable Lineup
125: Gio Diaz, So. (4-8)
133: Pat Phillips, Fy. (10-7) OR Jack Bruce, Jr. (0-6)
141: Wil Gil, Sr. (15-4)
149: Cristiaan Dailey, Sr. (6-4) OR Nick Tewell, Sr. (3-4)
157: Chase McCollum, Sr. (7-9)
165: Crew Fullerton, Sr. (6-7)
174: John Crawford, So. (5-2)
184: James Conway, Fy. (11-9)
197: Mike Waszen, Sr. (3-8)
285: Cenzo Pelusi, Sr. (6-4)
Davidson Probable Lineup
125: Hale Robinson, Fy. (2-7)
133: Kyle Gorant, Sr. (12-6)
141: Gavin Damasco, So. (7-7) OR Nick Cambria, Fy. (2-2) OR Matt McLaughlin, Fy. (0-0)
149: David Loniewski, Jr. (3-5)
157: Bryce Sanderlin, So. (10-5)
165: Jaden Hardrick, So. (7-8)
174: Steven Newell, Jr. (5-8)
184: Gavin Henry, Jr. (8-7) OR Anthony Spera, So. (1-2)
197: Findlay Holston, Sr. (1-0)
285: Mitchell Trigg, Sr. (10-7)
Series History
F&M vs. Davidson
- First meeting: January 24, 1933; F&M Won 31-3
- All-Time: F&M leads series: 10-4
- At Davidson: Diplomats are 1-1
- F&M has won six straight meetings dating back to 2013
- Most recent matchup: F&M def. Davidson, 22-16 (11/16/2019)
- Last Davidson win: January 7, 2011 (27-15)
- Davidson competes in the Southern Conference (SoCon)
- F&M won its only other match with a SoCon School this year, defeating VMI 24-12 in early December
Undefeated Diplomats
F&M is one of just eight remaining undefeated teams in Division I wrestling and the only EIWA school to accomplish that feat***
Undefeated teams as of January 12
- Franklin & Marshall (4-0) EIWA
- #1 Penn State (10-0) Big Ten
- #2 Iowa (8-0) - Big Ten
- #3 Michigan (4-0) Big Ten
- #4 Oklahoma State (8-0) Big 12
- # 7 Ohio State (5-0) Big Ten
- #9 Wisconsin (6-0) Big Ten
- #15 Illinois (2-0) Big Ten
*** Cal Poly (0-0) & Harvard (0-0) have competed solely in tournaments to date
Rankings are courtesy of Intermat's Dual Team
F&M's 4-0 start matches the best start to a season since the 1991-92 squad got off to a 4-0 start.
The last F&M squad to start a season 5-0 was the 1966-67 team that won eighth straight to start the year and finished with a 9-1-1 record
100 WIN COUNTDOWN
Wil Gil (95-42 career record) was receiving honorable mention in FloWrestling's preseason national rankings and is off to a 14-5 start to his senior season
Gil is a perfect 7-0 against EIWA opponents with victories against Cornell, Penn, Brown, Bucknell, Drexel, Sacred Heart, and LIU
Gil is currently fourth in program history for most career wins, trailing third-place Brian "Nip" Brown '80 by just four victories entering this week
He is currently on pace to become just the third wrestler in program history to reach 100 career wins
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
Davidson Preview
F&M Notables
- The Diplomats have excelled in duals with a 30-9 record in those contested bouts
- Pat Phillips (133 lbs.) and Wil Gil (141 lbs.) are both a perfect 4-0 in dual meets this year
- Cristiaan Dailey (149 lbs.), Noah Fox (174 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) are 3-0 in duals
- Nick Tewell (1-0 at 141 lbs.) and John Crawford (1-0 at 174 lbs.) are also undefeated in duals during limited action
- Seven Diplomats have posted winning records this season, including four of whom are first-years and sophomores: Pat Phillips (Fy. / 133 lbs), Noah Fox (So. / 174 lbs.), John Crawford (So. / 174 lbs.) and James Conway (Fy. / 184 lbs.)
- In addition to new talent in the lineup, the Diplomats have six wrestlers on their roster who have previously competed at the EIWA Championships.
- Of that veteran group, seniors Wil Gil (141 lbs.), Cristiaan Dailey (149 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) all have winning records
- F&M has started 5-0 a total of 13 times in school history and went on to finish undefeated in seven of those seasons
Davidson Notables
- Davidson is 0-5 on the year with no common opponents with F&M
- The Wildcats did compete at F&M's Lehman Open where 2-2 days from both Kyle Gorant (133 lbs.) and Mitchell Trigg (285 lbs.) highlighted the team's action
- Kyle Gorant (133 lbs.) and Gavin Henry (184 lbs.) both placed third at the 2020 SoCon Championships when Davidson last competed in its conference tournament
- There is just one potential rematch from the 2019-20 season based off of the probable lineups. The matchup favors the Diplomats as Cenzo Pelusi was a 9-5 winner against Mitchell Trigg during that previous dual.
Key Upcoming Dates
- Thursday, Jan. 20 – First NCAA Top 33 Coaches Rank in each weight class
- Thursday, Feb. 10 – Second NCAA Top 33 Coaches Rank and First Top 33 RPI
- Thursday, Feb. 23 – Conference tournament allocations and updated coaches and RPI ranks
- Tuesday, March 8 – NCAA.com press release with at-large NCAA championship qualifiers
- Wednesday, March 9 – NCAA.com selection show with brackets and seeding at 6 p.m. ET (final ranks will be posted later that evening or the next day)
W. Roy Phillips '34 Wrestling Coach Mike Rogers
- Entering 12th season as head coach
- Coached eight NCAA Division I qualifiers at F&M, highlighted by 2014 All-American and two-time EIWA Champion Rick Durso '16.
- Led team to 12th-highest GPA in Division I during F&M's last full season.
- Was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Lock Haven, earning All-America accolades twice.
- 1996 Gorrarian Award winner for most pints in the least amount of time at NCAA Division I Championships.
- Previously served as assistant coach at Lock Haven and American in addition to leading the Pennsylvania team to multiple Junior Freestyle Championships.
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
