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BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – The Lehigh wrestling team has long waited for the mats to return and the three-time EIWA Mountain Hawks defending champion now has a schedule that provides the framework for the brown and whites to resume competition in 2021.
The 2021 slate contains eight confirmed double meetings, including six at the Leeman-Turner Arena in Grace Hall. Six of the eight confirmed duals will compete against EIWA opponents. There is the possibility of a ninth duel against an EIWA opponent if the schools find an amicable date.
Lehigh will be back in action on Saturday January 2nd when the Mountain Hawks host Hofstra. The Mountain Hawks last wrestled with the Pride at the 2014-15 season opener, a one-two for Lehigh 27-9.
Over the next two weekends, both Lehigh road duals for 2021 will take place: a visit to the domestic enemy, Pittsburgh on January 9, and a trip to the Navy on January 16.
The rest of the dual schedule is done at home. Lehigh will see Drexel on Sunday January 24th and welcome Binghamton to Grace Hall on Saturday January 30th.
February begins with a visit to Army West Point on February 6, before Rider arrives in town the following afternoon.
The double season ends with a home date on February 14th with Bucknell.
The 117th EIWA Championship will take place a week earlier than normal in 2021 and is expected to be held on Friday, February 26th, in a one-day format in a neutral location. Cornell was originally supposed to host the 2021 conference tournament, but the Big Red and other EIWA members from the Ivy League will not compete this season, as will EIWA member Franklin & Marshall.
The NCAA championships remain as originally planned for the Enterprise Center in St. Louis March 18-20.
Due to current public health guidelines in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regarding large venues and congregation size restrictions, spectators are not permitted to attend Lehigh wrestling matches at the Leeman-Turner Arena in Grace Hall. Lehigh Athletics is proud to announce that Wrestling Fan Cutouts are available for purchase, presented by PSECU. These fan clippings will be available soon.
However, from January there will be plenty of opportunities to follow the Mountain Hawks on the mats. Lehigh Athletics continues its longstanding partnership with Service Electric Cable TV, the largest cable operator in the region. All six home duals are currently to be broadcast locally in the recently renamed Service Electric Network (SEN). For fans outside of the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh is partnering with website provider SIDEARM Sports to deliver FREE streaming video of all six home duals on Lehighsports.com via Mountain Hawks All-Access. To access streaming videos for Lehigh Wrestling Duals, visit Lehighsports.com/watch.
Audio coverage for select duals will again be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 and 94.7 FM Allentown and LVFoxSports.com, with a schedule to be determined.
As with almost everything in 2020, the contest and broadcast schedules may change.
The three-time defending champion Mountain Hawks is returning six of his EIWA tournament participants from a year ago. Lehigh went into duals 12-3 last year and qualified nine wrestlers for the NCAA championships before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the national tournament to be canceled.
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