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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall is set to compete at this weekend's Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) DI Championships, hosted by Lehigh University on Friday and Saturday.
The Diplomats enter the Tournament with the goal of automatically qualifying members of their team for the NCAA Championships for the third straight year. F&M will be led by returning place winner Wil Gil (141 pounds) who secured fifth at last year's EIWAs.
EIWA Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 6
Session 1
11:00 AM: Championship First Round
2:15 PM: First Round Consolations
Session 2
6:00 PM: First Round Consolations
Championship Quarterfinals
7:30 PM: Consolation Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 7
Session 3
10:00 AM: Semifinals
11:45 AM: Consolation Semifinals
12:35 PM: 7th-Place Matches
Session 4
2:30 PM: Finals
The Links You Need
Tournament Homepage | Tickets | Video ($) | Live Results
A Look at the EIWA's
This year's 116th EIWA Championships are being hosted by Lehigh University at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. F&M has found success at the tournament throughout its illustrious history, producing 108 place winners and 10 EIWA Champions.
A complete breakdown of each weight class can be found here.
Last season, Lehigh captured its second-straight crown with 153 points, besting second-place Cornell, who notched 139.
EIWA Brackets
Tournament seeds and brackets will be announced following the seeding meeting, which is set to take place on Thursday evening, but will not be finalized until after weigh-ins and will be available here.
2020 EIWA Consensus Preseeds
Wil Gil leads the Diplomat grapplers heading into the weekend as the program's top preseeded competitor. Gil is slated to be the No. 6 seed for the 141-pound bracket. Cole Aaron heads into action as the No. 8 seed for the 157-pound bracket. Preseeds are subject to change by coaches' vote prior to the tournament. To view the current preseeds, click here.
Projected F&M Lineup
125: Jose Diaz (14-17, 8-11 EIWA) | Note: Second EIWA Appearance
133: Jack Bruce (3-13, 2-8 EIWA) | Note: First EIWA Appearance
141: Wil Gil (29-7, 15-4) | Note: Third EIWA Appearance; 2019 NCAA First Alternate
149: Cristiaan Dailey (11-14, 3-11 EIWA) | Note: First EIWA Appearance
157: Cole Aaron (14-10, 9-4 EIWA) | Note: First EIWA Appearance
165: Emmett LiCastri (26-10, 13-6 EIWA | Note: Fourth EIWA Appearance
174: Crew Fullerton (7-15, 5-11 EIWA) | Note: Second EIWA Appearance
184: Reid Robilotto (2-5, 0-5 EIWA) | Note: Second EIWA Appearance
197: Ethan Seeley (12-16, 5-10 EIWA) | Note: First EIWA Appearance
285: Cenzo Pelusi (20-14, 7-8 EIWA) | Note: First EIWA Appearance
NCAA DI Qualifier Allocations
EIWA: 125 (7), 133 (2), 141 (5), 149 (4), 157 (3), 165 (6), 174 (4), 184 (4), 197 (6), 285 (3).
- Note: Wil Gil was one of the five EIWA grapplers at 141 pounds who earned a preallocated qualifying spot for the conference.
Conference Leaders: Big Ten (79) | Big 12 (54) | EIWA (44) | Mid-American (41)
Gil Remains in RPI Rankings
Wil Gil fell one spot to No. 30 in the 141-pound weight class RPI rankings. The RPI is a calculation that considers a wrestler's winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Complete RPI Rankings.
At-Large Announcement
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 44 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on Tuesday, March 10, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11.
At-Large Selection Eligibility (Bronze Standard): Must meet two of the criteria.
- Top 33 Coaches Ranking
- Top 33 RPI Ranking
- .700 Overall Winning Percentage
- .700 Division I Winning Percentage at the Weight Class
- Qualifying event placement one below AQ
- One win against a wrestler receiving AQ via an earned position (pre-allocated)
Last Year's EIWAs
Antonio Pelusi (285 pounds) secured fourth place at the EIWA Tournament last season, snagging one of the 285-pound bracket's four automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament, and leading a group of three Franklin & Marshall grapplers to place at the Conference Championships. In addition to Pelusi's remarkable 3-2 run, Wil Gil (141 pounds) went 4-2 at the Tournament to finish in fifth, while Paddy Quinlan (149 pounds) accumulated a 3-2 record to place seventh. Recap.
Video for EIWAs (Subscription Required)
Every match of the tournament will be available for viewing. Flowrestling, as part of its Flo Pro live streaming programming, is producing the live streams in their entirety.
For those not already subscribed to the Flo Pro service, a monthly subscription costs $12.50, and a yearly subscription costs $150.00. To sign up, click here.
Get Your Tickets
Tickets are still available for the 2020 EIWA Championships, which are hosted by Lehigh.
An all-session pass costs $75.00 and can be purchased here. Tickets for college students, as well as children 12 and under will cost $36 and are available by clicking here.
Tickets for the NCAA DI Wrestling Championships in Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium on March 19-21 are available for purchase as well by clicking here.
Moving up the Wins Chart
Emmett LiCastri (165 pounds) and Wil Gil (141 pounds) both surpassed the 50-win plateau this season. Gil has tallied a team-best 29-7 mark during his junior year and currently holds a 76-36 overall record, which places him 11th on the all-time wins list. He is just two victories shy of entering the program's top-10 single-season wins list.
LiCastri enters the week with 26 victories during his senior campaign and holds a 70-59 career record. He is now tied for 14th place on the Diplomats' all-time list.
Put a Pin in it
With five pins on the year, senior captain Emmett LiCastri is up to 21 in his career. He became one of only 15 F&M wrestlers to record 20 falls in his career and is just two shy of reaching the top-10.
Gil is up to seven pins on the year and is quickly approaching the 20-falls plateau as well with 16 for his career.
Ending a Streak
The Diplomats 21-19 stunner of Brown on Jan. 19th marked the program's first win in the series since the 1964-65 season, breaking a 24-match winless streak against the Bears. The victory snapped F&M's second-longest losing streak against an opponent, second only to Army.
Home Mat Advantage
Five Diplomats placed in the top-eight at the 2020 David H. Lehman F&M Open on Jan. 4th – good for the most-ever for the program at their home tournament.
Wil Gil, Noah Chan, and Emmett LiCastri led the way with third-place showings. Mike Waszen followed in sixth and Cenzo Pelusi tied for eighth.
Important Dates
Friday, Jan. 24 – first release of NCAA Coaches' rank
Thursday, Feb. 13 – second release of NCAA coaches' rank/first release of RPI rankings
Thursday, Feb. 27 – conference allocations for NCAA championships, third release of NCAA coaches' rank/RPI
Tuesday, March 10 – Release the 330 qualifiers for the Division I Wrestling Championships
Wednesday, March 11 – 6:00 PM - NCAA.com selection show that reveals seeding and brackets for championships
Thursday, March 19-21 - 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship - U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
