Princeton @ Lehigh

Lehigh topped Princeton 31-6 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA on February 17, 2024, cruising to a 25-point dual meet victory in front of the home crowd. The Mountain Hawks turned a handful of high-impact matches into the margin of victory, using bonus-point wins to separate themselves from the Tigers.

Three bonus performances were the deciding factor. At 141 pounds Malyke Hines delivered a major decision, beating Tyler Vazquez 18-5 to award Lehigh four team points. The biggest single swing came at 197 pounds when Michael Beard closed his bout against Anthony Moscatello via technical fall, 19-4, a five-point bonus that put significant distance between the teams. The heavyweight match also swung Lehigh’s way, as Nathan Taylor downed Matthew Cover 15-4 by major decision for another four bonus points. Those three bonus results accounted for the bulk of Lehigh’s scoring and left Princeton with limited opportunities to counter.

Princeton managed only six team points overall and could not overcome Lehigh’s string of bonus victories. The combination of a tech fall and two majors showcased Lehigh’s ability to convert key matchups into extra-point advantages, and that collection of bonus scores proved to be the clear turning point in the dual.