The American University wrestling team is set to compete in the 105th EIWA Championships this Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7, at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. The tournament will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and will conclude with the championship round at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Expectations are high for the Eagles at this year's tournament, as they enter the meet with several wrestlers featured in the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings respective weight classes and the team projected to finish in third place.

Team Ranking (Projected Team Points at EIWA Championships)
1. Cornell (116)
2. Lehigh (97)
3. American (69)
4. Bucknell (64)
5. Navy (59)
6. Rutgers (57)
7. Penn (52)
8. Army (36)
*Team projections are from WrestlingReport.com EIWA Rankings as of 2/22.

American Lineup
125: #20/18 Jasen Borshoff, Sr., 19-6
133: Thomas Williams, So., 20-14
141: Jordan Lipp, Sr., 18-15
149: #10/10 Kyle Borshoff, Sr., 20-3
157: #3/1 Steve Fittery, Jr., 26-1
165: Tanner Shaffer, Fr., 6-23
174: Phillip Barreiro, Fr., 5-14
184: #5/10 Mike Cannon, Sr., 22-1
197: Daniel Mitchell, Fr., 3-3
HWT: Mingo Grant, Sr., 15-7
* The individual rankings used are from the NCAA Division I Coaches' Panel Rankings and RPI rankings, respectively, which were released on 2/23.

How To Watch
The 2010 EIWA Championships will be broadcast live via streaming video on LehighSports.com. Coverage of the tournament will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will run throughout the duration of the competition.  The finals of the tournament will be re-broadcast nationally by Fox College Sports Atlantic on March 9 at 8:00 p.m.  Live results will also be available through Lehigh's website by clicking here.

What to Watch For
American is currently projected to finish third at the tournament, which would give the Eagles its highest finish ever in the Championships.  The team's previous best finish is sixth overall, which the team has accomplished in each of the last three years.  Senior Mike Cannon won the EIWA Championship last year at 174 lbs. and will now look to do the same at 184 lbs.  Cannon enters the meet with an overall record of 22-1 on the season and has won 11 straight matches.  Junior Steve Fittery comes into the meet as one of the favorites at 157 lbs.  The 2009 Midlands "Champion of Champions" is 26-1 on the 2009-10 season and has yet to lose to an EIWA opponent.  Senior Kyle Borshoff will look to capture his first EIWA crown at 149 lbs. after finishing in third-place last year. K. Borshoff enters the meet with a 20-3 record on the season and has won 12 of his last 14 matches.  In addition, Jasen Borshoff will look to improve upon his sixth-place finish at 133 lbs. last year.  This year, wrestling at 125 lbs., J. Borshoff is 19-6 and is unbeaten against EIWA opponents.

NCAA Qualifying
The EIWA Championships will serve as American's qualifying tournament into the NCAA Championships.  This year, a total of 41 automatic qualifiers have been allocated to the EIWA, which is the second most among all conferences behind only the Big Ten.  Each weight class has been assigned a specific number of automatic qualifiers based upon each individual's performance throughout the year including Div. I winning percentage, RPI and coaches rankings. 46 at-large qualifiers will be chosen after all qualifying tournaments have been completed and will be announced on March 10. The NCAA Div. I Wrestling Committee will meet in person to determine the 46 at-large qualifiers.

Schedule of Events
The 2010 EIWA Championships will take place in four sessions.  Session start times are as follows:
Sessions 1 and 2 - Saturday, March 6, 10:00 AM (Semifinals at approximately 3:30 PM)
Session 3 - Sunday, March 7, 10:00 AM (Consolation semis, place finals)
Session 4 - Sunday, March 7, 3:00 PM (Championship finals)