Sports briefs
W&J football schedule released
The Washington & Jefferson College football schedule for 2020 has been released. The 10-game schedule is highlighted by a high-profile opener and two home night games at Cameron Stadium, including one against the defending Presidents’ Athletic Conference champion.
The Presidents are coming off an 8-3 season that included a season-opening victory over nationally ranked Wittenberg and a 17-point comeback win in the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl against Ithaca.
The 2020 schedule features five home games and five road contests. The Presidents open and close the season on the road, leaving no back-to-back travel weeks.
The Presidents open the season Sept. 5 at perennial North Coast Athletic Conference power Wittenberg.
“Wittenberg is one of the top programs in DIII,” W&J head coach Mike Sirianni said. “It helps our strength of schedule numbers, creates excitement, and it shows us how we stack up to top ranked teams.”
The home opener is Sept. 12 against Thiel. It will be Hall of Fame weekend with a 6 p.m. kickoff. It will be the first night game at Cameron Stadium since 2017. The Presidents have won the last 10 games played under the lights at Cameron Stadium.
“Our players love night games,” said Sirianni. “For whatever reason, that gets them more excited. Hopefully, we can get some big crowds to support us for those games.”
Sept. 19 will have the Presidents at Bethany. The Presidents return home Sept. 26 for another night game (7 p.m.) against defending PAC champion Case Western Reserve.
Homecoming is Oct. 3 against Geneva with a 2 p.m. kickoff.
The Presidents will be at Saint Vincent Oct. 10, and after an open date will play at Westminster on Oct. 24. Each of the last five meetings between the Presidents and Titans have been decided by one score.
W&J returns to Cameron Stadium for back-to-back home games. The Presidents host Grove City on Oct. 31 and Senior Day will be Nov. 7 against and Carnegie Mellon. Both games will have 1 p.m. kickoffs.
The regular-season finale will be Nov. 14 at Waynesburg.
“We feel we play one of the tougher schedules in the country,” said Sirianni. “We challenge ourselves in the non-league and the PAC continues to improve. We are looking forward to the challenge.”
Iowa’s Spencer Lee wins Hodge Trophy
Spencer Lee of Iowa has been voted the winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy as the most dominant college wrestler in the nation.
Lee received 52 of a possible 57 first-place votes, WIN magazine announced Monday. The Hodge is considered the top honor in college wrestling.
Lee was 18-0, won his first Big Ten championship and was named conference wrestler of the year. He outscored opponents 234-18 in the 125-pound weight class. He scored bonus points in all but one match and recorded four first-period pins. In January he outscored five opponents 84-1.
Lee is the third Iowa wrestler to win the award since its inception in 1995, joining Mark Ironside in 1998 and Brent Metcalf in 2008.
The Hodge Trophy is voted by a committee of former Hodge winners, media, retired coaches, a representative of each national wrestling organization and fans.
2021 Games set
The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s Games.
Tokyo organizers say the opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021 – almost exactly one year after the games were due to start this year.
The IOC and Japanese organizers last week postponed the Olympics until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s games were scheduled to open on July 24 and close on Aug. 9. But the near exact one-year delay will see the rescheduled closing ceremony on Aug. 8.
There had been talk of switching the Olympics to spring, a move that would coincide with the blooming of Japan’s famous cherry blossoms. But it would also clash with European soccer and North American sports leagues.