Cornell, Rutgers and Princeton among featured wrestling programs in fifth annual ‘Grapple at the Garden’

New York, NY — After hosting its first NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship in March, Madison Square Garden announced today it is set to welcome the fifth annual ‘Grapple at The Garden’ dual meet, featuring some of the nation’s top programs, on Sunday, November 27. A total of 20 colleges and universities, including eight Division I programs led by two top 20 NCAA 2016 national tournament finishers -- Cornell (No.7), Rutgers (No.15) along with other local competitors Hofstra, Princeton, and Columbia -- will all compete in this college wrestling showcase.


Tickets, priced at $20.00, $35.00 and $55.00, go on sale Saturday, October 8 at 11:00 am and can be purchased online at www.thegarden.com, all Ticketmaster locations and the Madison Square Garden box office.


The annual ‘Grapple at The Garden’, which has become a staple on the college wrestling calendar, will once again bring together the largest group of college programs, including eight Division I, one Division II, and seven Division III institutions, featuring Cornell, Maryland, George Mason, Buffalo, Muhlenberg, SUNY Oswego, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, and Wilkes University, as well as local programs Hofstra, Mount Saint Vincent, Columbia, New York University, Princeton, Rutgers, United States Merchant Marine Academy, LIU Post and Stevens Institute. In addition, the club teams from Stony Brook University and SUNY Farmingdale will also be participating.


Last March, Madison Square Garden successfully hosted its first-ever NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship, which drew over 110,000 fans to the three-day event and saw Cornell’s Gabe Dean win the 184lb National Championship. Dean returns to The World’s Most Famous Arena for the ‘Grapple at The Garden’ along with other NCAA Championship participants Dalton Macri (Cornell), Jordan Laster (Princeton), Joseph Galasso (Cornell), Dylan Palacio (Cornell), Tyrel White (Columbia), Jonathan Schledifer (Princeton), Brian Realbuto (Cornell), Owen Scott (Cornell), Ray O’Donnell (Princeton), Mike Hughes (Hofstra), Jeramy Sweany (Cornell), Brett Harner (Princeton) and Garrett Ryan (Columbia). Additionally, Rutgers University returns seven wrestlers who participated in the NCAA Championships including: Big 10 Champion Anthony Ashnault, Sean McCabe, Anthony Giraldo, Tyson Dippery, Richie Lewis, Phil Bakuckas and Nicholas Gravina. Lastly, Buffalo, who will make their ‘Grapple at The Garden’ debut, will feature NCAA Championship wrestlers Colt Cotten and Joe Ariola.


‘The Grapple at The Garden’ will also feature the second annual New York vs. New Jersey High School All-Star meet for Metropolitan bragging rights and for the first time a Nassau County vs. Suffolk County All-Star High School meet will take to The Garden mats.


The full day of wrestling on November 27 will feature three collegiate sessions with the first starting at 8:30 a.m. with Mt. St. Vincent (D3) v. SUNY Farmingdale (club), NYU (D3) v. Johns Hopkins (D3), Mt. St. Vincent (D3) v. Stony Brook (club) along with High School Metro Finals, Nassau All-Stars vs. Suffolk All-Stars and two youth mats. Session two begins at 10:30 a.m. and will include Cornell v. Hofstra, Columbia v. Rutgers, Princeton v. Maryland, Buffalo v. GMU, Wilkes (D3) v. USMMA (D3), Stevens (D3) v. Oswego (D3), Muhlenberg (D3) v. NYU (D3) Hopkins (D3) v. Pitt-Johnstown (D2). Session three starts at 12:30 p.m. and will showcase Cornell v. Rutgers, Hofstra v. GMU, Maryland v. Columbia, Buffalo v. Princeton, Stevens (D3) v. Wilkes (D3), Muhlenberg (D3) v. Oswego (D3), LIU Post (D2) v. Pitt-Johnstown (D2) and NY All-Star (HS) v. NJ All-Star (HS).

About The Madison Square Garden Company
The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) is a world leader in live sports and entertainment that presents or hosts a broad array of world-class events – including concerts, sporting events, family shows and special events – in an unparalleled mix of celebrated venues that span four of the nation’s largest entertainment markets. Those venues are: New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; the Forum in Inglewood, CA; The Chicago Theatre; and the Wang Theatre in Boston. In addition, MSG has a diverse collection of properties that includes some of the most widely-recognized sports franchises: the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL) and the New York Liberty (WNBA), along with two development league teams -- the Westchester Knicks (NBADL) and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). The Company also features popular original entertainment productions -- the Christmas Spectacular and New York Spectacular – both starring the Radio City Rockettes, and through Boston Calling Events, produces outdoor festivals, including New England’s premier Boston Calling Music Festival. More information is available at www.themadisonsquaregardencompany.com