Billed as a matchup between two of the nation's elite wrestling programs, Lehigh showed ASU it still has some work to do.
The Sun Devils (3-1, 1-0) received their first setback of the season Thursday night, dropping a 29-7 dual in Bethlehem, Pa., to eighth-ranked Lehigh.
Lehigh (4-1) won eight of the 10 bouts. The Sun Devils' only victories came on the first and last matches of the evening when senior Jeremy Mendoza (125 pounds) led off with a 2-0 decision, and heavyweight Cain Velasquez scored a 14-4 major decision in the final bout.
The biggest upset came at 197 pounds as No. 10 Ryan Bader lost to Lehigh's Matt Cassidy 7-6 on a late third-period takedown.
The Sun Devils remain in Pennsylvania this weekend to compete in the East Stroudsburg Open, scheduled for Saturday.
East Stroudsburg is an open tournament, attracting schools from around the East Coast.
"It's a good open and a different variation of wrestling than we're used to," coach Thom Ortiz said. "East Coast wrestlers are tough, hard-nosed kids who like to wrestle more on the mat, where West Coast wrestlers are more focused on their feet."
The different style of wrestling is nothing new to junior 157-pounder Kevin Gaughan, who transferred to ASU from Virginia's James Madison.
"I'm from the East Coast, so I'm familiar with that type of wrestling," he said. "It's a real grind it out, more in-your-face type of wrestling."
Some of the teams expected to compete are Harvard, Hofstra, James Madison and Columbia.
Reach the reporter at derrik.miller@asu.edu.
