ITHACA, N.Y. — Columbia Wrestling (2-7, 2-5 EIWA, 0-3 IVY) knocked off Navy (3-4, 1-3 EIWA), snapping a five-dual losing streak, before falling to hosting No. 11 Cornell (8-2, 5-1 EIWA, 3-0 IVY) splitting a Saturday afternoon dual doubleheader at the Friedman Wrestling Center.
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Columbia's win over Navy was the first in program history, in what was the 23rd all-time meeting and first since 2008. In the opening dual of the day, the Lions got wins from No. 28
Joe Manchio (125),
Angelo Rini (133), No. 16
Matt Kazimir (141),
Dominic Rossetti (149), No. 21
Joshua Ogunsanya (165) and a dual winning victory at 184 pounds from
Brian Bonino.
Both Kazimir and Ogunsanya scored major decisions to give Columbia the bonus points they needed to hold off Navy. In the dual against Cornell, Kazimir got a win via decision at 141 pounds and Ogunsanya collected a win over No. 9 Julian Ramirez, via medical forfeit at 165 pounds.Â
"Overall the weekend was full of emotional highs and lows," said Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling
Zach Tanelli.  "We are showing that we have a high ceiling, but what I think this squad needs to focus on is raising our floor. Our highs are high, and our lows are low, so what we need to focus on heading into February is to be more consistent.Â
"We'll make the adjustments we need against our next top-25 opponent in Pitt, and because we got exposed a bit we have a ton of great feedback to work on. I'm proud of these guys, as I always am.
"I was really excited by some of the individual performances, as we got a bunch of ranked wins this weekend and it makes myself and the staff excited about the trajectory we are on as we head into the final months of the season. We will continue to improve as we work to peak in March."
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Kazimir's two wins on the day extends his season record to 16-3, while Rini added yet another win over a ranked opponent, beating No. 21 Josh Koderhandt. Rini had beaten Binghamton's No. 30 Anthony Sobotker the previous night (Jan. 28) and the win over Koderhandt gave Rini back-to-back ranked wins over the weekend.
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HOW IT HAPPENED (NAVY): Columbia arrived ready to go and snagged wins at the first four weight classes to open the dual and set the standard for the final six bouts in the match. The dual opened at 125 pounds where Manchio beat Jacob Allen with a sudden victory 3-1 win.
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Manchio did not waste time, shooting and scoring the takedown he needed to win early in the opening sudden victory period and the win got Columbia off to a 3-0 start. At 133 pounds, Rini got his shot at back-to-back wins over a ranked opponent, and the Lion first-year delivered with an 11-8 decision over Koderhandt.
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The two opening wins via decision gave the Lions an early 6-0 lead in the dual.
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Columbia's first bonus points in the dual came at 141 pounds when Kazimir worked an 11-3 major decision over Tyler Hunt. Midway through the third period, Kazimir gained control of the bout and scored a handful of back points to lock up important bonus points, putting the score at 10-0.
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In the bout at 149 pounds, Rossetti earned a 2-0 decision over Jonathan Miranda, using an escape in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. The Lion first-year picked top to start the third period and proceeded to ride out Miranda to lock up ridding time and a well-earned 2-0 win.
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With Columbia up 13-0,
Andrew Garr faced No. 20 Andrew Cerniglia at 157 pounds, where Cerniglia won via decision, 12-7. But during the match, where Garr battled hard to avoid giving up bonus points, Navy's bench was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct call costing them a team point, meaning the win only gave Navy two points instead of three putting the score at 13-2 after five bouts.
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The Lions got back in the win column with more bonus points at 165 pounds when Ogunsanya steamed to a 13-5 major decision over Val Park, extending Columbia's lead to 17-2 with the final four matches remaining.
"Against Binghamton, I think that because we weren't aggressive enough we didn't open up the dual when we could, and it cost us that match," said Tanelli. "But against Navy, I thought we did the complete opposite. We opened up that dual when we needed to, and were aggressive on the mat against a really solid Navy team."
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In what was arguably the most competitive bout of the dual,
Nick Fine fell via decision to Cael Crebs at 174 pounds. It took everything Crebs had to hold off Fine, who after not being able to score at the buzzer slammed the mat in frustration as the loss allowed Navy to slightly cut into Columbia's lead at 17-5.
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At 184 pounds, Columbia locked up the dual victory, as Bonino recorded the first win over a ranked opponent in the senior captain's career with a 5-3 decision over No. 29 David Key. The win put the score at 20-5, sealing the win for the Lions regardless of the outcome over the final two bouts.
"Because we were aggressive we got wins in six matches, giving us a great result," said Tanelli. "We have to continue to fight for and not give up bonus points and I think the guys bought into that for the Navy match, as we brought a higher level of intensity overall then we did against Binghamton."
Navy would get wins in the final two matches, as at 197 pounds No. 27 Jacob Koser beat
Joe Franzese via fall (4:33) and Ryan Catka won over
Danny Conley via major decision, 16-4, at 285 pounds. But the Lions had already accomplished what they need to get the win, as the match finished 20-15 in Columbia's favor.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED (CORNELL): Columbia's wins against No. 11 Cornell came at 141 pounds and 165 pounds from Kazimir and Ogunsanya respectively. Ogunsanya got his win over No. 9 Ramirez due to a medical forfeit when a knock early in the match for Ramirez eventually led to him withdrawing late in the second period.
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Kazimir's win came over JJ Wilson, via a 5-3 decision. Late in the match, Kazimir lead 3-2, and used a late two-point score on a scramble to pad his lead to 5-2 eventually ending with the decision.
Cornell used wins at 125, 133, 149, 157, 174, 184, 197 and 285 pounds to collect the 31-9 win over the Lions in what was Columbia's third match in less than 24 hours.
COLUMBIA 20, NAVY 15*
Ithaca, N.Y. (Friedman Wrestling Center)
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125 | No. 28
Joe Manchio (COL) def. Jacob Allen (NAVY) SV 3-1
133 |
Angelo Rini (COL) def. No. 21 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) dec. 11-8
141 | No. 16
Matt Kazimir (COL) def. Tyler Hunt (NAVY) maj. 11-3
149 |
Dominic Rossetti (COL) def. Jonathan Miranda (NAVY) dec. 2-0
157 | No. 20 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) def.
Andrew Garr (COL) dec. 12-7*
165 | No. 21
Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. Val Park (NAVY) maj. 13-5
174 | Cael Crebs (NAVY) def.
Nick Fine (COL) dec. 3-2
184 |
Brian Bonino (COL) def. No. 29 David Key (NAVY) dec. 5-3
197 | No. 27 Jacob Koser (NAVY) def.
Joe Franzese (COL) F (4:33)
285 | Ryan Catka (NAVY) def.
Danny Conley (COL) maj. 16-4
*Navy deducted a team point (unsportsmanlike conduct - bench)
EXHIBITION MATCHES:
157 |
Cesar Alvan (COL) def. George Ruiz (NAVY) dec. 8-5
184 | Hunter Johns (NAVY) def.
Jack McGill (COL) dec. 6-5
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NO. 11 CORNELL 31, COLUMBIA 9
Ithaca, N.Y. (Friedman Wrestling Center)
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125 | No. 3 Vito Arujau (COR) def. No. 28
Joe Manchio (COL) maj. 12-4
133 | No. 29 Dom LaJoie (COR) def.
Angelo Rini (COL) dec. 4-0
141 | No. 16
Matt Kazimir (COL) def. JJ Wilson (COR) dec. 5-3
149 | No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (COR) def.
Danny Fongaro (COL) F (4:06)
157 | Hunter Richard (COR) def.
Andrew Garr (COL) dec. 10-4
165 | No. 21
Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. No. 9 Julian Ramirez (COR) M For
174 | No. 13 Chris Foca (COR) def.
Nick Fine (COL) dec. 8-3
184 | No. 15 Jonathan Loew (COR) def.
Brian Bonino (COL) maj. 10-1
197 | No. 19 Jacob Cardenas (COR) def.
Sam Wustefeld (COL) dec. 5-2
285 | No. 17 Lewis Fernandes (COR) def.
Danny Conley (COL) TF 18-0
EXHIBITION MATCHES:
133 |
Zack Witmer (COL) def. Phillip Moomey (COR) dec. 9-3
184 | Ethan Hatcher (COR) def.
Jack McGill (COL) def. 3-1
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NEXT UP: The Lions are set for one match next weekend, when they again hit the road on Sunday, Feb. 6, and head to western Pennsylvania to face No. 19 Pitt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a 1 p.m. dual meet.
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FOLLOWING THE LIONS:Â Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsWR), Instagram (@culionswr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
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