ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior Vito Arujau returned to the lineup, and junior Greg Diakomihalis earned two impressive victories as the #14 Cornell wrestling team began its quest for a 43rd Ivy League title with a pair of dominant performances on Saturday afternoon at the Friedman Wrestling Center.
The Big Red improved to 6-3 in dual action with a 37-6 victory over the Harvard Crimson and a 47-(-1) victory over the Brown Bears, who had a point deducted from their team score due to unsportsmanlike conduct. Only two other teams have finished with negative points against the Big Red in a dual — Boston University in 2005 and Penn in 2014.
Cornell won eight of 10 matches against Harvard, including three by major decision, two by fall and two by technical fall. Against Brown, the Big Red took all 10 matches and recorded its most lopsided dual win since its 50-0 victory over Harvard in January 2019. It was the second time this season that the Big Red beat an opponent by more than 40 points, with the first such victory coming against Sacred Heart (48-3) in November.
Arujau, the 133-pound NCAA champion in 2023, wrestled for the first time since Dec. 18. The three-time All-American beat Coleman Nogle (Harvard) by major decision and Hunter Adrian (Brown) by technical fall.
Diakomihalis took down No. 21 Diego Sotelo (Harvard) by major decision to earn his second collegiate win over an opponent ranked in the top 25. In the Brown dual, he tied Michael Joyce at four in the final minute and won the match 7-4 in the extra frame.
Cornell Notes and Highlights
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The Big Red has won 104 of its last 105 Ivy League duals, including 12 in a row since losing to Princeton in 2020.
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Cornell is 314-53-1 all-time against Ivy League opponents.
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Cornell is 61-9 against Harvard and has won the last 22 duals in the series.
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Cornell is 60-2 against Brown and has won 26 in a row against the Bears.
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Cornell had 15 bonus-point wins in 20 matches over the two duals (four major decisions, six technical falls and five falls).
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Arujau, 81-8 during his career, ranks 10th in Cornell history in winning percentage (.910).
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Arujau has a .953 winning percentage in dual meets, good for seventh all-time.
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Arujau (4-0), senior Chris Foca (184 pounds, 8-0), junior Julian Ramirez (165 pounds, 7-0) and freshman Meyer Shapiro (157 pounds, 8-0) stayed unbeaten in duals this season.
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Senior Lewis Fernandes (285 pounds) won by fall in both of his matches. Sophomore Evan Canoyer won his first dual match of the season
Cornell 37, Harvard 6: Match-by-Match Results (rankings from InterMat.com)
125: Greg Diakomihalis def. No. 21 Diego Sotelo 14-2 by major decision
133: No. 2 Vito Arujau def. Coleman Nogle 13-5 by major decision
141: No. 13 Vince Cornella def. Jaden Pepe by fall
149: No. 28 Ethan Fernandez def. Jack Crook 10-7 by decision
157: No. 12 Meyer Shapiro def. Jimmy Harrington 13-3 by major decision
165: No. 30 Joshua Kim def. Brody Oleksak 11-4 by decision
174: No. 8 Philip Conigliaro def. Colt Barley 14-4 by major decision
184: No. 9 Chris Foca def. Leo Tarantino 19-4 by technical fall
197: No. 8 Jacob Cardenas def. Alex Whitworth 16-1 by technical fall
285: No. 18 Lewis Fernandes def. Jeffrey Crooks by fall
Cornell 47, Brown -1: Match-by-Match Results (rankings from InterMat.com)
125: Diakomihalis def. Michael Joyce 7-4 by decision
133: No. 2 Arujau def. Hunter Adrian 19-4 by technical fall
141: No. 13 Cornella def. Ian Oswalt 11-0 by major decision
149: No. 28 Fernandez def. Sam McMonagle 18-1 by technical fall
157: No. 12 Shapiro def. Blake Saito 18-3 by technical fall
165: No. 2 Julian Ramirez def. Dom Frontino 17-2 by technical fall
174: Evan Canoyer def. Jonathon Conrad 4-1 by decision
184: No. 9 Foca def. Nick Oliveri by fall
197: No. 8 Cardenas def. Jame Araneo by fall
285: No. 18 Fernandes def. Alex Semenenko by fall
Up Next:
The Big Red faces No. 2 Missouri (8-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena.
