ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell senior
Yianni Diakomihalis won his 100th career match and bonus points allowed the sixth-ranked Big Red to top No. 20 Lehigh 18-15 on Saturday evening at a sold-out Friedman Wrestling Center. The Big Red improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Mountain Hawks slipped to 4-6.
Diakomihalis dominated from the start against Drew Munch, with his escape seconds into the third period ending the match after securing three takedowns, two full sets of back points and an escape over the first two periods to build a 15-1 lead. The victory makes him the 26th wrestler in school history to reach that milestone, and his 100-2 record (.980) is just short of Dave Auble's mark (51-1, .981). His two bonus points allowed Cornell some breathing room as it won four of the first five matches to take a 15-3 edge into intermission.
While neither team had a full lineup, Cornell did not wrestle four starters
Two key wins for the Big Red came by way of
Cole Handlovic at 157, knocking off 25th-ranked 149-pounder Max Brignola by a 2-0 margin, and 125-pounder
Brett Ungar's overtime victory over Jaret Lane. Those two wins ultimately allowed Cornell to snap its three-game skid against its EIWA rival.
Cornell also earned wins from a pair of top 10 wrestlers, with seventh-ranked
Julian Ramirez earning a major decision victory at 165, and fourth-ranked
Chris Foca knocking off Jake Logan 9-5 at 174.
The dual win was the fourth of the year over a ranked foe and was the last lead-in to Ivy competition. The Big Red will hit the road to face Brown (12 p.m.) and Harvard (6 p.m.) on Saturday, Jan. 21. The contests will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Gallery: (1-14-2023) Wrestling vs Lehigh, 01.14.23
#6 Cornell 18, #20 Lehigh 15
141: Malyke Hines (Lehigh) won by decision over #13
Vince Cornella (Cornell), 4-2
149: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by technical fall over Drew Munch (Lehigh), 16-1 (5:03)
157:
Cole Handlovic (Cornell) won by decision over #25 (149) Max Brignola (Lehigh), 2-0
165: #7
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by major decision over Luca Frinzi (Lehigh), 13-2
174: #4
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by decision over Jake Logan (Lehigh), 9-5
184: #20 Tate Samuelson (Lehigh) won by decision over
Ethan Hatcher (Cornell), 6-1
197: #3 Michael Beard (Lehigh) won by decision over #17
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 6-2
285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) won by decision over
Brendan Furman (Cornell), 9-3
125: #18
Brett Ungar (Cornell) won by decision over Jaret Lane (Lehigh), 3-1 (sv1)
133: #7 Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) won by decision over
Ethan Fernandez (Cornell), 4-0
