ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell wrestling team set up next weekend's battles for an Ivy League title by racking up bonus points in a doubleheader sweep of EIWA foes Columbia (31-9) and Navy (34-9) on Saturday afternoon at the Friedman Wrestling Center. Cornell improved to 8-2 (3-0 Ivy, 5-1 EIWA) behind nine bonus point victories, including three wins by fall.
Sophomore
Vito Arujau set the tone against Columbia with a bonus point win over No. 28 Joe Manchio and the hits kept coming. The Big Red led 7-3 after 141 pounds, but two-time NCAA champion
Yianni Diakomihalis pinned his third straight Ivy opponent, squaring off Dan Fongaro midway through the second period. It was the first of two pins on the day giving him four straight over the last two weekends. He upped his win streak to 62 consecutive matches.
Senior
Hunter Richard began his big day with a hard-fought 10-4 win over the Lions' Andrew Garr, then capped it off with a 5-4 triumph over 20th-ranked Andrew Cerniglia of Navy on the strength of consecutive takedowns in the third.
The final four weights all went 2-0 on the day, with
Chris Foca (174),
Jonathan Loew (184),
Jacob Cardenas (197) and
Lewis Fernandes (285) proving victorious in both duals. Cardenas knocked off 27th-ranked Jacob Koser of Navy in the second dual, while both Loew (two major decisions) and Fernandes (a tech fall and a pin) added bonus points in both wins.
The win over Columbia was not only its 35th consecutive against the Lions, but also the 40th straight in duals against teams from New York.
NEXT UP
• The Big Red will hit the road for three EIWA dual meets, beginning with a matchup with defending Ivy champion Princeton on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m.
• Cornell will head to Philadelphia the following day for matches against Penn (1 p.m.) and Drexel (5 p.m.)
#11 Cornell 31, Columbia 9
125: #3
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by major decision over #28 Joe Manchio (Columbia), 12-4
133: #29
Dom LaJoie (Cornell) won by decision over Angelo Rini (Columbia), 4-0
141: #16 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) won by decision over
JJ Wilson (Cornell), 5-3
149: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by fall over Dan Fongaro (Columbia), 4:06
157:
Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by decision over Andrew Garr (Columbia), 10-4
165: #21 Joshua Ogunsanya (Columbia) won by injury default over #9
Julian Ramirez (Cornell), 4:51
174: #13
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by decision over Nick Fine (Columbia), 8-3
184: #15
Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by major decision over Brian Bonino (Columbia), 10-1
197: #19
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over Sam Wustefeld (Columbia), 5-2
285: #17
Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) won by technical fall over Dan Conley (Columbia), 18-0 (2:26)
Additional Matches
133: Boris Witmer (Columbia) won by decision over
Phillip Moomey (Cornell), 9-3
184:
Ethan Hatcher (Cornell) won by decision over Jack McGill (Columbia), 3-1
#11 Cornell 34, Navy 9
125: #3
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by technical fall over Jacob Allen (Navy), 20-5 (7:00)
133: #21 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) won by fall over #29
Dom LaJoie (Cornell), 0:50
141:
Cole Handlovic (Cornell) won by decision over Tyler Hunt (Navy), 9-3
149: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by fall over Jonathan Miranda (Navy), 2:27
157:
Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by decision over #20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), 5-4
165: Val Park (Navy) won by decision over
Adam Santoro (Cornell), 8-3
174: #13
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by major decision over Shane Sosinsky (Navy), 13-3
184: #15
Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by major decision over Hunter Johns (Navy), 12-4
197: #19
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over #27 Jacob Koser (Navy), 9-4
285: #17
Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) won by fall over Riley Smith (Navy), 6:33
ITHACA DUALS
285:
Drew Flynn (Cornell) won by decision over Nicolas Galka (Ithaca), 6-0
