Saturday, February 11
Ithaca, NY
3:00 PM
Princeton University
12
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21
Cornell
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Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Quick Start, Close Wins Propel Cornell Past Princeton 21-12 In Ivy Championship Showdown
February 11, 2017 | Wrestling
The Princeton wrestling team proved in its first four Ivy League matches that it was the top challenger to Cornell's historic reign atop the conference.Cornell showed in the fifth that it wasn't quite ready to relinquish its place.
After defeating its first four Ivy opponents by a combined score of 93-17, Princeton went into the Friedman Wrestling Center looking to hand Cornell its first league loss in 76 matches. It hoped for a quick start, but it was the ninth-ranked Big Red that took control from the opener. Cornell won the first five individual matches of the day, including an upset for Ben Honis over All-American Brett Harner at 197, en route to a 21-12 victory to clinch the program's 15th straight Ivy League championship.
The first period of the entire match set the tone for the Big Red. A blind draw selected 157 as the starting point, and Princeton sophomore Mike D'Angelo came close to an early takedown in the opening seconds, but Taylor Simaz
fought it off. The Cornell veteran followed with two takedowns of his own, and then added four back points, to open an 8-1 lead to close the first period. D'Angelo had the only two takedowns the rest of the way — one in each period — but he couldn't make up the difference and dropped an 8-5 decision.
That sent Cornell into the heart of its lineup, and the Big Red took care of business. Following a decision at 165, former NCAA finalist Brian Realbuto posted a 22-13 major over Jonathan Schleifer, and two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean followed with a technical fall at 184 to open a 15-0 lead.
Princeton was still alive in the dual, but Honis dealt a major blow to the upset hopes by scoring the final two takedowns in an 8-7 comeback win over Harner. The Tiger senior and reigning EIWA champion led 5-3 in the third, but Honis caught momentum with a takedown, and he scored the final one with less than 30 seconds remaining to secure the win.
The Tigers needed a clean sweep in the final five matches to have a realistic chance, and senior heavyweight Ray O'Donnell gave them a chance with an 8-1 win. He scored three takedowns and nearly pulled out a major decision, but his victory gave Princeton hope moving back to 125 for the final four matches.
Princeton's Ty Agaisse, who entered Saturday on a five-match win streak, scored the first takedown against Noah Baughman, but he was unable to secure a second one at the edge of the mat late in the second period. That would come back to hurt, as Baughman forced a tie in the third period and then got around Agaisse about 40 seconds into overtime to claim a 6-4 sudden-victory win.
Though that match all but clinched the title, Princeton showed the fight that has helped it get to this position in the league. Sophomore Patrick D'Arcy, in one of the best performances of his young career, used a pair of takedowns to shut out 20th-ranked Mark Grey for a 6-0 win, his first win over a ranked opponent in six attempts this season. Freshman Matthew Kolodzik followed with a 5-3 win over Will Koll at 141, marking the 22nd win of his brilliant freshman season.
Senior Jordan Laster, a two-time NCAA qualifier, all but clinched first-team All-Ivy League honors with an early offensive showing against Joey Galasso. Laster fired off the first three takedowns and finished his Ivy career with a 9-5 win.
Princeton will wrestle two more dual matches this week (at Rider Thursday, at Franklin & Marshall Friday) before turning its attention on the 2017 EIWA Championships, which will be held the first weekend of March at Bucknell.
CORNELL 21, PRINCETON 12
157 – Taylor Simaz (C) dec. Mike D'Angelo 8-5
165 – Brandon Womack (C) dec. Matthew Gancayco 5-0
174 – #3 Brian Realbuto (C) mdec. Jonathan Schleifer 22-13
184 – #1 Gabe Dean (C) TF Ian Baker 21-5
197 - Ben Honis (C) dec. #10 Brett Harner 7-6
285 - #17 Ray O'Donnell (P) dec. Craig Scott 8-1
125 – Noah Baughman (C) dec. Ty Agaisse 6-4
133 – Patrick D'Arcy (P) dec. #20 Mark Grey 6-0
141 - #4 Matthew Kolodzik (P) dec. Will Koll 5-3
149 – #17 Jordan Laster (P) dec. Joey Galasso (C) 9-5
After defeating its first four Ivy opponents by a combined score of 93-17, Princeton went into the Friedman Wrestling Center looking to hand Cornell its first league loss in 76 matches. It hoped for a quick start, but it was the ninth-ranked Big Red that took control from the opener. Cornell won the first five individual matches of the day, including an upset for Ben Honis over All-American Brett Harner at 197, en route to a 21-12 victory to clinch the program's 15th straight Ivy League championship.
The first period of the entire match set the tone for the Big Red. A blind draw selected 157 as the starting point, and Princeton sophomore Mike D'Angelo came close to an early takedown in the opening seconds, but Taylor Simaz
fought it off. The Cornell veteran followed with two takedowns of his own, and then added four back points, to open an 8-1 lead to close the first period. D'Angelo had the only two takedowns the rest of the way — one in each period — but he couldn't make up the difference and dropped an 8-5 decision.
That sent Cornell into the heart of its lineup, and the Big Red took care of business. Following a decision at 165, former NCAA finalist Brian Realbuto posted a 22-13 major over Jonathan Schleifer, and two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean followed with a technical fall at 184 to open a 15-0 lead.
Princeton was still alive in the dual, but Honis dealt a major blow to the upset hopes by scoring the final two takedowns in an 8-7 comeback win over Harner. The Tiger senior and reigning EIWA champion led 5-3 in the third, but Honis caught momentum with a takedown, and he scored the final one with less than 30 seconds remaining to secure the win.
The Tigers needed a clean sweep in the final five matches to have a realistic chance, and senior heavyweight Ray O'Donnell gave them a chance with an 8-1 win. He scored three takedowns and nearly pulled out a major decision, but his victory gave Princeton hope moving back to 125 for the final four matches.
Princeton's Ty Agaisse, who entered Saturday on a five-match win streak, scored the first takedown against Noah Baughman, but he was unable to secure a second one at the edge of the mat late in the second period. That would come back to hurt, as Baughman forced a tie in the third period and then got around Agaisse about 40 seconds into overtime to claim a 6-4 sudden-victory win.
Though that match all but clinched the title, Princeton showed the fight that has helped it get to this position in the league. Sophomore Patrick D'Arcy, in one of the best performances of his young career, used a pair of takedowns to shut out 20th-ranked Mark Grey for a 6-0 win, his first win over a ranked opponent in six attempts this season. Freshman Matthew Kolodzik followed with a 5-3 win over Will Koll at 141, marking the 22nd win of his brilliant freshman season.
Senior Jordan Laster, a two-time NCAA qualifier, all but clinched first-team All-Ivy League honors with an early offensive showing against Joey Galasso. Laster fired off the first three takedowns and finished his Ivy career with a 9-5 win.
Princeton will wrestle two more dual matches this week (at Rider Thursday, at Franklin & Marshall Friday) before turning its attention on the 2017 EIWA Championships, which will be held the first weekend of March at Bucknell.
CORNELL 21, PRINCETON 12
157 – Taylor Simaz (C) dec. Mike D'Angelo 8-5
165 – Brandon Womack (C) dec. Matthew Gancayco 5-0
174 – #3 Brian Realbuto (C) mdec. Jonathan Schleifer 22-13
184 – #1 Gabe Dean (C) TF Ian Baker 21-5
197 - Ben Honis (C) dec. #10 Brett Harner 7-6
285 - #17 Ray O'Donnell (P) dec. Craig Scott 8-1
125 – Noah Baughman (C) dec. Ty Agaisse 6-4
133 – Patrick D'Arcy (P) dec. #20 Mark Grey 6-0
141 - #4 Matthew Kolodzik (P) dec. Will Koll 5-3
149 – #17 Jordan Laster (P) dec. Joey Galasso (C) 9-5
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