OT: Wrestling

Cornell is wrestling four matches today in the Lone Star Duals. This morning they beat Eastern Michigan, 31-9, and, according to the Duals web site, this afternoon they beat #4 Oklahoma, 22-15. There are no details yet posted on the Oklahoma match, so I hope they don't have the team scores reversed. Still to come are matches with Fullerton and Nebraska.

If you haven't been following the team, they have three wrestlers, sophomore Travis Lee at 125, freshman Dustin Manotti at 149, and senior Clint Wattenberg at 184, who have legitimate shots at being NCAA champions.

[Edit: Wattenberg beat Oklahoma's Josh Lambrecht, ranked #1, 6-3, in today's match.]

Manotti (a frosh) and Lee (a soph and a returning All-American) both won their weight classes last week at the Midlands tournament at Northwestern. We have a very good team again.

The win over Oklahoma must have been sweet for Coach Rob Koll. Oklahoma head coach Jack Spates left Cornell to take the Oklahoma job; Koll was his assistant at Cornell before taking the top job.

Thanks for the update, Al. I wouldn't have seen this until Monday.

Oklahoma's #2-ranked heavyweight didn't wrestle today. Don't know why. Might have changed the outcome. Great win, nonetheless.

32-6 win over Fullerton.

Nebraska match starts at 8--Texas time, I presume.

Al, I didn't know you watched wrestling. Did you watch CU when you were a student? My fondest memory was my freshman year, spring '64, watching the Easterns at CU. My older brother went to Lehigh, so he got me started.

I really enjoy wrestling, Jim. Remember Jim Nance at those Easterns? Unreal.

I've been out of touch with college wrestling for awhile but just read that Dan Gable made a stop in NJ here today on his tour promoting the sport. Read in that article that SU's program... speaking of Nance...was a casualty of Title IX changes.

Syracuse U without wrestling? That sounds unbelievable. Did SU and Cornell have an annual dual match in the past?

Just to wrap up, Cornell beat Nebraska 20-12, and went undefeated at the Lone Star Duals. Lee was named low-weight-class wrestler at the tournament, and Wattenberg was named high-weight class wrestler. Wattenberg was also named conference (EIWA) wrestler of the week.

Rich S said [Q]Did SU and Cornell have an annual dual match in the past?
[/Q] Yes, they did and they were always fun to go to. [Q]Read in that article that SU's program... speaking of Nance...was a casualty of Title IX changes.
[/Q] Actually I think it was as much, if not more so, money than gender. They would have kept the team if the team could have come up with something like $2 million to endow the program. And they talk about how much the big time football and basketball programs help the athletic department. Give me a break, maybe the coaches and administrators, but I don't know about the students.

Jim, check the women's sports section of your Cornellian. There's exactly one page in mine on women's sports. We have come a long way.

The W.I.N. rankings, released yesterday, now have Cornell at #4, behind Oklahoma State, Iowa, and Minnesota. Lee and Wattenberg are both #2, Manotti #5.

[www.collegewrestling.iptv.org]

Wow. We moved up to #6 in the latest NWCA rankings.

Al, no question that we don't respect woman's athletics as much as we (they) should, but I was just refering to the fact that big time programs in "revenue" sports don't necessarily use that money for the overall good of athletics, men or women.

Agree. Too many people today moan about the effects of Title IX. Few remember how inequitable things were back in our day.

Midlands Tournament is on Fox Sports Chicago now (tape-delayed, of course) and again Monday at 1pm.

Is NWCA National Duals this weekend a "tournament" set up? The Cornell site seems to indicate that we don't know who our opponents are going to be after the first round, but it does list seedings.

[Edit] Nevermind. Answered my own question. It is a tournament set up. Double-elimination. Cornell, the #4 team in the country, is also the #4 seed in the tournament. #1 Oklahoma State, #2 Iowa and #3 Minnesota are all participating.

Apparently this tournament was set up 10-15 years ago to determine a national "dual meet" champion, as opposed to the NCAAs, which determine individual champions by weight class and then a team champion by adding up points based on finishes in each weight class. It was subsequently taken over by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

The pairings are here: [graphics.fansonly.com]

It really isn't a true "double elimination." If you lose a dual meet, you go into the consolation bracket where you then compete for third place. Our second round opponent is likely to be Ohio State, which is ranked fifth in the country to our fourth. This will be a tough match, as OSU also has a number of ranked wrestlers, primarily in weights other than those at which Lee, Manotti, and Wattenberg wrestle. Should we get by OSU, we draw the "real" OSU, #1 Oklahoma State, which has ranked wrestlers just about everywhere. To get very far we'll need big performances from Baier, Roth, and Greenberg, in addition to the "big three."

It is the biggest of big time to be invited to this meet, and especially to be seeded where we are. We will miss the New York State championships as a result, but perhaps will send a JV team to compete for the experience.

I was able to watch the taped broadcast of the Midland Duals. Lee was simply amazing wrestling against the then-top-ranked wrestler, Luke Eustice of Iowa. He took Eustice down three times and got another two points for a near-fall, or whatever the official term is--and was never taken down himself. The color announcer, a Midlands champion from the 70s, was commenting late in the bout how he never expected to see a score like it was at the time (7-2 Lee) but cautioned that Lee had better get himself into good shape for the NCAA tournament's seven minute matches (as opposed to Midlands six) because Iowa wrestlers are always in superb shape. Just as he said that, Lee took Eustice down for the final time and may in fact have pinned him, but, as the color guy pointed out, the ref was slow getting into position to see Eustice's shoulders and therefore couldn't call the pin. Final was 9-3, with all of Eustice's points coming on escapes. No question he was the Midlands' outstanding wrestler.

Why the Cape Cod Potato Chips Classic is held in Newark, DE, instead of Hyannis is a mystery to me, but here are the matchups if you live down that way.

2003 Cape Cod Potato Chips/NWCA All-Star Classic Lineup, Newark, Del.,
Feb. 3, 2003

125 - #1Chris Fleeger (Purdue) vs. #2Travis Lee (Cornell)
133 - #3Witt Durden (Oklahoma) vs. TBA
141 - #3Mike Maney (Lock Haven) vs. #6Dylan Long (Northern Iowa)
149 - #4Jake Percival (Ohio) vs. #5Dustin Manotti (Cornell)
157 - #2Scott Owen (Northern Illinois) vs. #3Keaton Anderson (Ohio State)
165 - #4Troy Letters (Lehigh) vs. TBA
174 - #1Greg Jones (West Virginia) vs. #2Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State)
184 - #1Jessman Smith (Iowa) vs. #2Clint Wattenberg (Cornell)
197 - #1Jon Trenge (Lehigh) vs. #4Muhammad Lawal (Oklahoma State)
285 - #7John Testa (Clarion) vs. #13Matt Feast (Pennsylvania)
285 - #1Steve Mocco (Iowa) vs. #2Tommy Rowlands (Ohio State)

According to a posting today on the wrestlingreport.com EIWA forum, Cornell's dual meet against Lehigh (Feb 8) and the EIWA finals (March 8) will be telecast on Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Can't find whether these will be broadcast live or tape-delayed.

Disappointing start to the NWCA Duals, as Michigan State upset the wrestlers 16-16, with Cornell losing on tiebreaking criteria #8 "most near-falls."

In the wrestleback bracket, Cornell has beaten Ohio U. (21-16) and Iowa State (25-16) and faces Michigan tonight at 8:30. Super-soph Travis Lee forfeited his match against Iowa State this afternoon. Don't know the reason. Michigan has five top-ten ranked wrestlers.

Pretty sweet win over #10 Michigan tonight. Travis Lee had to forfeit due to injury according to the Cornell athletics article. Hope to see a lot of people at the home matches coming up!

Fall 2003 recruits are listed at:

[themat.com]

Commentary from a seemingly knowledgable poster at thewrestlingreport.com forum:

"Wrestling USA Magazine mid-season seniors ranking just out has:

@130 Ryan Bridge #2
Matt Easter #11
@140 Charlie Agozzino #5
@145 Joey Hooker #7
@171 Luke Hogle #3
Keith O'Donnell #7
@189 Jerry Rinaldi #19

Hogle former Cadet 1st, Jr. Nat. 5th freestyle and 3rd Greco-Roman
Hooker 7th Jr. Nat. freestyle
and watch O'Donnell and Rinaldi.........crushing people.
Sounds like great balance to me."

Recruits from NJ, OH, WV, AZ, OR and a school that is apparently a jurisdiction unto itself. Great job scouting the country.

bigred apple wrote:

Recruits from NJ, OH, WV, AZ, OR and a school that is apparently a jurisdiction unto itself. Great job scouting the country.

Peddie probably soft-pedaling the fact it's in New Jersey.

[www.theithacajournal.com]

Article in today's Ithaca Journal about the new Friedman Wrestling Center, and its effect on the wrestling program.

Cornell 23, Penn 10 final

Big win for the Red over the reining Ivy Champs.)

Al DeFlorio wrote:

Cornell 23, Penn 10 final

PENN SUCKS.

We are wrestling Princeton at 6:00 tonight. You guys should go before the hockey game.

Yes. . .everyone that can make it should definitely come out and support the team! The new building is amazing and
when it gets rowdy in there it's almost like being in the rink (I swear, it's reallyreally loud ).

A dominating 35-9 win over Princeton, but Clint Wattenberg, the #2 wrestler in the country at 184 was upset by the #6 wrestler.

[cornellbigred.ocsn.com]

#9 Dustin Manotti lost at 149 to #4 Jake Percival of Ohio U. 8-4. Percival had already beaten Manotti at National Duals.

#2 Clint Wattenberg came back from his upset loss Saturday against Princeton's Parker to pin #1 Jessman Smith of Iowa, apparently in a "wild scramble when it looked like Smith would get a takedown."

Travis Lee withdrew earlier because of the torn meniscus in his knee.

Any word on how bad it is? Torn meniscus does not sound like a "day to day" injury, it sounds like "see you next year."

I've seen nothing specific, but you're right--torn menisci don't heal themselves very well, and it's too late for surgery before the NCAAs. Knees are a prime target for takedown shots, and come under enormous strain throughout a wrestling match. This sounds like a real bum deal for Travis.

Big win for Clint Wattenberg, who rebounded VERY well from the loss in the Princeton meet.

[cornellbigred.ocsn.com]

A wrestling forum posting from a reliable observer said Wattenberg was ahead of Jessman Smith 6-0 when the "scramble" fall happened.

#6 Cornell stayed perfect in the Ivies with a win over Columbia. Big match coming up against #5 Lehigh.

Travis Lee didn't wrestle against Columbia (though we didn't need him) and his replacement lost. I hope that he comes back soon. (We might regret not having him against Lehigh.)

The Lehigh match is pretty much over.

Cornell's won 141, 149, and 184. Lehigh's won 133, 157, 165, 174 and 194, and their heavyweight is now well ahead of our guy Bogumil. It wouldn't surprise me if Lee doesn't wrestle the final match at 125, because the team match is already decided.

Shoot. Just noticed the match was televised on Fox Sports Pittsburgh. 125 pound match--last of the day--about to start.

The NCAA Wrestling tournament begins today, and Cornell qualified wrestlers in 8 weight classes, including two projected to be All-Americans (Travis Lee at 125 and Clint Wattenberg at 184).

Can anyone think of a reason why the CU Athletics website doesn't mention this at all on the front page? No article, and it isn't included on the schedule.

At least there is an article on the wrestling page.

[cornellbigred.ocsn.com]

It was on the front page either this morning or yesterday--before the tennis and softball stuff was posted.

Lee claims to be 100% but his matches were closer than I would have expected in the EIWAs. Both Lee and top-seeded Fleeger from Purdue are unbeaten this year. Wattenberg has lost twice to Princeton's Greg Parker, both times losing late in the match, the second time in the EIWA title bout on a last minute pin. If the seedings hold, they'll meet in the NCAA semifinals.

ESPN2 is showing the finals Saturday at 7pm EST, which I hope conflicts with a very important Cornell hockey game.

Al,

How's Matt Greenberg doing? He's an NJ kid, from Northern Highlands HS whom the paper here says is seeded #11 at 197. He was 24-7 this year it says.

Thanks.

He won the pigtail match in the morning. Not sure when his second match is scheduled. He qualified for the NCAAs last year also.

Here is his profile from the team site: [cornellbigred.ocsn.com]

Matt was runner-up in the EIWAs to Jon Trenge of Lehigh, who is ranked in the top two or three nationally. He had a very successful season and has a good shot at a high finish in the NCAAs to qualify as an All-American.

Thanks for asking.

Trenge is actually the #1 seed at the NCAAs.

Lee, Wattenberg and Manotti also won their first matches.

Alvarez, Baier, Roth, and Webster all lost in the first round. Good luck in the wrestlebacks, guys.

Greenberg lost in his first round match; score was 6-6 so there must have been some kind of tiebreaker. Tough way to lose.

Up-to-date results are here:

[themat.com]



Post Edited (03-20-03 17:11)

Tough next match for Greenberg also. Greenberg beat McGrath 2-1 in the semis at the EIWAs.

The only time I root against my school is when I root for high school friends. Greg Parker is a really good kid and should have gone to Cornell. I think he wrestled 125 when he was in high school and has really bulked up his four years in college.



Post Edited (03-20-03 19:28)

Looks like Lee, Manotti, and Wattenberg have advanced to the quarterfinals. 10th-seed Manotti has won 15-3 and then 10-0 over 7th-seed Jon Masa from Hofstra, and now gets 2nd-seed Jared Lawrence from Minnesota.

Wattenberg's won 15-0 and 6-0 and gets 6th-seeded Josh Lambrecht from Oklahoma, who was beaten by Wattenberg 6-3 in a dual meet. Clint would likely get a rematch with Princeton's Parker if he gets past Lambrecht. Parker's been a steamroller in the first two rounds, too.

Lee gets 10th-seed Tony Black from Wisconsin in the quarters.

It also looks like everyone else is still alive in the wrestlebacks.

Gabe Webster lost to Jeremiah Jarvis from UC-Davis and is out of the wrestlebacks. Alvarez, Roth, Baier, and Greenberg won their first wrestlebacks.

Cornell stands seventh, half-a-point behind Iowa and Illinois, after the first day. Lehigh is second behind Oklahoma State, despite having one of their stronger kids not make weight.

Roth and Alvarez are out, short of making the final 8.

Lee is still alive in the main bracket (semis). Manotti and Wattenberg lost in the quarters but are still alive in the wrestlebacks. Greenberg and Baier are still alive in wrestlebacks.

184 had a shocker: Wattenberg (3) and Parker (2) were both pinned in the quarterfinals. Lambrecht got his revenge for a loss to Wattenberg earlier in the year.

That's gotta be a crushing loss for Wattenberg. I'm sure he was expecting to get to the semis, at least. The two losses to Parker killed him in the seeding.

Lambrecht was #1 when Wattenberg beat him. The fall to #6 must have been steep. Having to face a wrestler that good in the quarters was unfortunate.

Bad news:

Baier is out, 2 wins short of All-America. Good effort to you and the rest of the Red wrestlers that qualified for the NCAAs.

Good news:

From what I can tell, Travis Lee is in the 125 final, setting up a great match of undefeated wrestlers. I probably won't be able to avoid the spoiler, but I am definitely taping the finals now. Congratulations on making AA again, and good luck in the finals, Travis.

Dustin Manotti advanced far enough in the wrestlebacks that the worst he can do is 8th, so we have our second year in a row with a frosh making AA. Congratulations on making AA, and good luck advancing, Dustin.

Clint Wattenberg and Matt Greenberg need one more win to get into All-America position. No jinxing here, but Wattenberg is facing an unranked wrestler who has managed to get as far as he has without facing a ranked wrestler. Good luck, Clint. Greenberg has it a little tougher, according to the rankings he is #11 and his opponent is #10. Good luck, Matt.



Post Edited (03-21-03 19:56)

Wattenberg finally beat Princeton's Parker 16-12 in the wrestlebacks.

Whats a wrestleback?

littleredfan wrote:

Whats a wrestleback?

Consolation bracket. Determines places three through eight.

Note: From what I can make out on the Cornell athletics site, Wattenberg was ahead of Lambrecht 5-2 when he was reversed and found himself with his shoulders on the mat. Sounds not dissimilar from (to?) his loss to Parker at the EIWAs. If he gets past Jessman Smith of Iowa, he'll likely get another shot at Lambrecht for third place.

Congratulations to Travis Lee, NCAA champion at 125 lbs. Travis won his match 6-4 with a takedown in the final seconds.

Jeff, did you watch the match on ESPN2? Lee was terrific. Incredibly quick and well-conditioned. Fleeger is very strong, but he looked slightly fatigued in the last minute or two and Travis took advantage. He and Fleeger are gonna be going at this for two more years.

I caught the last 30 seconds of the match, but as in hockey, it's those final seconds that count

Travis Lee, seeded #2 at 125 WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Great match. He worked the #1 wrestler badly. I think they are both sophs, so if they stay at 125, this will be a competition to watch for a few years.

Dustin Manotti, a freshman seeded #10 at 149 finished at #8 and becomes Cornell's second consecutive frosh All-American. All of the wrestlers that beat Manotti were ranked higher than he was (# 2, #6 and #7). Hopefully they are all seniors.

Clint Wattenberg, ranked #3 at 184 slipped to #5. He got revenge on Princeton's Greg Parker, who beat him twice. Parker came in #2 and fell to #8 at the NCAAs. Revenge was all the rage in this weight class, as Wattenberg's two losses came to #6 Josh Lambrecht and #1 Jessman Smith, both of whom Wattenberg beat during the season. This weight class was won by the #10 wrestler (I think), which never seems to happen.

Cornell finished #10 in the team standings. Well done.