EIWA preview / results

Cornell's conference tournament (and individual NCAA qualifying tournament) is this weekend. Things look good for a conference championship, though a combination of good teams in the conference and some weak weight classes make it far from certain. My hope is that Cornell wins the conference and qualifies wrestlers in all 10 weight classes but I don't know how realistic the latter is. We'll see.

A conference ranking makes Cornell the favorite and ranks our wrestlers:

125 1 - Nickerson (2 nationally)
133 2 - Frey (3)
141 Nobody in top 6 (Manson? Easter?)
149 1 - Leen (4)
157 Nobody in top 6 (Hovis)
165 2 - Anceravage (11)
174 4 - Hooker (19) (deepest class in EIWA; 5 in the top 20)
184 6 - Arnone (UR) (Hogle?)
197 1 - Rinaldi (4)
Hwt 3 - Hammond (UR)

Can team send multiple wrestlers in a weight class? I could see Manson and Easter both going at 141 and Rodriguez (125), Bridge (133), or Hogle (184) as additional wrestlers in those weight classes.

I'd guess Manson at 141 and Arnone, if he's healthy, at 184. One entry per team per weight class.

Brackets and results will be here: www.escapesports.com/Results/Results.php

Al DeFlorio
I'd guess Manson at 141 and Arnone, if he's healthy, at 184. One entry per team per weight class.

Kinda disappointing for Hogle, probably, as this is his senior year and he is getting squeezed out by Hooker and Arnone.

I also just noticed that Hovis, who has been wrestling at 157, is listed on the team roster at 174. That is some serious weight loss.

The EIWA seeds are out.

No surprises in Cornell's lineup. Manson is the 7 seed at 141; Hovis is 8 at 157. As expected, Arnone is wrestling at 184.

Anceravage and Hooker are both 3 seeds. Anceravage and Hooker probably gained/lost 1 spot in the seedings because of the match against Penn. Anceravage lost to the wrestler just below him; Hooker beat the wrestler just above.

Let's go Red!

Cornell is updating more frequently than the EIWA site here.

They are only updating the Cornell results, but that saves us the trouble of sifting through the irrelevant crap.

Cornell won all of its first round matches (as expected, as all were against unseeded wrestlers). Pins by Nickerson, Hovis, and Hooker as well as a TF by Anceravage and a MD by Leen. Arnone, Rinaldi and Hammond all have 1st round byes.

In the second round, Hovis, Manson and possibly Arnone have Cornell's first matches of the day against higher-seeded wrestlers.

125: Nickerson (1) won by TF, 16-0 over the 8 seed. On to face the 5 seed.
133: Frey (2) won 7-5 over Lehigh's Seth Ciasulli (7). On to face the 3.
141: Manson (7) lost 9-1 to Lehigh's Matt Ciasulli (2) (Avenged! But... boo!). On to wrestlebacks to face the 1.
149: Leen (1) won 8-4 over the 8 seed. On to the 4 seed.
157: Hovis (8) lost 12-6 to the 1 seed. On to wrestlebacks against an unranked opponent.
165: Anceravage (3) won by MD, 11-3 over an unranked wrestler. On to face the 2.
174: Hooker (3) won by MD, 10-2 over the 6. On to face the 2.
184: Arnone (6) won by MD, 12-1 over the 3, avenging a mid-season loss. On to face the 2.
197: Rinaldi (1) pinned the 8 seed in 1:12. On to face the 4.
Hwt: Hammond (3) won 5-1 over the 6. On to face the 2.

At the end of the second round, 8 Cornellians are 2-0 and on to the semis. 2 are going to try and qualify through the wrestlebacks. No more updates for a while because I am probably not going to be at my computer for the evening session (unless someone else wants to post the results).

OK, one more update. After the morning session, Cornell is leading the tournament with 65 points. Lehigh (48), Penn (47.5) and Navy (47) are in a damn near in a three-way tie for second. I don't know how team points are calculated but I like the lead.

There are a lot of rematches on tap for Cornell in the evening session. Manson, Anceravage, Hooker and Hammond are all wrestling for revenge; Nickerson and Leen are fighting guys looking for revenge. Frey and Arnone sat out the meet against Harvard.

Most disappointing piece of news is that Corey Manson draws Harvard's #1 seed Max Meltzer in his first consolation match. Meltzer was pinned in his first match of the tournament and, I suspect, is really pissed.

Great win for Arnone (12-1!) over the #16-seeded nationally Barent from Columbia. Now he gets #14 Caputo from Harvard in the semis.

Al DeFlorio
Most disappointing piece of news is that Corey Manson draws Harvard's #1 seed Max Meltzer in his first consolation match. Meltzer was pinned in his first match of the tournament and, I suspect, is really pissed.

Or, if we are lucky a bit injured/off his game. (Edit: probably not; Meltzer pinned his next opponent in the first round.) I wrote and then deleted something about this but I was also really disappointed to see Meltzer as Manson's first opponent in the consolation bracket.

Great win for Arnone (12-1!) over the #16-seeded nationally Barent from Columbia. Now he gets #14 Caputo from Harvard in the semis.

I deleted something about this also because I was too concerned with getting everything on one line. Big, big win. When Arnone faced Barent the first time Barent won, but in OT. Arnone missed a lot of this year and would probably be ranked if he didn't. This should be a very competitive match.

FWIW, here are the remaining seeds in the championship brackets. Cornell in bold.

125: 1, 2, 3, 5
133: 1, 2, 3, 4
141: 2, 4, 6, 8 (you can finish this one yourself)
149: 1, 2, 3, 4
154: 1, 2, 3, 4
165: 1, 2, 3, 4
174: 1, 2, 3, 4
184: 1, 2, 5, 6
197: 1, 2, 3, 4
Hwt: 1, 2, 3, 5

As expected. Meltzer beat Manson (7-2) in the consy round.

Also as expected. Hovis advanced, beating a true frosh wrestler that came into the tournament with 5-20 record, not including forfeits. Hovis (8) will face Snook (5) in the next round.

125 finals: #1 seed Nickerson vs. #2 seed Eveleth from Penn
133 finals: #2 seed Frey vs. #1 seed Valenti from Penn
141 consolations: Corey Manson eliminated and did not place
149 finals: #1 seed Leen vs. #2 seed O'Connor from Harvard
157 consolations: Hovis beaten by Snook of Army
165 finals: #3 Anceravage pins #2 Shanaman of Penn and moves to finals against #1 Cannon from American (a freshman)
174: #3 Hooker beaten by #2 Palmer of Columbia and goes into consolations
184: #6 Arnone beaten by #2 Caputo of Harvard and goes into consolations

Al DeFlorio
157 consolations: Hovis beaten by Snook of Army

and is eliminated.

165 finals: #3 Anceravage pins #2 Shanaman of Penn

Revenge!

174: #3 Hooker beaten by #2 Palmer of Columbia and goes into consolations
184: #6 Arnone beaten by #2 Caputo of Harvard and goes into consolations

One win should get them to the NCAAs (though Hooker is more likely to get a WC than Arnone); two wins will.

194: Rinaldi routs Lapotsky of Bucknell and will face American's Glenn in the finals
285: Hammond beats Lehigh's Weibel in the last seconds and will face Navy's Pendergast in the finals

Six Cornell wrestlers in the finals, and two alive in the consolations.

Al DeFlorio
285: Hammond beats Lehigh's Weibel in the last seconds and will face Navy's Pendergast in the finals.

Revenge!

Six Cornell wrestlers in the finals, and two alive in the consolations.

Of the six wrestlers in the finals, four were supposed to be based on the seedings (Nickerson, Frey, Leen and Rinaldi), one was supposed to be based on the rankings (Anceverage) and one got farther than expected (Hammond). I don't want to sound like I am diminishing the achievement; the team is just that good.

Of the two wrestlers in the consolation round, one is exactly where he was expected to be (Hooker) and one has overachieved and is one win from outstripping his seed (Arnone).

Even the two wrestlers who didn't advance to the semifinals didn't underacheive. 7th seeded Manson lost to the #1 and #2 wrestlers at 141; 8th seeded Hovis lost to the #1 and #5 wrestlers at 157.

This has been a great tournament for Cornell so far. I'm not sure if it is even statistically possible for Cornell to not win the tournament [[i]edit: it might be - Navy has 4 wrestlers left in the championship bracket and 3 in the consy bracket and I have no idea how team scoring works -ed.[/i]]:

Team Scores After Sessions I and II

1. Cornell (112.5)
2. Navy (90.5)
3. Penn (82.0)
4. American (61.5)
5. Lehigh (61)
6. Columbia (60)
7. Harvard (56)

So, to recap tomorrow we have:

125: Nickerson (1), Cornell v. Eleveth (2) Penn (Championship)
133: Valenti (1), Penn v. Frey (2), Cornell (Championship)
147: Leen (1), Cornell v. O'Connor (2), Harvard (Championship)
165: Cannon (1), American v. Anceravage (3), Cornell (Championship)
174: Hooker (3), Cornell v. Rueda (5), American (Consolation semis)
184: Zamir (4), Penn v. Arnone (6), Cornell (Consolation semis)
197: Rinaldi (1), Cornell v. Glenn (2), American (Championship)
Hwt: Pendergast (1), Navy v. Hammond (3), Cornell (Championship)

Hooker and Arnone advance to consolation finals and get automatic trip to NCAAs, making eight Cornell wrestlers in total going to Auburn Hills.

Hooker to face Penn's Herrington for third place. Arnone to wrestle Lehigh's David Craig.

174: Joey Hooker (3) won 1-0 and moves on to the 3d place match. This guarantees him a spot in the NCAAs. Congratulations, Joey. He will face Herrington (4) from Penn. Hooker defeated Herrington 9-7 earlier this year.

184: Josh Arnone (6) won 7-5 and moves on to the 3d place match. This guarantees him a spot in the NCAAs. Congratulations, Josh. He will face Lehigh's David Craig (1). Arnone did not wrestle against Lehigh; Craig defeated Luke Hogle 12-5.

Herrington beats Hooker for third at 174

Arnone beats Lehigh's Craig and takes third at 184.

Finals start at 4pm.

After three sessions, it looks like
Cornell 121.5
Navy 101.0

[www3.esu.edu]

Eveleth overcomes a 3-0 Nickerson lead in the third period with a takedown and three back points to win at 125, 5-3. Quite a turnaround from the dual meet where Nick romped easily.

0-for-2 as Valenti beats Frey 4-1 with a takedown, escape, and riding time.

Leen comes through at 149 2-1 over Harvard's O'Connor according to the Penn blogger.

Anceravage wins 165 by 9-6 over American's Cannon.

American's Glenn handles Rinaldi 6-1 at 197.

Navy's Prendergast easily takes Hammond at 285.

Al DeFlorio
Eveleth overcomes a 3-0 Nickerson lead in the third period with a takedown and three back points to win at 125, 5-3. Quite a turnaround from the dual meet where Nick romped easily.

0-for-2 as Valenti beats Frey 4-1 with a takedown, escape, and riding time.

Leen comes through at 149 2-1 over Harvard's O'Connor according to the Penn blogger.

Anceravage wins 165 by 9-6 over American's Cannon.

That might cost Nickerson the 2 seed at the NCAAs. Dammit! This was an improvement for Frey, though, who got pinned in 1:30 by Valenti last time. Glad to see Leen win and REALLY glad to see Anceravage pull out a tournament win like this.

Congrats also to Rob Koll who was named EIWA coach of the year.

Two firsts, four seconds, one third and a fourth. Not bad - and enough to win the team title - but I am a more than a little disappointed that Nickerson and Rinaldi didn't win their weight classes.

ugarte
Two firsts, four seconds, one third and a fourth. Not bad - and enough to win the team title - but I am a more than a little disappointed that Nickerson and Rinaldi didn't win their weight classes.

Only one takedown between them. Glenn is tough, but to get no offensive points is very disappointing. Not a good way to go into NCAAs.

Strong tournaments for Anceravage and Arnone, however, and for Hammond to beat Weibel was very nice.