After Day 1 of the EIWA championships, Cornell still has all 10 wrestlers alive for spots in the NCAA tournament, 7 in the championship draw.
125: Nickerson is in the semis with 2 pins.
133: Grey is in the semis with a bye and a 15-2 MD.
141: Manson is alive in the wrestlebacks. In the first round he dominated and then pinned his opponent. In the second round he lost by 1 point to the #1 seed from Harvard and may have been robbed of a 2pt takedown at the buzzer of each of the last two rounds. He won his first consy match.
149: Meagher got a bye in the first round before losing a MD to the #2 seed. He won a MD in his first consy match.
157: Leen is in the semis with a pin and a 20-5 TF.
165: Lewnes in the semis with a win (5 seconds more ride at the end and it is a MD) and a pin.
174: Anceravage is in the semis with a bye and a 13-4 MD.
184: Kerber is in the semis with two MDs, 12-2 and 11-3.
197: Simaz is in the semis with a bye and a 21-5 TF.
Hwt: Hammond is still alive in the consy bracket. After a SV win in the first round, he lost a close match to the #2 seed. He won his first match in the consy bracket.
I believe that the top 3 in each weight class and a few select 4th place finishers qualify for the tournament.
With 10 wrestlers still alive and a ton of bonus points, Cornell is well in first place in the team standings.
Cornell continues to dominate the EIWAs. Of the 7 semifinalists we have... 7 finalists. All qualify for the NCAAs. Congrats to Nickerson (third straight fall); Grey (9-3 win), Leen (5-1 win), Lewnes (second straight fall); Anceravage (10-2 MD); Kerber (5-3 SV upset win); Simaz advanced to the final by medical forfeit. Kerber was the only 3 seed to advance to the finals in any weight class; 9 of 10 finals are 1 vs. 2.
At 141, Manson lost his second consy match to the #5 seed and did not place.
At 149, Meagher lost his second consy match to the #6 seed and did not place.
At Hwt., upset the #5 seed in the consy bracket before losing to the #4 seed in the consy semifinals. In the fifth place match, Hammond pinned the #3 seed to take 5th place, giving him an outside shot at a WC to the NCAAs.
So far, none of the Cornell wrestlers lost a single match to a wrestler seeded below them. Of the remaining wrestlers, Troy Nickerson (125) and Mack Lewnes (165) are the favorites in their weight classes - though Jordan Leen at 157 would have to be considered a co-favorite with Harvard's O'Connor.
So far in the finals (I'll update as I can)
125: Troy Nickerson wins 5-2 over Penn's Rollie Peterkin. After returning from injury, Nickerson enters the NCAA's undefeated and ranked #1 in the country. With 3 pins and a comfortable win in the finals, he has a great shot at MOW of the tournament.
133: Mike Grey loses to Navy's Joe Baker. After dropping down from 141 Grey has been very tough to beat and enters the NCAA's with a great chance of All-American.
157: Jordan Leen beats Harvard's JP O'Connor 8-2. The defending National champ heads to the NCAA's on a high note.
165: Mack Lewnes wins 5-3 and enters the NCAA's ranked #1 and undefeated.
174: Steve Anceravage trades escapes with American's Cannon in the second and third period but gives up a TD with time running out in OT to lose 3-1. Still, wrestling well and with an excellent chance to AA at Nationals.
Leen just beat O'Connor from Harvard 8-2.
FINALS:
125: Troy Nickerson wins 5-2 over Penn's Rollie Peterkin. After returning from injury, Nickerson enters the NCAA's undefeated and ranked #1 in the country.
133: Mike Grey loses to Navy's Joe Baker. After dropping down from 141 Grey has been very tough to beat and enters the NCAA's with a great chance of All-American.
157: Jordan Leen beats Harvard's JP O'Connor 8-2. The defending National champ heads to the NCAA's on a high note, avenging a loss from earlier in the season.
165: Mack Lewnes wins 5-3 and enters the NCAA's ranked #1 and undefeated.
174: Steve Anceravage trades escapes with American's Mike Cannon in the second and third period but gives up a TD with time running out in OT to lose 3-1. An impressive showing against the undefeated #1 wrestler in the country. I watched a video of the match and he was the more aggressive of the two; Cannon's strength and skill kept Anceravage from finishing his shots but he was soooooooo close. Anceravage is wrestling well and has an excellent chance to AA at Nationals.
187: Justin Kerber loses 4-0 in the finals to Lehigh's David Craig. He beat the #2 seed, lost to the #1. An excellent showing for a guy who is probably still wrestling above his ideal weight because Anceravage is so strong at 174.
197: Cam Simaz wins by medical forfeit. Strange tournament for Cam: he had a bye, a dominating win and then two matches in a row won by medical forfeit. A title is a title!
Nickerson won the award for most falls in the least amount of time. Somehow that wasn't enough to also win Nickerson Outstanding Wrestler, which went to the #2 seed from Navy that won the title at 149 (2 MDs and 2 regular decisions). Not sure I understand that decision.
Steve Anceravage won the award for most points collected at the EIWAs over his career.
Cornell ran away with the team title. Good job Big Red and a special shout-out to Coach Koll for the great work he has done with this program.
Ugarte, thanks for the summary of outcomes. A great showing for the team.
I've been informed that outstanding wrestler is usually given to the winner of the deepest weight class, which makes some sense, but I still think that 3 first round falls in 4 matches should be enough to get a guy the award.
In any event, if you want to watch video of the 6 Cornellians in the finals, you can (http://www.flowrestling.org/videos/coverage/view/234748-2009-eiwa-conference-championships).
If you had seen the Army/Navy championship match at 149 you would understand why the Navy wrestler won OW -- he came from behind to win [in OT?] in a match that was as close and entertaining to watch as Jordan Leen's final match.
Today's Daily Sun has an article on the team's performance this weekend. The article's last sentence seems a bit odd: "Lehigh was awarded the sportsmanship award, to the astonishment and laughter of the Red wrestlers." Anyone know the backstory?
http://cornellsun.com/section/sports/content/2009/03/09/wrestling-defends-eiwa%E2%80%88title
[quote ithacat]Today's Daily Sun has an article on the team's performance this weekend. The article's last sentence seems a bit odd: "Lehigh was awarded the sportsmanship award, to the astonishment and laughter of the Red wrestlers." Anyone know the backstory?
http://cornellsun.com/section/sports/content/2009/03/09/wrestling-defends-eiwa%E2%80%88title[/quote]
From earlier in the article:
QuoteThroughout the competition, Lehigh's fans, sitting in the section next to Cornell, loudly berated and booed Leen, a surprising display since Lehigh was not represented in the match.
There was also a report that after Grey lost his championship match (to a wrestler from Navy), a Lehigh fan yelled something at him. Apparently Asst. Coach Cooperman, a former Lehigh All-American, fired something back at her.
The Allentown paper this morning mentioned something about the Cornell wrestlers leaving the mat after each of their introductions, but that the Lehigh players stayed on the mat to high five their teammates.
Maybe there's an unwritten law that our guys didn't follow?
[quote ugarte][quote ithacat]Today's Daily Sun has an article on the team's performance this weekend. The article's last sentence seems a bit odd: "Lehigh was awarded the sportsmanship award, to the astonishment and laughter of the Red wrestlers." Anyone know the backstory?
http://cornellsun.com/section/sports/content/2009/03/09/wrestling-defends-eiwa%E2%80%88title[/quote]
From earlier in the article:
QuoteThroughout the competition, Lehigh's fans, sitting in the section next to Cornell, loudly berated and booed Leen, a surprising display since Lehigh was not represented in the match.
There was also a report that after Grey lost his championship match (to a wrestler from Navy), a Lehigh fan yelled something at him. Apparently Asst. Coach Cooperman, a former Lehigh All-American, fired something back at her.[/quote]
Fan behavior may explain the laughter, but the astonishment must have had something to do with wrestler behavior -- at least, one would suspect as much.
Thanks for the bit about Grey/Cooperman.
Good news for the NCAA's: Not only did Zach Hammond get a wildcard to the tournament at Hwt., but DJ Meagher was also given a wildcard at 149. Color me surprised but thrilled at the invitation to Meagher.
Cornell will have 9 wrestlers at the NCAAs as they try to live up to their #2 ranking.
There was an article in the WSJ today about Cornell making a run at the national title. At the time they went to press, the wildcards for the NCAA's hadn't been announced, so they get the number of Cornell qualifiers wrong. Otherwise, it is great that the team is getting the coverage: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123682134694703401.html
[quote ugarte]There was an article in the WSJ today about Cornell making a run at the national title. At the time they went to press, the wildcards for the NCAA's hadn't been announced, so they get the number of Cornell qualifiers wrong. Otherwise, it is great that the team is getting the coverage: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123682134694703401.html[/quote]
Very cool article. One nit:
QuoteIf Cornell succeeds, it would be the first Eastern squad to win the NCAA wrestling championship since Penn State in 1953. It would also be the first men's Ivy League team title in any sport since Princeton won lacrosse in 2001.
Dartmouth won the NCAA skiing championship (http://www.ncaa.com/history/skiing.html) in 2007.
Edit: well...ok. it did say Men's. Skiing is a co-ed sport.
[quote RichH]Dartmouth won the NCAA skiing championship (http://www.ncaa.com/history/skiing.html) in 2007.
Edit: well...ok. it did say Men's. Skiing is a co-ed sport.[/quote]
Haven't we won both men's and women's polo since 2001? Or is that not a varsity sport?
[quote Trotsky][quote RichH]Dartmouth won the NCAA skiing championship (http://www.ncaa.com/history/skiing.html) in 2007.
Edit: well...ok. it did say Men's. Skiing is a co-ed sport.[/quote]
Haven't we won both men's and women's polo since 2001? Or is that not a varsity sport?[/quote]
Polo is not governed by the NCAA. Water polo on the other hand. . .
[quote Trotsky][quote RichH]Dartmouth won the NCAA skiing championship (http://www.ncaa.com/history/skiing.html) in 2007.
Edit: well...ok. it did say Men's. Skiing is a co-ed sport.[/quote]
Haven't we won both men's and women's polo since 2001? Or is that not a varsity sport?[/quote]
It's a varsity sport, according to Cornell. The Polo Championship is not an NCAA Championship. Here's a list. (http://www.ncaa.com/history/index.html) So our 2003 Figure Skating Championship (and Dartmouth every year since) aren't NCAA championships either. The NCAA didn't have a Women's Hockey tournament prior to 2001; before that, the ECAC Champion was the de facto National Champion. Note that no eastern team has ever won the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship. (http://www.ncaa.com/history/w-hockey-d1.html)
[quote RichH][quote Trotsky][quote RichH]Dartmouth won the NCAA skiing championship (http://www.ncaa.com/history/skiing.html) in 2007.
Edit: well...ok. it did say Men's. Skiing is a co-ed sport.[/quote]
Haven't we won both men's and women's polo since 2001? Or is that not a varsity sport?[/quote]
It's a varsity sport, according to Cornell. The Polo Championship is not an NCAA Championship. Here's a list. (http://www.ncaa.com/history/index.html) So our 2003 Figure Skating Championship (and Dartmouth every year since) aren't NCAA championships either. The NCAA didn't have a Women's Hockey tournament prior to 2001; before that, the ECAC Champion was the de facto National Champion. Note that no eastern team has ever won the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship. (http://www.ncaa.com/history/w-hockey-d1.html)[/quote]
That's because, as we all know, Hahvahd sucks, especially in the NC$$s. ;-)For the years that has links in them, The Lady Crimson made the tourney in all the years, and in 3 (?) of them to the finals only to lose (though one of those final games vs. UMD went into I think 4 OTs!).
This piece http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/other/2009-03-17-wrestling-championship_N.htm in today's USA Today has a different headline in the paper (perhaps a geographic nod?). Something like "Cornell looks to knock off Iowa in NCAA wrestling."
Tournament starts Thursday with semifinals Friday night and finals Saturday. Lot of important Cornell sports action crammed into three days.
Here are the brackets (in PDF format). (http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D1-2009Bracket.pdf) Ref: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D1-2009Bracket.pdf
EDIT -- almost everyone has a bye for the first round. The only Cornellian wrestling in the Thursday morning session is Justin Kerber at 184. He takes on Vincenzo DiDona from Central Michigan.