Wrestling [2016-2017]

[ugarte]

I'm not quite as bullish on Koll's chances.  He's capable, but he's on a 3-11 skid where he seems to wrestle just well enough to drop a close one. If the Koll who battles top 5 guys shows up, you may be right.

The harvard and columbia losses worry me a little but the close losses against princeton and ohio state were encouraging. I didn't realize what a bad run he's on but I feel like it's time to make a run.

[mountainred]

Pre-seeds are out for Easterns (preseeds are the seeds based on a poll of all the coaches.  Final seeds will be determined by a coaches meeting today, but they will look very much like the preseeds).  I thought I would do ugarte a favor by sharing the preseeds.

EDIT:  Brackets are out and these look like the final seeds.  If anyone, regardless of team, changed seeds, I can't find it.

125:  Baughman is #4.  That means a projected quarterfinal against a Binghamton wrestler he lost to in SV back in November and a projected semi against Cruz of Lehigh (who teched Noah in the dual match).  I like Noah to win the quarter, but Cruz may be a bridge too far.  If doesn't beat Cruz, he'll have to earn style points to get a wild card to the NCAA.

133:  Grey is #4, which means a projected quarter against D'Arcy of Princeton (who beat him 6-0 in the dual).  I have a bad feeling at this weight.

141:  Koll is #7.  His projected quarter is against Darian Cruz of Lehigh, who beat him 1-0 in the dual.  If Will gets that upset, he should qualify for NCAAs, otherwise he will need to fight through wrestlebacks.

149:  It's Furnas and he's seeded #4.  His projected quarter is a Harvard wrestler that Jon has beaten twice this season, including 12-6 in the dual.  I will take a 4th place finish and be happy.

157:  Palacio is #4, but if any Cornell wrestler is moved at the Coaches Meeting it will be Dylan.  His lack of matches makes him hard to seed.  If he stays #4, that means a projected semi-final versus Lehigh's Kulter who is ranked in the top 5 nationally.  Huge team title implications in that bout.

165:  Womack is #1.  He'll have a dangerous semi against Brown's Viruet (who upset Dylan in the dual) or Drexel's Rose.

174:  Realbuto is #1 and, unless he gets injured, should have no problems reaching the final where he is likely to meet fellow title contender Preisch from Lehigh.  BReal pinned Preisch in the regular season dual.

184:  Dean was the easiest #1 in the tourney.  Barring injury, the only question is how many bonus points does he earn for the Big Red in route to his 4th EIWA title.

197:  Honis is the call and he's #5.  That would mean a quarter final bout with Navy.  197 is filled with good, not great, wrestlers and Honis could make a nice run.

285:  Craig Scott is #6, because of lack of matches, and I like him to beat that seed.  His projected quarter is against Ryan of Columbia, who he's beaten this year.  That would mean a likely semi with Lehigh's Vollaro, who is good but not all-world.  Like 197, the EIWA heavies are solid, but there are no top 10 guys.

If seeds hold (they won't of course) Lehigh is projected for 20-ish more points, but Cornell should earn more bonus points (you get bonus for major decisions, tech falls, and pins).  This could be very close.

[upprdeck]

Just walked with some of the kids as they were shopping at PC before getting on the bus to head down today. very excited..

[ugarte]

EIWA First Round:

125: Baughman was up 19-7 and cruising to a major decision (+8 win) when, in an effort to get a technical fall (+15 mercy rule), he took a bad shot and almost got pinned. He held on. W 20-14.

133: Grey WBF in 1:16.

141: Koll WTF 18-1.

149: Furnas gave up a takedown with under 10 seconds left and lost 4-3.

157: Palacio WBF in 0:15. That is not a typo.

165: Womack WBF in 0:44.

174: Realbuto WBF in 0:24. This is getting ridiculous.

184: Dean WBF 0:36. Disappointing.

197: Honis WMD 12-3.

285: Scott W 4-1.

9-1 with 7 bonus point wins after the first session. Furnas's consy match coming soon.

149: Furnas WMD 14-6. Moves to consolation quarters. Everyone on the team contributed at least one point.

Quarterfinals start at 6PM.

[mountainred]

Team race:  Cornell 23 Lehigh 19.5.  Two of Lehigh's wrestlers are done.  But the quarterfinals could be very, very good for Hawkineers.

[ugarte]

Team race:  Cornell 23 Lehigh 19.5.  Two of Lehigh's wrestlers are done.  But the quarterfinals could be very, very good for Hawkineers.

Most of the first round was chalk. The biggest exception was at 157, where Ian Kutler, the #1 seed from Lehigh (and a top 5 wrestler nationally) failed to weigh in because of an injury.

125: Lehigh (1) Cornell (4) (line up for SF)
133: Lehigh (1) Cornell (4) (line up for SF)
141: Lehigh (2) Cornell (7) (meet in the QF)
149: Lehigh (1) Cornell (4) (Cornell is in the consy bracket already)
157: Lehigh (1) Cornell (4) (Lehigh forfeited out)
165: Lehigh (2) Cornell (1) (line up for F)
174: Lehigh (2) Cornell (1) (line up for F)
184: Lehigh (U) Cornell (1) (Lehigh out)
197: Lehigh (6) Cornell (5) (Cornell's opponent is unseeded after a first round upset)
285: Lehigh (2) Cornell (6) (line up for SF)

Lehigh is expected to get 7 wins in the QF; we're slated for 7 as well. We have only one head-to-head matchup but if chalk holds, the semis are going to be a mini-dual.

[mountainred]

Lehigh is expected to get 7 wins in the QF; we're slated for 7 as well. We have only one head-to-head matchup but if chalk holds, the semis are going to be a mini-dual.

Lehigh's chalk feels a bit chalkier though, as Noah and Mark are facing guys who beat them earlier this season.  Both are more than capable of avenging the loss, but avenging they must do.  Palacio looked good, but he only beat May Bethea (his quarter opponent) by a point in last year's Easterns.  Honis' opponent (Army's Caywood) may be unseeded, but Honis only beat him 4-3 earlier this season and Caywood has been ranked.  He's very dangerous.

On the other hand, Bama majored his quarter opponent in Vegas, Brian teched his opponent 16-0, and Dean's opponent refused to wrestle him in the Penn dual (he may have been hurt, but I want to spin Penn's forfeit my way).  Scott beat Ryan by a solid 6-2 score in the Columbia dual. And Koll only lost to D. Cruz 1-0 in the Lehigh dual.  A win there for the Big Red would be enormous.  I know I pointed out his skid, but Koll has battled some top 10 guys very tough.

[ugarte]

Agreed on all, MR.

I know I pointed out his skid, but Koll has battled some top 10 guys very tough.

That's why I didn't notice his skid! (Though I did see him get whipped by Macalalooy in NYC.)

Scott absolutely broke Ryan that same day.

[mountainred]

Agreed on all, MR.

I know I pointed out his skid, but Koll has battled some top 10 guys very tough.

That's why I didn't notice his skid! (Though I did see him get whipped by Macalalooy in NYC.)

Scott absolutely broke Ryan that same day.

'

Noah and Mark with gutty wins, but Will still can't score against Cruz.  In the Wrestlebacks, he'll get a Bingo wrestler he majored back in November.

[mountainred]

6 Cornell wrestlers get through to the semis (Baughman, Grey, Palacio, Womack, Realbuto and Dean).  Honis drops his quarterfinal 4-3 and the star-crossed Craig Scott injures his leg and has to default out.

Some wrestlebacks still to come tonight:  Koll and Honis will be favored.  Furnas is a toss-up.  As tough as he is, I'd be shocked if Scott can go.

[Al DeFlorio]

6 Cornell wrestlers get through to the semis (Baughman, Grey, Palacio, Womack, Realbuto and Dean).  Honis drops his quarterfinal 4-3 and the star-crossed Craig Scott injures his leg and has to default out.

Some wrestlebacks still to come tonight:  Koll and Honis will be favored.  Furnas is a toss-up.  As tough as he is, I'd be shocked if Scott can go.

Honis pins.  Furnas and Scott win.  Koll loses.

[ugarte]

Very good second session for the Big Red. After two rounds, Cornell has only lost one wrestler - Will Koll at 141. Furnas, Honis and Scott all won their consolation matches to stay alive.

Meanwhile, Cornell got a boost in the team competition when the 2 seed at 165 from Lehigh lost in the QF. Lehigh was also eliminated at 197. Bonus points are coming in bunches and Cornell now leads Lehigh 81.5 - 69.5 with Princeton on Lehigh's heels at 64.5.

Tomorrow's semis are a big, big deal.

QF:

125: Baughman W 8-2. Will face the 1 seed from Lehigh.

133: Grey W 3-1. Will face the 1 seed from Lehigh.

141: Koll L 6-0.

157: Palacio W 5-1. Will face the 8 seed from Brown.

165: Womack W 3-0. Will face the 4 seed from Brown.

174: Realbuto WTF 16-1. Will face the 4 seed from Navy.

184: Dean WTF 21-6. Will face the 4 seed from Army.

197: Honis L 4-3.

285: Scott L Injury Default.

Consolation R12:

141: Koll L 8-1. Eliminated.

149: Furnas WMD 12-2. Will face the 7 seed from Binghamton.

197: Honis WBF 1:49. Will face the 8 seed from Binghamton

285: Scott W 3-2. Awesome. Will face the 7 seed from Binghamton.

[mountainred]

I knew Craig was tough, but just wow. The way the trainers were working on his leg, it just didn't look possible he could go later in the night. Much respect to you, Mr. Scott.

[ugarte]

SF:
125: Baughman LBF to Lehigh
133: Grey LMD to Lehigh

Not unexpected but also not good. Both probably have to win their next match to qualify; Baughman probably needs to win two.

157: Palacio WMD, punches his ticket to NCAA
165: Womack W, punches his ticket to NCAA

Also good news: Lehigh's 165, the 2 seed, list in the consolation bracket and is out.

174: Realbuto W. Advances to face Lehigh's guy in the final. Both are in the top 5 nationally. Critical for the team race at Easterns and NCAA seeding. Realbuto pinned him earlier this year but that doesn't reflect how close the march was.

184: Dean WBF 4:24, of course.

Consolation:
149: Furnas W
Good news is that one of Lehigh's top guys finally lost; bad news is that he's now in Furnas's way.

197: Honis WMD. He gets a rematch with Princeton's Harner, a returning All-American who he beat a couple of weeks ago. Winner gets an automatic bid to NCAA. Honis needs it more. Go get it, Ben.

285: Scott LBF Wrestled through an injury, which was the story of his career. Hell of an effort as a senior but he comes up short of the NCAAs.

Consolation Semi:
125: Baughman WBF 6:58 Not only does he get a last second TD to win over a higher seeded wrestler, he converts for the Fall. May need to win one more to earn a wild card but he'll be the favorite. Awesome.

133: Grey WBF 3:36. Punches his ticket to NCAA. Fantastic.

149: Furnas L 3-2. Close match as a heavy underdog against the top seed. He'll wrestle for 5th. Good job filing in for Galasso. Some wins, some bonus. He won't get a bid but he did well today.

197: Honis WBF 4:12. Huge win. He'll wrestle for third and may have earned a wild card to NCAA with this even if he loses.

7th Place
285: Scott WMD 8-0. Goddamn. I figured he was done after getting pinned but Scott came back to wrestle his 7th Place match and not only won but got bonus. What a fitting finish for his career. (If he gets a wild card to NCAA this will be wrong but I'll be so happy.)

[mountainred]

197: Honis WBF 4:12. Huge win. He'll wrestle for third and may have earned a wild card to NCAA with this even if he loses.

285: Scott WMD 8-0. Goddamn. I figured he was done after getting pinned but Scott came back to wrestle his 7th Place match and not only won but got bonus. What a fitting finish for his career. (If he gets a wild card to NCAA this will be wrong but I'll be so happy.)

Great summary, but aren't there 4 tickets at 197 (Meaning Honis has his AQ).

And seriously, Scott's a warrior.

By my count, Cornell has now clinched team title 11 in a row (even if my math is wrong, it would a final round disaster that would make the Falcons look clutch for Lehigh to win this thing).