Wrestling 21-22

[marty]

Thanks for this succinct and thoughtful summary.  I watched the matches but had the sound muted most of the time so did not have all of the relevant context [which opponents were highly ranked, etc.]  I particularly liked the energy I saw from the Cornell wrestlers.  Every one of them looked invested, even in those matches when they were losing by a lot.  Kudos to the coaching staff for setting a high standard.

seriously! they fought extra hard at the bonus point margins and it paid off.

biggest problem the team had was on bottom, but really only against the top guys who are going to be beasts to begin with.

Has there been any talk of taking away the use of an arm or leg during OT periods so that they'd be wrestling 3 on 3.  If so would it cost an arm or a leg?

[ugarte]

Cornell's rankings on Intermat after the Florida duals:

125: #3 Vito Arujau A former national champ at 133, Nick Suriano, is coming back next semester and is expected to wrestle at 125.
133: #30 Dom Lajoie Nice to see him get recognition. Leapfrogged the UNI wrestler he beat in Florida.
141: UR Cole Handlovic Crazy that Joshua Saunders isn't the starter. He was a top-flight recruit and can't crack the lineup at the weakest weight.
149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis Going 149 is great so far. Also not nearly as deep a weight as 141 tbh.
157: #24 Colton Yapoujian Solid start. Really has to start looking for more opportunities to score.
165: #9 Julian Ramirez Really great run to start the season.
174: #11 Chris Foca Once he improves on bottom he is going to really start giving the top of the weight class fits.
184: #13 Jonathan Loew Fantastic win against Virginia Tech is rewarded.
197: #19 Jacob Cardenas What might have been if he could have finished his third period shot on Dean. Also looking formidable.
Hwt: #18 Lewis Fernandes His third period against Traxler showed real fire. It may take a year or two to adjust to the NCAA's best but he will.

Team (Tournament): #8
Team (Dual): #9

It's going to be a fun season if Omicron doesn't ruin it.

[ugarte]

Out of curiosity, decided to see what the wrestlestat.com algorithm thinks. (Don't take it seriously. It's not like ELO for chess.)

125: Vito #3
133: Dom #55 not much respect from the computer for his SOS.
141: Handlovic #97; interestingly, Saunders is #58. I'm really not sure what's going on with Saunders. He was a Team USA rep at cadet and juniors.
149: Yianni #1
157: Yapoujian #21
165: Ramirez #5
174: Foca #10
184: Loew #16
197: Cardenas #19
285: Fernandes #26 probably overweights his injury default loss from the Stanford dual

[mountainred]

Out of curiosity, decided to see what the wrestlestat.com algorithm thinks. (Don't take it seriously. It's not like ELO for chess.)

125: Vito #3
133: Dom #55 not much respect from the computer for his SOS.
141: Handlovic #97; interestingly, Saunders is #58. I'm really not sure what's going on with Saunders. He was a Team USA rep at cadet and juniors.
149: Yianni #1
157: Yapoujian #21
165: Ramirez #5
174: Foca #10
184: Loew #16
197: Cardenas #19
285: Fernandes #26 probably overweights his injury default loss from the Stanford dual

I may not take it seriously, but the rankings don't differ all that much.  Dom has a nice win over the Bingo starter, but otherwise his claim is that he's kept it closer than expected against some studs.  That's encouraging, but not something a computer is going to weigh heavily.  Lewis only has 7 matches (4-3) since he missed Vegas and had two medical forfeits at the Bingo tournament. That means the Stanford injury loss is getting overweighted.  You and I know he was going to win without the injury, he looked much better than the Cardinal, but the computer doesn't.  

Still not sure the team is set at 141.  Are we limited to 10 entries at the Scuffle?  I have a vague memory of Cornell sending a couple extra in the past. Could be one last chance for Saunders to assert himself.

[ugarte]

Still not sure the team is set at 141.  Are we limited to 10 entries at the Scuffle?  I have a vague memory of Cornell sending a couple extra in the past. Could be one last chance for Saunders to assert himself.

my understanding is yes, one per weight

[mountainred]

Looks like the Scuffle is letting teams enter more than one per weight.  Here is a list of current entrants. (I hope that's not behind oaywall).  Perhaps they are loading up brackets in case some teams cancel.

Many Cornell non-starters listed, but no Darmstadt.  I'm getting a distinct feeling that we've seen the last of Ben.  If so, I wish him well and good health.  He was a lot of fun to watch.

[blackwidow]

Looks like the Scuffle is letting teams enter more than one per weight.  Here is a list of current entrants. (I hope that's not behind oaywall).  Perhaps they are loading up brackets in case some teams cancel.

Many Cornell non-starters listed, but no Darmstadt.  I'm getting a distinct feeling that we've seen the last of Ben.  If so, I wish him well and good health.  He was a lot of fun to watch.

Oh man...he is my favorite wrestler.  I loved watching him

[ugarte]

Looks like the Scuffle is letting teams enter more than one per weight.  Here is a list of current entrants. (I hope that's not behind oaywall).  Perhaps they are loading up brackets in case some teams cancel.

Many Cornell non-starters listed, but no Darmstadt.  I'm getting a distinct feeling that we've seen the last of Ben.  If so, I wish him well and good health.  He was a lot of fun to watch.

came here just to post this.

definite bummer about darmstadt if he's still hurt, which i think he is. also really hard to crack the lineup on the way back because there's really someone top-flight in his way when he's not at 100%.

EDIT: WOW. Really good to see some of the names on this list. Cornell is sending 18 and Spartan Combat another two (ie, a pair of Cornell '26 guys)

125: Vito, Greg D. and Ungar (SCRTC)
133: LaJoie and Moomey
141: Handlovic, Saunders and Cornella (SCRTC)
149: Yianni
157: Yapoujian, Richard, Santoro
165: Ramirez, Brindley
174: Foca, Craft
184: Loew
197: Cardenas
285: Fernandes and Furman

Return of Furman and Richard are great for depth. Saunders may be challenging Handlovic for the starting spot. Greg D. staying in game shape and good to see Moomey, Santoro and Brindley getting some mat time just because.

[mountainred]

Looks like Vito and Yianni are now not going.  Sucks because I was looking forward to watching them, but they don't need the work.

[ugarte]

Looks like Vito and Yianni are now not going.  Sucks because I was looking forward to watching them, but they don't need the work.

not a huge shock i guess.

[ugarte]

A lot of Cornell starters ended up staying home for the Southern Scuffle. In fact, the only ones who went down were Lajoie (133), Loew (184) and Fernandes (285). We aren't the only school to send a lot of backups, tbh. We have 2 in the semis and 6 more still alive with one more win for placement on the podium.

SF:
184: Loew v #29 Salazar (Minnesota)
285: Fernandes v Costello (Iowa backup)

R12:
125: Greg Diakomihalis v Daugherty (Buffalo)
133: Lajoie v Oakley (App St backup)
141: Saunders v Miller (Maryland)
157: Richard v Santoro - Cornell on Cornell!
174: Berreyesa v Habisch (NDSU)

Cornell is sitting in 6th in the team standings. Our SCRTC friends have 3 in the blood round: Ungar, Fernandez and Cornella.

Shoutout to Saunders for getting a ranked win against the #22 wrestler in the last round.

[ugarte]

A lot of Cornell starters ended up staying home for the Southern Scuffle. In fact, the only ones who went down were Lajoie (133), Loew (184) and Fernandes (285). We aren't the only school to send a lot of backups, tbh. We have 2 in the semis and 6 more still alive with one more win for placement on the podium.

SF:
184: Loew v #29 Salazar (Minnesota)
285: Fernandes v Costello (Iowa backup)

R12:
125: Greg Diakomihalis v Daugherty (Buffalo)
133: Lajoie v Oakley (App St backup)
141: Saunders v Miller (Maryland)
157: Richard v Santoro - Cornell on Cornell!
174: Berreyesa v Habisch (NDSU)

Cornell is sitting in 6th in the team standings. Our SCRTC friends have 3 in the blood round: Ungar, Fernandez and Cornella.

Shoutout to Saunders for getting a ranked win against the #22 wrestler in the last round.

Loew and Fernandes both won their semifinal matches but fell in the finals.

Finals:
184: Loew lost in an upset to a Cochrane (Maryland) who put together a fantastic weekend.
285: Fernandes, facing #12 Hendrickson (AFA) got destroyed. Feet to back early for what should have been a pin but was only 6 points then another cradle that was called a pin. Hendrickson looked incredible.

Consolation matches:
125: Diakomilhalis beat Daugherty then lost to #12 Surtin (Missouri) before beating Ventresca (VT backup) for 7th place.
133: Lajoie lost to Oakley and didn't place.
141: Saunders beat Miller, but it cost him. In a scramble at the end of the match when Miller desperately needed a score, Saunders' knee got torqued pretty badly and he forfeited the rest of the tournament, finishing 8th. Someone on another message board said he was wearing a brace. Hope he's OK.
157: Richard destroyed Santoro. He followed it up with two more wins, including one over 2x AA at 149, Brock Mauller (Missouri). In the third place match, he lost another close match to Jacques (Missouri) and finished 4th.
174: Berreyesa won by major decision over Habisch (NDSU) before losing to Brenner (NDSU). His opponent forfeited the 7th place match, so that's where he finished.

Cornell finished in 5th overall. Not bad, given the lineup we sent, though it would have been nice to take a weight or two.

[ugarte]

Big dual meet against Lehigh at 2 on Flo today. Posting even though anyone who pays for Flo already knows.

[ugarte]

Big dual meet against Lehigh at 2 on Flo today. Posting even though anyone who pays for Flo already knows.

Big upsets for Lehigh at 174 and 184 and it's the difference as they win 6 of the 10 matches. Foca and Loew were far too passive and it cost them their matches. Despite bonus points from Yianni and Cardenas, Lehigh wins 18-15.

[Ken711]

Going to be a competitive Ivy League season perhaps.  "NO. 22 PRINCETON TOPS NO. 6 ARIZONA STATE."