Team Effort Pushes No. 10 Cornell To 24-13 Victory Over No. 11 Virginia Tech
ITHACA, N.Y. — The No. 10 Cornell Big Red wrestling team improved to 4-2 on the season Sunday afternoon, taking down No. 11 Virginia Tech 24-13 at Newman Arena.
Cornell won six of 10 matches, and five wrestlers took down ranked opponents. Julian Ramirez (165), Chris Foca (184) and Jacob Cardenas (197) earned bonus points for the Big Red with major decisions. Cardenas clinched the dual for Cornell with an 11-1 win over Andy Smith.
Lewis Fernandes (285) closed the contest with the most entertaining match of the day. He trailed Jimmy Mullen 3-0 for most of the match before tying it with a reversal with about a minute remaining in the third. Fernandes recorded a takedown with time expiring in the second overtime period to secure the 6-3 win.
“I wanted to stay smart, stay low and capitalize on the experience I’ve gotten over the past few years,” Fernandes, a senior, said. “The last thing is just your mentality when you go late into a match like that. You can’t give up. You don’t think about yourself. You think about your team. Your team is behind you. If you let them down, you let everyone down.”
Cornell Notes and Highlights
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Ramirez (12-1) and Cardenas (12-2) moved into a tie with Benny Baker for the team lead in wins.
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Vince Cornella, Meyer Shapiro, Ramirez, Foca and Cardenas earned victories against ranked opponents.
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Cornell won six of the last eight matches in the dual after falling behind 7-0.
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Cornell improved to 7-1 all-time against Virginia Tech and won its third consecutive game in the series.
Full Results
125: No. 14 Brett Ungar lost to No. 9 Cooper Flynn 4-3 by decision
133: Ethan Qureshi lost to No. 12 Sam Latona 14-3 by major decision
141: No. 17 Vince Cornella def. No. 18 Tom Crook 4-2 by decision
149: No. 24 Ethan Fernandez lost to No. 2 Caleb Henson 9-2 by decision
157: No. 15 Meyer Shapiro def. No. 8 Bryce Andonian by injury default
165: No. 3 Julian Ramirez def. No. 23 Connor Brady 10-0 by major decision
174: Benny Baker lost to No. 2 Mehki Lewis 9-3 by decision
184: No. 8 Chris Foca def. No. 18 Cody Howard 12-4 by major decision
197: No. 7 Jacob Cardenas def. No. 26 Andy Smith 11-1 by major decision
285: No. 19 Lewis Fernandes def. Jimmy Mullen 6-3 by decision (overtime)
Up Next
The Big Red face No. 23 Lehigh next Saturday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.
