Live video of Cornell's home dual meets through Cornell RedCast I Match Notes

Countdown to Nationals
The Big Red wrestling team enters the weekend ranked seventh in the nation by the InterMat Division I poll. Cornell has seven wrestlers ranked individually with freshman Kyle Dake (141) and returning All-American Mack Lewnes (174) leading the country at their weight classes. The Big Red returns five All-Americans and seven NCAA qualifiers into the opening weekend of dual meet competition as Cornell eyes its seventh straight Ancient Eight title.

Scouting the Competition
After finishing 10th at lat year's EIWA chamionship, the Columbia wrestling team is 6-5-1 in dual meets so far this season, doubling last year's win total already. The Lions were 3-14 a season ago, including 1-4 in Ivy competition. The team returns six starters and 12 letter winners from 2009. Kyle Gilchrist leads the team in wins with a 20-8 record at 125 pounds. Hofstra, meanwhile, is 5-8-2 and is coming off a 31-12 loss to Penn in its last dual meet competition. No. 17 P.J. Gillespie (165 pounds) has a team-best 25-10 record, while Ben Clymer is unbeaten in dual meet competition (13-0) at 184 pounds.

The Series
Cornell holds a dominant 81-13 edge in dual meets over Columbia and an 11-4 edge over Hofstra. The Big Red first met the Lions in 1935-36 and has won 23 consecutive meetings, including a 39-6 victory last season in New York City. the last time Columbia earned a dual meet victory over the Big Red was a 20-19 decision in Ithaca during the 1985-86 campaign. Cornell and Hofstra first met in 1985-86, a 31-15 Big Red victory on the road. Cornell earned a 22-18 victory last season on the road to extend its win streak in the series to three games.

The Matchups
Cornell's six ranked wrestlers will not meet a ranked opponent this weekend in dual matches against Columbia and Hofstra. John Basting at 157 pounds and Justin Kerber at 165 pounds will each get a chance to pull an upset over a ranked wrestler in the afternoon contest against the Pride. Basting will meet No. 16 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman, while Kerber will square off with No. 17 P.J. Gillespie.

Start at the Top
Senior Troy Nickerson has only wrestled in six matches this season, going 5-1 while injury defaulting against No. 1 Angel Escobedo of Indiana at the Southern Scuffle. He has pinned four of his opponents, including No. 5 Andrew Long of Iowa State in his most recent match.

A Streak Of Ivy
Cornell opens the 2010 Ivy League schedule this weekend boasting an impressive 38-match win streak against league foes.

Ivy Win Streaks ... Take Two
Cornell's four returning wrestlers ranked in the top 12 nationally all have sported perfect career records in Ivy League dual matches. Troy Nickerson is 13-0 with six wins by fall, while Mike Grey is 10-0. Mack Lewnes is perfect in six matches, while Cam Simaz is 5-0.

NCAA Ready
Cornell ranks seventh in the Intermat/NWCA dual meet rankings, but with 74.0 points as calculated by the team's individual rankings, the Big Red places third in the NCAA tournament rankings.

Top Of The Heap
Cornell has placed in the top 10 as a team at the NCAA championships in five of the last seven seasons. Prior to 2003, the Big Red had just three top 10 team finishes since 1960. 

All Things Ivy
With another 5-0 season against Ancient Eight foes, the Big Red won its seventh-straight Ivy League title last season. Cornell had eight wrestlers earn All-Ivy honors. Mack Lewnes was named Ivy League Wrestler of the Year, while Cam Simaz earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors. Lewnes and Simaz were joined by Troy Nickerson, Mike Grey and Steve Anceravage '09 on the first-team. DJ Meagher, Jordan Leen '09 and Justin Kerber all earned a second-team nod.

New York State of Mind
The Big Red took home its seventh New York State team championship in program history with 194 points, easily outdistancing Army (158) for the title. Individual crowns were taken home by Frank Perelli (125), Mike Grey (133), Colin McDonald (174), Cam Simaz (197) and Taylor Moore (HWT).

Cornell at the Scuffle
Cornell captured its second-straight team title at the Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30. Kyle Dake (141), Mack Lewnes (174) and Cam Simaz (197) all captured individual titles. Additionally, Lewnes was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. Troy Nickerson (125) took second after a cautious injury default in the finals. Other place winners included Mike Grey (133, 3rd), Justin Kerber (165, 5th) and Steve Bosak (184, 5th), and Josh Arnone (HWT, 6th). Cornell totaled 164.00 points to defeat second-place Minnesota (151.50) and third-place Indiana (131.50).

What Happens in Vegas…
The Big Red wrestling team placed second at the Las Vegas Invitational where Mack Lewnes won the individual title at 174 pounds. Five other Big Red wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes including Mike Grey (2nd, 133), Cam Simaz (3rd, 197), Kyle Dake (4th, 141), Steve Bosak (5th, 174) and Frank Perrelli (5th, 125). Cornell finished with 121.5 team points just one point behind team champions Ohio State (122.5)

Lewnes Earns EIWA Wrestler of the Week
Mack Lewnes was named EIWA wrestler of the week on Dec. 7 after winning the title at 174 pounds at the Las Vegas Invitational. Lewnes went 5-0 for the weekend with three bonus wins to help the Big Red to finish in second place as a team. The Big Red junior opened the tournament with two wins by major decision and one victory by fall. In the semifinals, he defeated Oklahoma's Jeff James, 7-3. The Big Red junior won his second-straight individual title in as many tries with a 5-3 victory over Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer in the finals. Lewnes won the title at the Reno Tournament of Champions as a freshman at 165 pounds. Lewnes is 15-0 for the season with nine bonus wins.

At the Helm
Rob Koll, the David R. Dunlop '59 Head Coach of Wrestling, is in his 17th season as mentor of the Cornell wrestling program. In that time, Koll has amassed a 187-72-5 overall record in duals and has led the Big Red to 10 Ivy League titles. Cornell has captured three EIWA team championships and earned 27 EIWA individual titles. Koll, a four-time All-American and former NCAA champion, has helped Big Red wrestlers to capture five individual NCAA titles and 31 All-America honors.

Winner, Winner
Rob Koll has directed his team to 187 dual meet victories, second all-time at Cornell behind Jimmy Miller, who registered 203 victories from 1948-74. Koll has coached a Cornell-best five NCAA champions and 31 All-Americans.

Binghamton Open
Cornell had 25 wrestlers competing unattached at the Binghamton Open, and the Big Red captured the title at five weight classes. Winning the championship in their respective weight classes were Mike Grey (133), Kyle Dake (141), Mack Lewnes (174), Steve Bosak (184) and Cam Simaz (197). Seven other wrestlers also placed for the Big Red including Tyler Biscaha (fourth, 125), Corey Manson (sixth, 149), Derek Schreiner (fourth, 157), Nate Holley (second, 184), Taylor Moore (second, HWT), Stryker Lane (third, HWT) and Josh Arnone (fourth, HWT). Big Red wrestlers picked up bonus points in 30 matches, with 13 winning by fall.

The Fall Guys
With nine falls so far this season, junior Mack Lewnes has earned 35 career pins. Lewnes now ranks second in the Big Red record books for career falls. Troy Nickerson ranks in third place with 32. All-American Steve Anceravage '09 broke the record last season and ended his four-year career with 37 falls.

State of the Program
Cornell's 37 wrestlers on the active roster come from 20 different states. Big Red wrestlers come from California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington. The Big Red also has a wrestler from Washington, D.C.

Next Up
The Big Red will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 13, when it meets Penn at 1 p.m. in Philadelphia, followed by wrestling Princeton at 6 p.m.