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Cornell University Athletics

Mike Nevinger, 2013 NCAA
Lindsey Mechalik/Cornell Athletics

Wrestling Off To Grapple In The Garden On Sunday

11/28/2013 6:16:00 PM

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CORNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics I History

MARYLAND INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

ILLINOIS INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

MEET INFORMATION
Match #2: Maryland vs. Cornell
Tip off: Sunday, Dec. 1, at 10 a.m.
Site: Madison Square Garden (18,200), New York, N.Y.
2013-14 Records: Maryland (3-2); Cornell (1-0)
Series Record: Series tied 1-1
Last Meeting: Cornell won 19-15, Jan. 10, 2010 in Cedar Falls, Iowa

Match #3: Illinois vs. Cornell
Tip off: Sunday, Dec. 1, at 12 p.m.
Site: Madison Square Garden (18,200), New York, N.Y.
2013-14 Records: Illinois (3-0); Cornell (1-0)
Series Record: Illinois leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Illinois won 19-16, Feb. 2, 2012 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Radio: 1160 ESPN Radio (Matt Schultz)
TV: None
Live Video: None
Tickets: check availability by calling (607) 254-BEAR

HEAD COACH ROB KOLL
Cornell head coach Rob Koll is in his 21st season at Cornell (232-79-5, .742; 91-8-1 Ivy, .915) ... he is the David R. Dunlop '59 Head Coach of Wrestling at Cornell ... the all-time winningest wrestling coach in program history, Koll has guided the Big Red to 11 straight Ivy League titles (14 overall), seven consecutive EIWA crowns and seven top five NCAA team finishes, including second twice (2010, 2011) ... he was the 2005 NWCA Division I Coach of the Year and the Dan Gable Coach of the Year ... his wrestlers have won 11 national titles with 49 All-Americans and 42 individual EIWA champions.
STORY LINES
The Cornell wrestling team will compete at the 2013 Grapple at the Garden on Sunday, Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Coming off a second consecutive New York State Intercollegiate championship, the Big Red ­­will be among many of the nation's top teams competing in the World's Most Famous Arena in a celebration of wrestling. Cornell will face Maryland at 10 a.m. and seventh-ranked Illinois at noon.

Returning NCAA All-Americans Nahshon Garrett (third at 125 pounds) and Mike Nevinger (fifth at 141 pounds) are expected to lead the lineup along with returning NCAA qualifiers Chris Villalonga (149), Jace Bennett (197) and Stryker Lane (HWT). Freshmen Mark Grey, Brian Realbuto and Gabe Dean are all among the top 10 wrestlers in their respective weight classes.

The Big Red will be out for its first win at the event after suffering a pair of dual meet losses a year ago at the inaugural event, falling to Missouri (L, 22-12) and Oklahoma State (L, 21-16). Other teams competing at MSG this year are Army, Bloomsburg, Boston University, Drexel, George Mason, Hofstra, NYU, Penn, Princeton, Rutgers and Stevens, and as well as men's club teams from Stony Brook and Westchester CC .

Head coach Rob Koll has built a powerhouse that has won 11 straight Ivy League titles, seven consecutive EIWA crowns and has four NCAA top-five team finishes in a row and nine top-10 finishes in the last 11 years. With five starters who qualified for NCAAs a year ago returning, as well as one of the top recruiting classes in the country, Cornell wrestling looks to reach all of those lofty goals yet again.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
• Cornell will be competing in the second annual Grapple at the Garden and will be looking for its first dual win after loss to Missouri and Oklahoma State at Madison Square Garden last season.
• The dual with Illinois could pit a matchup of 1 vs. 2 at  125 pounds, where top-ranked Jesse Delgado of Illinois and second-ranked Nahshon Garrett of Cornell are set to square off, one of five bouts between ranked wrestlers in the Big Red-Illini dual.
• Other potential ranked matchups (according to Intermat) include #10 Mark Grey (Cornell) vs. #11 Zane Richards (Illinois) at 133 pounds, #14 Chris Villalonga (C) vs. #15 Caleb Ervin (I) at 149 pounds, #12 Brian Ralbuto (C) vs. #15 Zac Brunson (I) at 157 pounds, #3 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) vs. #12 Gabe Dean (C) at 184 pounds, and both #7 Mario Gonzalez (I) and #11 Christian Boley (M) vs. #14 Jace Bennett (C) at 197 pounds.
• The Big Red will be looking for its 44th straight dual meet win over an unranked opponent when it meets Maryland.

ABOUT MARYLAND:
• The unranked Terps are off to a 3-2 dual meet start and have lost two straight after defeats at the hands of Stanford (L, 16-17) and Penn (L, 13-19).
• Maryland had dominated in dual wins over Johns Hopkins, Kutztown and Alderson-Broaddus at home by a combined score of 129-3.
• Maryland has three ranked wrestlers in #3 Jimmy Sheptock at 184 pounds, #11 Christian Boley at 197 pounds and #7 Spencer Myers at heavyweight and return two All-Americans and five NCAA qualifiers from last season's team that finished 26th nationally.
• A year ago, the Terps went 14-8 overall and return seven starters from that team.
• Seventh-year head coach Kerry McCoy has posted a 77-26-1 dual meet record with three ACC titles and three top 20 NCAA team finishes.

THE CORNELL-MARYLAND SERIES:
• The two teams have split a pair of dual meets.
• The squads faced off twice during the 2009-10 campaign with the Terrapins earning an 18-17 win at Newman Arena to open the season.
• The Big Red reversed the decision less than two months later when it topped Maryland 19-15 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

LAST TIME VS. MARYLAND:
• Cornell avenged an early season dual meet loss of the season with a 19-15 win at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Jan. 10, 2010.
• Mike Grey turned the tables on seventh-ranked Steve Bell at 133 pounds to win by major decision earning valuable bonus points for the Big Red.
• Cornell also picked up wins by Frank Perrelli (125), Kyle Dake (141), Corey Manson (149), Mack Lewnes (174) and Steve Bosak (184).

ABOUT ILLINOIS:
• Illinois is ranked seventh nationally and is a perfect 3-0 in dual meets entering its matchup with Bloomsburg at the Grapple at the Garden.
• The Illini went a perfect 3-0 at the Chicago Quad, defeating Arizona State (27-11), Ouachita Baptist (41-3) and SIU Edwardsville (38-3).
• The team went 7-6-1 a year ago and placed fifth in the Big Ten and ninth nationally.
• Illinois returns five starts and an All-American in 2013-14, including defending national champion Jesse Delgado at 125 pounds.
• Delgado became the school's first national champion at 125 pounds a year ago after he was named Wrestler of the Big Ten championships. He went 27-3 a year ago.
• In addition, Illinois features nationally ranked wrestlers at six other weight classes (133 - Zane Richards, #11; 149 - Caleb Ervin, #15; 157 - Zac Brunson, #15; 165 - Jackson Morse, #19; 174 - Tony Dallago, #9 and 197 - Mario Gonzalez, #7).
• Fifth-year head coach Jim Heffernan was the National Wrestling Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year in 2001 and has been part of the program for the past 22 seasons.

THE CORNELL-ILLINOIS SERIES:
• Illinois leads the all-time series 2-1 dating back to the first meeting during the 1959-60 season. The Big Red won that meeting 21-8 in Ithaca.
• The two teams also met at the 1998-99 Virginia Duals, a 20-15 Illini victory.
• Illinois won the last meeting between the teams, a 19-16 final at the Ithaca region of the 2012 NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals.

LAST TIME VS. ILLINOIS:
• The Illini won the Ithaca regional of the 2012 NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals with a 19-16 victory over the Big Red on Feb. 12, 2012 at Newman Arena.
• The loss ended Cornell's dual meet win streak at 19 matches.
• Cam Simaz pinned his Illinois opponent in the finals.
• Mike Nevinger also scored bonus points at 141 pounds, while Kyle Dake (157) and Steve Bosak (184) each won decisions.

GRAPPLE AT THE GARDEN:
• A year ago, the Big Red wrestled Missouri (L, 22-12) and Oklahoma State (L, 21-16) as part of the inaugural Grapple at the Garden event.
• The contest comes the day after the Big Red men's ice hockey team played in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden as part of Red Hot Hockey against Boston University.

THE STREAKS:
• Cornell is 60-12-1 (.829) in dual meet competition in the last six seasons.
• Cornell has won 58 consecutive Ivy League dual meets dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
• The Big Red is 23-2 (.920) in its last 25 home duals dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Big Red wrestling has won 43 consecutive dual meets against unranked teams dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
• Cornell has won 23 straight meets against New York state opponents.

NOTES TO KNOW:
• Senior Mike Nevinger is looking to become the 20th Cornell wrestler in school history to register 100 career victories with a win this weekend against either Maryland or Illinois. He enters the Grapple at the Garden with a 99-33 career individual record (.750).
• The Big Red has had at least one individual NCAA champion in each of the last six years, the longest active streak in the country (next is Penn State with three straight years).
• The Big Red has won 11 consecutive Ivy crowns and enters the season having won 58 straight Ivy matches.
• Cornell has won 23 consecutive dual meets against teams from New York dating back to its last loss, a 16-15 decision to Hofstra at the 2004 National Duals in Cleveland, Ohio.
• The Big Red is 248-81-3 all-time against teams from New York state in its history — Army (11-17-1), Binghamton (7-0), Brooklyn Poly (2-0), Buffalo (6-4), Clarkson (2-0), Colgate (29-2), Columbia (85-13), Cortland (17-1), Geneseo (1-0), Hofstra (16-4), Ithaca (12-3), Long Island (1-0), Manhattan (1-0), NYU (2-0), Queens (1-0), RPI (2-0), RIT (7-0-1), St. Lawrence (0-1), Syracuse (42-35-1), Union (2-1) and Wagner (2-0).
• The Big Red's coaching staff has combined for 14 All-America accolades and seven individual NCAA titles at a total of six different weight classes as collegiate athletes.

NEXT UP:
• The Big Red will close out the 2013 calendar year when team members compete at the 32nd annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 6-7.
• A year ago, the Big Red third place in Las Vegas behind Kyle Dake, the tournament champion at 165 pounds, and 125-pound runner-up Nahshon Garrett.
• Four other place-winners in their respective weight classes return for the Big Red: Mike Nevinger (4th, 141), Chris Villalonga (6th, 149), Jace Bennett (7th, 197) and Stryker Lane (6th, HWT).
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