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CORNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics I History

PENN INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

PRINCETON INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

MATCH INFORMATION
Match #8: Cornell at Penn
Tip off: Saturday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m.
Site: The Palestra (8,722), Philadelphia, Pa.
2013-14 Records: Cornell (7-0, 2-0 Ivy); Penn (4-4, 0-0 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell leads 80-21-1
Last Meeting: Cornell won 24-9, Jan. 26, 2013 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: ESPN Ithaca (Matt Schultz)
TV: None
Live Video: available at IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com
Tickets: check availability by calling (607) 254-BEAR

Match #9: Cornell at Princeton
Tip off: Saturday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m.
Site: Dillon Gym (1,500), Princeton, N.J.
2013-14 Records: Cornell (7-0, 2-0 Ivy); Princeton (4-1, 0-0 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell leads 51-15
Last Meeting: Cornell won 42-0, Jan. 12, 2013 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: ESPN Ithaca (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 (238-79-5, .747; 93-8-1 Ivy, .917) ... 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.

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STORY LINES: On the road to its unprecedented 12th straight Ivy League title, the Cornell wrestling team will face two of its biggest obstacles in the span of five hours — on the road. The Big Red will visit Penn on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. before ­getting on the bus to visit Princeton at 6 p.m. Matt Schultz call all the action on ESPN Ithaca, while the Penn match will be available on the Ivy League Digital Network.

The Big Red has had a strong campaign so far, winning all seven dual meets and the New York State Intercollegiate tournament and placing fourth at both the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Southern Scuffle. Seven Big Red wrestlers rank in the top 20 nationally in their weight classes according to W.I.N. Magazine and lead one of the youngest teams in the country with four freshmen and two sophomores in the 10-man lineup. Returning NCAA All-Americans Nahshon Garrett (No. 1 at 125 pounds) and Mike Nevinger (seventh at 141 pounds) are expected to lead the lineup along with 2013 NCAA qualifiers Chris Villalonga (eighth at 149), Jace Bennett and Stryker Lane (HWT). Freshmen Mark Grey (14th 133), Brian Realbuto (sixth at 157), Dylan Palacio (17th at 165) and Gabe Dean (184) are all among the top 20 wrestlers in their respective weight classes, with Dean sitting No. 3 after his upset of Penn State's Ed Ruth, the two-time defending national champion.

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.

THE STREAKS:
• Cornell is 66-12-1 (.842) in dual meet competition in the last six seasons.
• Cornell has won 60 consecutive Ivy League dual meets dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
• The Big Red has won 31 straight duals against current EIWA competitors dating back to 2010-11.
• Cornell is 70-3-1 (.953) in dual meet action against current EIWA teams dating back to 2004-05, including 66-0 against teams other than Lehigh.
• The Big Red is 27-2 (.931) in its last 29 home duals dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Big Red wrestling has won 47 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.
• Freshman Gabe Dean has won a team-high 15 consecutive matches, while sophomore Nahshon Garrett has won 13 straight.

ABOUT PENN:
• Penn is 4-4 in dual meets this season, including wins over Maryland, Boston University, Binghamton and Bucknell.
• Junior Lorenzo Thomas is ranked 14th nationally at 184 pounds and is third in the EIWA rankings, while freshman Caleb Richardson sits 17th at 125 pounds and is third at the EIWA's.
• Thomas is 16-7 on the season, while Richardson is 9-6.
• Fifth-year head coach Rob Eiter has Penn consistently challenging the Big Red's Ivy League dominance. He has a 54-32 dual meet record during his Quaker career.

THE SERIES WITH PENN:
• Cornell has a decisive 80-21-1 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1907-08.
• The Big Red has won 11 consecutive dual meets against the Quakers.
• Penn's last win came on Feb. 2, 2002, a 21-9 Quaker victory in Philadelphia, Pa.

LAST TIME VS. PENN:
• The No. 7 Big Red wrestling team won seven out of 10 bouts on its way to a 24-9 victory over Penn on Jan. 26, 2013 at the Friedman Wrestling Center.
• Three-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake picked up his fourth-straight pin for his 11th fall of the season.
• Cornell also notched wins from Nahshon Garrett, Bricker Dixon, Chris Villalonga, Jesse Shanaman, Steve Bosak and Jacob Aiken-Phillips.
• The Big Red improved to 9-2 overall and 4-0 against the Ivy League; Penn fell to 4-3 overall and 0-1 Ivy.

ABOUT PRINCETON:
• Princeton is off to one of its best starts in history with a 4-1 dual meet record heading into Saturday afternoon's dual with Franklin & Marshall before its evening dual with the Big Red.
• The Tigers are coming off a 22-19 win at Hofstra, its first victory on the mats against the Pride since 1989.
• Princeton also has wins over Drexel, Army and Binghamton, with its only loss coming against Rutgers.
• Junior Adam Krop is ranked 19th nationally at 141 pounds and stands third in the EIWA rankings. He has since moved up to 149 pounds.
• Head coach Chris Ayres has methodically built up the Princeton program, helping send five wrestlers to the NCAA championships over his seven seasons.

THE SERIES WITH PRINCETON:
• Cornell leads the all-time series 51-15 dating back to the 1907-08 season when the teams first met.
• The Big Red has won 27 consecutive dual meets against the Tigers.
• Princeton's last win over the Big Red came in a 21-19 Tiger victory at home during the 1985-86 campaign.

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON:
• The No. 6 Big Red wrestling team opened in 2012-13 Ivy season off strong on Jan. 12, 2013, shutting out Princeton 42-0 at home in the Friedman Wrestling Center.
• Kyle Dake (165), Jace Bennett (197) and Jacob Aiken-Phillips led Cornell with pins, while Mike Nevinger notched a win by technical fall.
• Freshman Nahshon Garrett also added a bonus point for Cornell with a major decision at 125 pounds..

NOTES TO KNOW:
• 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 has now won 60 straight Ivy matches.
• Big Red wrestlers have won 345 matches on the season with 172 coming as bonus point wins (.499).
• As a team, the Big Red has won individual matches at an impressive .725 clip (345-131 in 476 total matches).
• Seven Cornell wrestlers have won at least 20 matches this season (Nahshon Garrett - 21; Chris Villalonga - 22; Brian Realbuto -25; Dylan Palacio - 20; Jesse Shanaman - 20; Gabe Dean - 25; Jace Bennett - 20).
• 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.
• Freshman Brian Realbuto has won 12 matches by fall this season, tied for the 12th-most in a season by a Cornell wrestler. The record is the 18 Kyle Dake '13 had a season ago.
• Senior Mike Nevinger has 106 career wins, good for 17th all-time.
• How would the nation's top 20 program rankings look if you shifted around the numbers by Facebook followers? Penn State would sit first with 38,387 and Cornell would be nipping at their heels in second with 32,803. Third is Michigan with 31,267 — well ahead of fourth-place Oklahoma State (9,376). (as of Jan. 27 at 12 p.m.)

EIWA RANKINGS:
• All 10 of Cornell's starters are ranked among the top five in the latest EIWA rankings.
• As a team, Cornell sits at the top, ahead of Lehigh, Rutgers and Navy.
• Ivy League foes Princeton (No. 5) and Columbia (No. 6) are ranked among the top eight teams.
• Cornell has five wrestlers at the top of their weight classes: Nahshon Garrett at 125, Mike Nevinger at 141, Chris Villalonga at 149, Dylan Palacio at 165 and Gabe Dean at 184.
• In addition, Mark Grey is second at 133, Brian Realbuto is second at 157, Jace Bennett is third at 197, Duke Pickett is fourth at 174 and Jacob Aiken-Phillips is fifth at heavyweight.

TALL IVY:
• Since Rob Koll took over the Cornell program in 1993, the Big Red has gone 93-8-1 (.917) in its 102 Ivy League matches.
• Over that same span, Penn is next best 82-17-1, followed by Brown (44-56-1).
• Rounding out the field is Columbia 38-62, Harvard 34-66-1 and Princeton 9-91.
• Dating back to the 2002-03 season (12 years), Cornell's perfect 57-0 record laps the competition. Penn is second-best at 42-13, followed by Columbia 27-28, Brown 18-37-1, Harvard 16-39-1 and Princeton 6-49.
• Current Cornell wrestlers are 66-24 in Ivy League dual matches (.733).
• Expected Big Red starters Nahshon Garrett  at 125 (6-0), Mike Nevinger at 141 (8-3) and Chris Villalonga at 149 (8-1) are a combined 22-4 all-time (.846) against Ivy competition in duals.

NEXT UP:
• Cornell returns home to face Ivy League foe Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. at the Friedman Wrestling Center.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series between the programs 85-13.