STORY LINES
• The seventh-ranked Big Red wrestling team will test itself against two of the nation's best teams when it meets No. 5 Nebraska and No. 14 Rutgers on Sunday morning at Madison Square Garden in the Grapple at the Garden.
• You can watch listen to Sunday's dual meets at ESPN Ithaca 1160 AM/107.1 FM or ESPNIthaca.com with Keith Raad on the call.
• Cornell will hit the mat against the Cornhuskers in one of the most anticipated duals of the tournament at 9:45 a.m., then meets the nationally-ranked Scarlet Knights at 11:45 a.m.
• The Big Red has set its sights high — with the NCAA Championships set for MSG in march, Cornell believes it should be in the mix for its first team title.
• The Big Red opened the season with outstanding efforts at the Jonathan Kaloust Binghamton Open, winning titles in half of the 10 weight classes (Nahshon Garrett at 141, Chris Dowdy at 157, Duke Pickett at 165, Brian Realbuto at 174 and Gabe Dean at 184) and taking a second (Jake Taylor at 197), two thirds (Joe Galasso at 149 and Jeramy Sweany at heavyweight), a fourth (Dillon Artigliere at 165) and a fifth (Will Koll at 141).
• Returning national champion Gabe Dean (184 pounds) headlines an experienced and talented lineup that includes three-time All-American Nahshon Garrett (133) and 2015 national runner-up Brian Realbuto (174), both of whom moved weights this season.
• The Big Red kicked off its dual meet season with a 37-3 victory over Drexel last weekend, then claimed its fourth consecutive New York state title the following day at Barton Hall.
• Nahshon Garrett (133), Dylan Realbuto (141), Duke Pickett (165), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184) all won individual titles.
 
THE STREAKS
• Cornell is 89-15-1 (.852) in dual meet competition in the last seven seasons.
• Cornell has won 68 consecutive Ivy League dual meets dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
• Cornell has placed in the top five at the NCAA championships in six of the last seven seasons and in the top 10 in 11 of the last 13 years (eight straight).
• The Big Red has won 45 straight duals against current EIWA competitors dating back to 2010-11.
• Cornell is 84-3-1 (.960) in dual meet action against current EIWA teams dating back to 2004-05, including 76-0 against teams other than Lehigh.
• The Big Red is 34-3 (.919) in its last 37 home duals dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Big Red wrestling has won 63 consecutive dual meets against unranked teams dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
• Cornell has won nine consecutive EIWA team titles, the longest streak in conference history.
• The Big Red has crowned at least one EIWA champion in each of the last 14 seasons and in 24 of the last 25 years.
• Cornell has won 27 straight meets against New York state opponents.
• Cornell has won seven consecutive EIWA championships at 125 pounds (Troy Nickerson in 2009, 2010; Frank Perrelli in 2011, 2012; Nahshon Garrett in 2013, 2014, 2015), the most consecutive in one weight class by any school since Lehigh won at 177 pounds from 1974-81, a record eight straight seasons.
• The Big Red has won four consecutive New York State team titles.
 
 • Cornell head coach Rob Koll is in his 23rd season at Cornell (262-82-5, .758; 101-8-1 Ivy, .923).
• 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 13 straight Ivy League titles (16 overall), nine consecutive EIWA crowns and eight 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 12 national titles with 56 All-Americans and 51 individual EIWA champions.

ABOUT NEBRASKA
• Fifth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers bring in a lineup that includes being the only school in the country with nationally ranked wrestlers at all 10 weights, including four ranked in the top 10.
• Leading the way is fourth-ranked Austin Wilson (4-0) at 165 and fifth-ranked Jake Sueflohn (9-0) at 149.
• The Huskers are 4-0 in dual meets, including a 24-6 victory over Cornell's EIWA rival Lehigh.
• Nebraska is coming off a ninth place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships after finishing the dual meet season 14-1 overall and 8-1 in Big Ten competition.
• Head Coach Mark Manning is the winningest coach in school history and brings a 205-74-3 dual meet record into the weekend.

THE CORNELL-NEBRASKA SERIES
• Cornell and Nebraska have met four times in dual meet competition, dating back to their first meeting during the 1993-94 campaign, with each team collecting two wins.
• Nebraska won the first two meetings, while Cornell has won two in a row the other way since.
• The Big Red won the last meeting, 19-17, at home during the 2012-13 NWCA National Duals.
• Nebraska owns wins in 1993 (22-12 in Ithaca) and 2002 (24-18 in Grand Prairie, Texas), while Cornell won in 2003 (20-12 in Grand Prairie, Texas) and in 2013.
 
LAST TIME VS. NEBRASKA
• Cornell and Nebraska each won five matches, but bonus wins propelled the Big Red to the finals of the National Duals with a 19-17 win over the Cornhuskers on Feb. 17, 2013 at Newman Arena.
• Kyle Dake won by fall at 165 and Nahshon Garrett won a major decision at 125 for the final margin.
• The Big Red won a pair of swing matches, as Bricker Dixon outlasted Shawn Nagel for a 3-2 decision and No. 4 Steve Bosak captured a 3-0 win over No. 8 Josh Innen at 184.
 
ABOUT RUTGERS
• Rutgers ranks 14th in the latest Intermat rankings and is off to a 7-1 start.
• Four Scarlet Knights are ranked this week by Intermat — Anthony Giraldo (No. 17 at 133), Anthony Ashnault (No. 3 at 141), Anthony Perrotti (No. 9 at 165) and Billy Smith (No. 7 at 285).
• Both Ashnault and Perrotti are returning All-Americans.
• Rutgers has three wins over nationally-ranked opponents so far this year (No. 13 North Carolina, No. 18 Oregon State, No. 25 Northern Iowa) and a one-point loss to No. 22 Oklahoma.
• Head coach Scott Goodale, in his ninth season with the Scarlet Knights, has helped the program to four top 25 NCAA finishes since 2009.

THE CORNELL-RUTGERS SERIES
• Cornell leads the all-time series 5-2-1 dating back to the 1951-52 season when the teams
first met.
• The two teams last met during the 2013-14 season when the Big Red took a 29-9 victory at Newman Arena.
• Rutgers' last win came during the 1997-98 campaign with the Scarlet Knights taking an 18-16 decision at Princeton.
 
LAST TIME VS. RUTGERS
• The Cornell wrestling team remained unbeaten in dual meet competition with a strong 29-9 victory over Rutgers on Jan. 26, 2014 at Newman Arena.
• In front of a crowd of 2,833 fans there to watch two of the EIWA's best while raising funds for Hospicare of Ithaca, the Big Red scored two pins and a couple major decision victories while losing two of its three matches in overtime by a total of four points.
• The dual win was Cornell's 31st straight against EIWA opponents and its 47th consecutive against unranked teams.
• Sophomore Nahshon Garrett opened the dual with a dominant fall over Sean McCabe of Rutgers. Garrett's 13th straight win was locked down with Garrett leading 15-3 late in the third as he was able to take McCabe down to his back and secure the pin to give the home team an early 6-0 team lead.
• Gabe Dean dominated fellow freshman Anthony Messner from the opening whistle, squaring off his shoulders for the pin at 4:20 to seal the dual win.
• The intermission saw Cornell honor two with induction into the Hall of Distinguished Wrestling Alumni, as John Keib '91 and Jim Stanec '01 were both celebrated.
 
CORNELL AT THE GRAPPLE AT THE GARDEN
• Cornell has been a part of all four Grapple at the Garden events and is 4-2 in its previous three trips.
• The Big Red lost contests to both No. 7 Missouri (22-12) and No. 2 Oklahoma State (21-16) in 2012 in the first-ever Grapple at the Garden.
• During the winter of 2013, the Big Red swept its two opponents — defeating Maryland 32-9 and No. 7 Illinois 18-15.
• Cornell swept through last season's event, knocking off No. 12 Edinboro (23-14) and dropping Northern Iowa (35-4).
• The Big Red is 2-0 against unranked opponents in Madison Square Garden and 2-2 against nationally ranked teams with both losses coming to squads ranked in the top seven.
 
LAST TIME AT THE GRAPPLE AT THE GARDEN
• Rob Koll became the ninth coach in Cornell athletics history to reach 250 career wins in their sport by sweeping two duals at the Grapple at the Garden at Madison Square Garden.
• The Big Red rallied from an early deficit for a 23-14 win over No. 12 Edinboro, then won the first nine matches en route to a 35-4 triumph over Northern Iowa.
• Edinboro took an early 11-3 victory in the dual, but Cornell won the final six duals — including Gabe Dean's sudden victory triumph over No. 14 Vic Avery at 184.
• Cornell won the first nine matches of its dual with Northern Iowa to cruise to the victory.
 
THE BIG RED AT THE NEW YORK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Cornell pinned its way to a fourth consecutive New York State Wrestling title, easily securing the title by winning five individual titles and cruising past second place Army 202-171 at Barton Hall.
• Binghamton (133.5), Buffalo (136) and Columbia (123.5) rounded out the top five teams.
• Nahshon Garrett (133), Dylan Realbuto (141), Duke Pickett (165), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184) all won titles, two more Big Red wrestlers reached the finals (Dalton Macri medically forfeited to second at 125; Will Koll lost to teammate Dylan Realbuto in a one-point decision in the finals) and the other three reached the semifinals, with Jeramy Sweany medically forfeiting out the rest of the tournament after winning his first two matches at heavyweight by fall.
• Winning by fall became a theme on the day, as the Big Red won 15 matches by pin in the championship bracket, where its 10 scoring wrestlers posted a cumulative 35-4 record with 26 bonus point victories.
 
DUAL DOMINANCE
• Cornell finished 17-2 last season in dual meets with wins over six nationally ranked teams (No. 4 Minnesota, No. 11 Lehigh (twice), No. 12 Edinboro, No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 23 North Carolina State).
• Individual wrestlers recorded a 130-59 record in duals (one double forfeit).
• Three Big Red regulars posted perfect records in dual meets, with Gabe Dean leading the way with an 18-0 mark. In addition, Dylan Palacio went 13-0 and Brian Realbuto was 12-0.
• Also posting impressive dual meet records were Nahshon Garrett at 15-2, Chris Villalonga at 13-3 , Jace Bennett at 12-5 and Duke Pickett at 11-3.
 
TALL IVY
• Since Rob Koll took over the Cornell program in 1993, the Big Red has gone 101-8-1 (.923) in its 110 Ivy League matches.
• Over that same span, Penn is next best at 89-20-1, followed by Brown (45-64-1).
• Rounding out the field is Columbia 42-68, Harvard 36-73-1 and Princeton 15-95.
• Dating back to the 2002-03 season (13 years), Cornell's perfect 65-0 record laps the competition. Penn is second-best at 49-16, followed by Columbia 31-34, Brown 19-45-1, Harvard 18-46-1 and Princeton 12-53.
 
NOTES TO KNOW
• The Big Red finished the 2014-15 dual meet season with a 17-2 record, the third-highest total in school history. Cornell won a record 21 matches during the 1991-92 campaign.
• The Big Red has had at least one individual NCAA champion in seven of the last eight years and at least one finalist in eight straight campaigns.
• The Big Red has had 12 different wrestlers win a combined 17 NCAA titles. Kyle Dake is one of three wrestlers to claim four national crowns (doing it in four different weight classes), while Dave Auble and Travis Lee won two titles each.
• Cornell has had 37 wrestlers earn a total of 72 All-America honors, including 52 total All-Americans since 2002.
• Since Rob Koll took over prior to the 1993-94 campaign, Cornell has had 143 NCAA qualifiers, 52 All-Americans and 12 national champions. In the first 63 seasons of the NCAA tournament, the Big Red program had 82 total NCAA qualifiers, 16 All-Americans and five national champions.
• Head coach Rob Koll became the ninth Big Red coach in any sport to reach 250 career victories with a sweep at the Grapple at the Garden last season. He now sports a 262-82-5 record in dual meets.
• Cornell wrestlers have won at least 20 total matches in eight straight NCAA tournaments and 12 of the last 13.
• The Big Red has won 13 consecutive Ivy crowns and 68 straight Ivy matches.
• Cornell's 13 straight Ivy League titles build on the Big Red's record of consecutive Ivy titles by the same team in a sport. The wrestling team has won three more than Cornell had in men's gymnastics (from 1967-68 to 1976-77) and men's lacrosse (1973-74 to 1982-83), as well as Princeton in men's lacrosse (1994-95 to 2003-04). 
• Every four-year member of the Cornell wrestling team who has enrolled since 1980 has won at least one Ivy League title during their career.
• The Big Red has crowned at least one EIWA champion in each of the last 14 seasons and in 24 of the last 25 years. Only Lehigh, with 16 straight years with an Eastern champion, has a longer current streak.
• Cornell has had at least three individual EIWA champions in seven consecutive seasons.
• In the last six seasons, Cornell wrestlers have won EIWA titles at each weight except 285 pounds. The last heavyweight to stand at the top of the podium was Seth Charles in 1999.
• The Big Red is 252-81-3 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 (87-13), Cortland (17-1), Geneseo (1-0), Hofstra (18-4), 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 11 All-America accolades and three individual NCAA titles at a total of two different weight classes as collegiate athletes.
 
WOMACK WINS AT NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC
• Brandon Womack, a six-time Alabama state champion in high school, debuted for the Big Red with an 8-3 victory over American's Jason Grimes, Jr. at 174 pounds in one of the Showcase Matches at the 50th NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 1.
• Second period nearfall points gave the Big Red freshman the victory at the national showcase that featured a number of experimental rules, including a three-point takedown.
 
NEXT UP
• The Big Red closes out the semester at the Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 4-5.
• A year ago, Cornell finished fifth at the tournament with Nahshon Garrett (125) and Chris Villalonga (149) each winning titles.