STORY LINES:
• The Cornell wrestling team has had a number of challenges to its more than a decade of Ivy League dominance, and this weekend faces two of the programs that have presented the biggest obstacles.
• The Big Red will host Penn, the last team other than Cornell to capture an Ivy title back in 2002, on Friday, Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m., before league unbeaten Princeton heads to Ithaca on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. in what could be a showdown for the Ivy title for a second straight year.
• Cornell enters the weekend having won 76 consecutive duals against Ivy foes, 74 in a row against unranked opponents, 30 consecutive against Princeton and 14 straight vs. Penn.
• Cornell has already guaranteed itself a winning dual meet record for the 31st straight year and the 39th time in the last four decades.  
• The contests will be available on the Ivy League Digital Network.
• At 10-2, Cornell continues its dual match schedule as it looks to clinch an unprecedented 15th consecutive Ivy League title.
• Ranked ninth nationally in the latest USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, Cornell also holds down the top spot in the first-ever NWCA/NDS Mid-Major Top 20 poll announced two weeks ago.
• Senior Gabe Dean, a leading candidate for the Hodge Trophy, has dominated all season long and has won 18 of his 24 matches this season by fall with seven victories over wrestlers ranked in the top 20 — including six bonus point wins.
• The Big Red has big goals — Cornell is eyeing yet another top five team effort at NCAAs and has a number of wrestlers with national championship and All-America aspirations.
• Dean, along with 2015 NCAA finalist and two-time All-American Brian Realbuto, as well as 2016 All-American Dylan Palacio, headline an experienced and talented lineup.
• Seniors Taylor Simaz (157) and Dylan Palacio (165) make up the starting lineup at the two middle weights.
• In addition, two-time NCAA qualifier Mark Grey (133) and 2016 NCAA qualifier Joey Galasso (149) join first-year starter Will Koll (141) in the regular lineup.
• Senior Craig Scott and 2016 NCAA qualifier Jeramy Sweany are competing for the top spot at heavyweight, while Honis and Owen Scott are jockeying at 197.
• Either sophomore Dalton Macri, an NCAA qualifier a season ago, or freshman Noah Baughman will likely be the choice at 125 pounds.
• In the first NCAA Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings released this season, seven Big Red wrestlers appeared in the top 33, including top-ranked Gabe Dean at 184 and third-ranked Brian Realbuto at 174.
• Grey sits 17th at 133, while Simaz (No. 24 at 157), Galasso (No. 26 at 149), Honis (No. 26 at 197) and Koll (No. 33 at 133) also appear in the weight class rankings.

THE STREAKS:
• Cornell has won 10 consecutive EIWA team titles, the longest streak in conference history.
• Head coach Rob Koll's teams have racked up 14 Ivy League titles in a row, the longest title streak in any sport in conference history.
• Cornell has won 76 consecutive Ivy League dual meets dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
• The Big Red has crowned at least one EIWA champion in each of the last 15 seasons and in 25 of the last 26 years.
• The Big Red is 56-1 (.982) in its last 57 duals against current EIWA competitors dating back to 2010-11.
• Cornell is 95-4-1 (.955) in dual meet action against current EIWA teams dating back to 2004-05, including 86-0 against teams other than Lehigh.
• Cornell has placed in the top five at the NCAA championships in six of the last eight seasons and in the top 10 in 12 of the last 14 years (nine straight).
• Cornell is 103-22-1 (.821) in dual meet competition in the last seven seasons.
• The Big Red is 39-6 (.867) in its last 45 home duals dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Big Red wrestling has won 74 consecutive dual meets against unranked teams dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
• Cornell has won 33 straight meets against New York state opponents.
• The Big Red has claimed a record five consecutive New York State team titles.

ABOUT PENN:
• The Quakers are 4-6 overall (1-2 Ivy) after splitting last weekend with Harvard (27-17 win) and Brown (18-16 loss).
• Penn also owns victories over Lock Haven, Bucknell and American.
• Penn has a pair of ranked wrestlers in 13th-ranked Casey Kent (15-4) at 174 and 17th-ranked Frank Mattiace (20-8) at 197.
• Additionally, May Bethea (18-7 at 157), Joe Heyob (16-6 at 184) and Brooks Martino (5-2 at 165) also expect to be contenders at the EIWA championships.
• Second year head coach Alex Tirapelle has posted a 9-4 career mark, including 3-5 in Ivy League play.

THE CORNELL-PENN SERIES:
• Cornell has a decisive 83-21-1 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1907-08.
• The Big Red has won 14 consecutive dual meets against the Quakers, including a 21-9 decision last season at The Palestra.
• Penn's last win came on Feb. 2, 2002, a 21-9 Quaker victory in Philadelphia, Pa.

LAST TIME VS. PENN:
• Freshman Joey Galasso picked up a signature win in front of his hometown fans and the Cornell wrestling team set up an evening Ivy title match with Princeton by running through Penn 21-9 on Feb. 13, 2016 at the Palestra.
• All three of Penn's nationally ranked wrestlers were defeated, with Galasso's victory over No. 12 C.J. Cobb at 149 pounds coming as the lone upset.
• He rode a first period takedown to the victory that sets him up for seeding at the upcoming EIWA championship in front of a loud, friendly gym that was cheering the local native on.
• He took a 3-2 lead into the final seconds of the third and was able to defend a late shot and go behind to clinch the 5-2 victory.
• Top-ranked Gabe Dean had yet another close match with rival and 15th-ranked Lorenzo Thomas at 184, but a takedown in sudden victory handed him the 7-5 triumph.
• Cornell had the first takedown in the eight of the 10 matches and had a dominant 22-5 edge in takedowns on the night.
• While all seven Big Red wins came by decision (as well as all three of Penn's wins), five were a takedown away from a major decision.
 
ABOUT PRINCETON:
• Princeton has spent time in the national rankings and bring in a team that enters Friday's dual at Columbia with a 7-6 record (3-0 Ivy).
• The Tigers enter the final weekend of conference action tied for the Ivy League lead, and wins on Friday for both Cornell and Princeton would lead to a winner-take-all showdown between the teams for the second straight year.
• The Tigers have four ranked wrestlers, led by fourth-ranked Matt Kolodzik (20-2 at 141) and 2016 NCAA All-American and 10th-ranked Brett Harner (11-5 at 197).
• Both Jordan Laster (14-7 at 149) and Ray O'Donnell (10-5 at 285) are ranked 17th in the country in their weight classes.
• Additionally, Ty Agaisse (10-4 at 125) and Joanthan Schleifer (12-5 at 174) are also EIWA contenders.
• The 2016 Ivy league Coach of the Year, Chris Ayres led the Tigers to the program's best EIWA finish (fifth) since 1978 a year ago.

THE CORNELL-PRINCETON SERIES:
• Cornell leads the all-time series 54-15 dating back to the 1907-08 season when the teams first met.
• The Big Red has won 30 consecutive dual meets against the Tigers, including last year's 23-16 victory at Dillon Gymnasium.
• 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:
• If it was up to luck, the Cornell wrestling team's 13th straight Ivy League title may have been the end of a dynasty.
• Instead, the Big Red celebrated a 14th consecutive unbeaten conference slate after running out to an early lead and knocking off Princeton on Saturday evening at Dillon Gymnasium.
• Senior Nahshon Garrett set the tone in the second match of the night with a second period pin of Noah Arjam and junior Brian Realbuto all but clinched the win with his tech fall victory at 174 over No. 16 Jon Schleifer.
• Princeton won the final three matches of the night, including two with bonus points, to close strong after falling behind 23-3, but the team score was out of reach after Realbuto's win.
• In a battle of league unbeatens on the mat for the second time today, the Big Red didn't wrestle top-ranked Gabe Dean at 184 pounds, instead resting the junior with the match already won.
• It was the 30th straight triumph over the Tigers and also extended the program's string of consecutive winning dual meet campaigns to 30 dating back to the 1985-86 season.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES TO KNOW:
• Five Cornell wrestlers are a perfect 3-0 in Ivy competition entering the weekend — Noah Baughman at 125,  Jonathan Furnas at 149, Taylor Simaz at 157, Brian Realbuto at 174 and Gabe Dean at 184.
• Dean has three falls in three matches, wrestling a total of 6:35 with two first period pins.
• Realbuto (16-0) and Dean (15-0) are both unbeaten against Ivy teams in their career.
• Senior Gabe Dean enters the weekend with 141 career wins, good for fifth on the school's career list.
• Dean's 34-match win streak entering the weekend is the seventh-longest in school history, but just his second best (52 wins from 2014-16).
• With 18 falls and 23 bonus point wins in his 24-0 start, Dean has an amazing 5.500 NCAA dominance ranking - the school record for a season is Kyle Dake's 4.784 during his senior season (2012-13).
• Dean also ranks third all-time at Cornell in individual winning percentage (141-6, .959), behind only Dave Auble (.981, 51-1) and Dake (.972, 137-4).
• Junior Brian Realbuto (108-17) became the 25th wrestler in Cornell history to reach 100 wins with a 3-2 decision over No. 4 Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma State on Dec. 16.

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW:
• The Big Red has won 14 consecutive Ivy crowns and 76 straight Ivy matches.
• Cornell's 14 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 holds a 33-match win streak against teams from New York dating back to 2004, including 18 consecutive at home.
• The Big Red is 256-81-3 all-time against teams from New York state in its history — Army (11-17-1), Binghamton (7-0), Brooklyn Poly (2-0), Buffalo (7-4), Clarkson (2-0), Colgate (29-2), Columbia (89-13), Cortland (17-1), Geneseo (1-0), Hofstra (19-4), 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).
• Cornell registered its fifth consecutive New York state intercollegiate title, matching Buffalo's run from 1974-78 as the longest in tournament history.
• Since the Friedman Wrestling Center opened in January of 2003, the Big Red is 68-14-1 in dual matches (.825).
• 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 in 2014 and now sports a 277-89-5 record in dual meets.
• 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.

NEXT UP:
• The Ivy League winner will host a Big Ten opponent in the 2017 NWCA National Duals on Sunday, Feb. 19.
• If the Big Red doesn't finish atop the Ivy standings, it would continue to prep for the EIWA Championships beginning March 3 at Bucknell.