#11 Cornell (12-2, 9-1 EIWA, 5-0 Ivy) at #8 Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2 Big 10)

Date & Time: Saturday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. CT
Venue: UW Field House - Madison, Wis.
Twitter: @CUBigRedGameday | @BigRedWrestling
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell wrestling team will hit the road for its final dual meet of 2021-22 when it challenges No. 8 Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. CT at UW Field House.
• The Big Red will attempt to extend its dual meet win streak to 10 and knock off a top 10 team on the road for the first time since defeating No. 7 Lehigh 21-20 on Jan. 21, 2017.
• The dual could feature a number of showcase matchups, including Cornell's top-ranked 149-pounder Yianni Diakomihalis vs. No. 6 Austin Gomez of Wisconsin.
• Third-ranked 125-pounder Vito Arujau is set to take on No. 6 Eric Barnett of Wisconsin, while a top 10 battle between No. 9 Julian Ramirez of Cornell and the Badgers' sixth-ranked Dean Hamiti at 165 looms.
• In all, seven of the 10 matchups could be between ranked grapplers on Sunday.
• After missing the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Red is in hot pursuit of regaining its EIWA title and is prepared to make a mark at nationals after reclaiming the Ivy League crown earlier this season.
• Cornell won its 18th Ivy League title in the last 19 seasons, but the first under head coach Mike Grey after winning four as a student-athlete and eight more as an assistant coach.
• Back in the lineup after taking Olympic redshirts during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons are All-American Vito Arujau (133) and two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (149).
• Cornell is ranked 11th nationally in the latest USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll and with eight of its grapplers ranked in the top 33 of their respective weight classes according to Intermat and nine finding sports in the latest NCAA coaches rank.
• The Big Red has set its sights high — with the NCAA Championships set for Detroit, Mich. in March, Cornell believes it should be in the mix for yet another top 10 team finish.
• Cornell has finished in the top 10 at every championship (excepting the 2021 championship when the Big Red didn't compete) since 2008, joining Iowa in making that claim.  
• Seven previous NCAA qualifiers are on the roster — Arujau (125), Dom LaJoie (133), Diakomihalis (149), Hunter Richard (157), Jonathan Loew (184), Ben Darmstadt (197), Brendan Furman (285).
• Two-time NCAA champion Diakomihalis joins Arujau and Darmstadt as All-Americans back for the Big Red.
 

THE STREAKS

• Cornell's nine-match dual meet win streak is its longest since winning 14 consecutive spanning the final nine matches of 2017-18 and the first five of 2018-19.
• The Big Red is 85-5 (.944) in its last 90 duals against current EIWA competitors dating back to 2010-11.
• Cornell is 124-8-1 (.936) in dual meet action against current EIWA teams dating back to 2004-05, including 112-1 (.991) against teams other than Lehigh (2019 loss at Princeton).
• Cornell has won 97 of its last 98 Ivy League dual meets dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
• Big Red wrestling is 108-2 in dual meets (.982) against unranked teams dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
• Cornell is 136-30 (.819) in dual meet competition in the last 11 seasons.
• Cornell is 54-8 (.871) in its last 62 road dual matches.
• The Big Red has crowned at least one EIWA champion in each of the last 19 seasons and in 29 of the last 30 years.
• The Big Red is 63-11 (.851) in its last 74 home duals dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Cornell has won 41 straight meets against New York state opponents.
• Junior Yianni Diakomihalis is 40-1 and sophomore Vito Arujau is 25-1 in dual meets during their career.
• Diakomihalis has won 65 consecutive matches, the second-longest streak in program history (Kyle Dake '13 won 77).
 

NCAA COACHES' PANEL

• Junior Yianni Diakomihalis was the top-ranked wrestler in at 149 pounds when the second NCAA Coaches' Panel was released on Feb. 6.
• He was among nine Cornell grapplers among the top 33 in their weight classes, with three ranked among the top 10.
• Along with Diakomihalis, Vito Arujau is third at 125, Julian Ramirez is ranked No. 10 at 165.
• Top 20 rankings come for Chris Foca (12th at 174), Jonathan Loew (16th at 184), Jacob Cardenas (19th at 197) and Lewis Fernandes (285).
• In addition, Dom Lajoie (32nd at 133) and Hunter Richard (30th at 157) are also among the top wrestlers at their weight classes.
 

NOTES TO KNOW

• Cornell's 17 straight Ivy League titles from 2003-19 is a record of consecutive Ivy titles by the same team in a sport. The Big Red won four 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.
• Since the Friedman Wrestling Center opened in January of 2003, the Big Red is 70-8 in dual matches (.897) there.
• Since the start of Ivy competition, the Big Red is 307-53-1 (.852) with 41 league titles in 65 seasons (13 second place finishes). That's 119  games clear of second-place Penn (187-170-7) and 128.5 games ahead of Princeton (178-171-5).
• Prior to stepping on the mat against Stanford on Nov. 20, junior Yianni Diakomihalis hadn't wrestled in a Cornell singlet since winning the NCAA title on March 23, 2019 — a span of 973 days. Same for sophomore Vito Arujau, whose last match came earlier that same morning in the fourth-place match.
 

THE CORNELL-WISCONSIN SERIES

• The Badgers lead the all-time series 3-1-1 dating back to the first meeting between the programs in the 1992-93 season.
• The Big Red won the last meeting between the school 24-11 at the National Duals on Jan. 9, 2010.
• This will be the first-ever visit to Madison for the Big Red, with four of the previous five meetings coming at neutral sites.
• This will be the fifth time in six meetings both squads enter the matchup nationally ranked.
 

LAST TIME VS. WISCONSIN

•  Big Red wrestling team opened the 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with a 24-11 victory over No. 18 Wisconsin on Jan. 9, 2010 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 
• Cornell won seven out of 10 matches with junior Mack Lewnes winning by fall at 174 pounds to pick up bonus points for the Big Red.
• Current Cornell head coach Mike Grey, ranked 10th nationally at 133 pounds, earned a 6-0 victory over sixth-ranked Tyler Graff, a 2019 World Team member and four-time All-American, to help the Big Red to the team win.
• Other wins came from Frank Perrelli (125), Kyle Dake (141), John Basting (157), Cam Simaz (197) and Josh Arnone (285).
 

NEXT UP

• With an Ivy League title in tow, the Cornell wrestling team will attempt to claim the EIWA title for the first time since 2017 when it hosts the conference championship beginning on Saturday, March 5.
• The two-day event at Newman Arena will include 17 teams with hopes of qualifying individuals for the upcoming NCAA championships based on their final placements.