#10 Cornell (13-2, 9-1 EIWA, 5-0 Ivy) at the 118th EIWA Championship

Date & Time: Saturday-Sunday, March 5-6
Venue: Newman Arena - Ithaca, N.Y.
Twitter: @CUBigRedGameday | @BigRedWrestling
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell wrestling team has an opportunity to reclaim the EIWA title for the first time since 2017 when the Big Red hosts the two-day conference championship on Saturday-Sunday, March 5-6 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
•  The Big Red's lineup of 10 wrestlers will attempt to unseat four-time defending champion Lehigh, as the two teams have combined to win every title since 2002.
• Cornell last hosted the championships in 2003 when the Mountain Hawks edged out the Big Red in Barton Hall.
• It will be the first EIWA Tournament held in Newman Arena.
• 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 10th 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

• 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 136-31 (.814) in dual meet competition in the last 11 seasons.
• Cornell is 54-9 (.857) in its last 63 road dual matches.
• 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 41-1 and sophomore Vito Arujau is 26-1 in dual meets during their career.
• Diakomihalis has won 66 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.
 

WHAT'S AT STAKE

• A total of 42 bids to the NCAA tournament will be awarded by placement at the EIWA championship (two fewer than in 2020).
• Only the Big Ten (88) and the Big 12 (58) will have more qualifiers than the EIWA.
• The top seven at 165 pounds will automatically qualify for NCAAs.
• To earn a spot at NCAAs at 157 or 197, a wrestler will have to finish fifth or higher.
• The top four spots at 125, 141, 149, 174 and 285 pounds will automatically qualify.
• Only the top three at 184 pounds will advance through the qualification process, with just the finalists clinching bids at 133.
 

EIWA NOTES

• Cornell has finished in the top two as a team at each EIWA Tournament since 2005.
• The Big Red has the top two streaks of consecutive titles, winning six straight from 1912-17 and then 11 from 2007-17.
• The Big Red has crowned at least one EIWA champion in each of the past 19 seasons and in 29 of the past 30 tournaments it has participated in.
• Cornell has had at least multiple individual EIWA champions every year it has participated in the tournament since 2007.
• Since, Cornell wrestlers have won at least three EIWA titles at each weight except 285 pounds — the last Big Red heavyweight to stand at the top of the podium was Seth Charles in 1999.
 

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.
 

NEXT UP

• Cornell's qualifiers will compete at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships beginning on March 17-19 at the Little Ceasar's Arena in Detroit, Mich.