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The Cornell Wrestling team competes against Columbia at the Friedman Wrestling Center in Ithaca, NY on February 2, 2024.
Lexi Woodcock/Cornell Athletics

Wrestling Eyes 43rd Ivy Title On Princeton, Penn Road Trip

2/7/2024 4:00:00 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. — With another Ivy League wrestling title in sight, No. 10 Cornell (8-3, 3-0 Ivy) faces Princeton (5-3, 3-0 Ivy) on Friday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. the Jadwin Gymnasium and Penn (4-4, 3-0 Ivy) on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Palestra. Both duals will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

Ivy League Dominance 

  • Cornell will clinch its 43rd Ivy League title with victories over Princeton and Penn. 

  • Cornell wrestlers are 25-5 against Ivy opponents in duals this season. The Big Red has 21 bonus-point wins in 30 matches. 

  •  Cornell has captured 19 Ivy League titles in the past 20 seasons, including two in a row under head coach Mike Grey, who won four as a student-athlete and eight as an assistant coach for the Big Red.

  • The Big Red has won 105 of its last 106 Ivy League duals, including 13 in a row since losing to Princeton in 2020. That loss snapped the program's streak of 92 consecutive Ivy League wins. 

  • Cornell's streak of 17 straight Ivy titles from 2003-19 is a record for 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. 

  • Cornell is 315-53-1 all-time against Ivy League opponents.

Last Time Out: Cornell Takes Down Columbia 

  • The Big Red improved to 8-4 overall (3-0 Ivy) and won its fourth straight dual with a 32-9 victory over Columbia last Friday at the Friedman Wrestling Center. 

  • The Big Red won seven of 10 matches, including three by technical fall, two by major decision and one by fall. 

  • It was Cornell's 37th consecutive victory over Columbia. 

Cardenas Stacking Wins, Bonus Points 

  • Senior Jacob Cardenas (197 pounds) leads the Big Red with 16 wins. The 2023 All-American has lost just three times. 

  • Of his 16 wins, 11 have earned the Big Red bonus points. He's won four matches by major decision, four by technical fall and three by fall. 

  • Cardenas earned one of the biggest wins of his career in Cornell's 20-16 win over Missouri, taking down then-No. 3 Rocky Elam 4-0 by decision. That victory clinched Cornell the dual win.

  • Cardenas is 7-3 against wrestlers ranked in the top 25 at 197 in the coaches' rankings. 

Fernandez Trending Up 

  • Junior Ethan Fernandez has solidified himself at 149 pounds this season, as he enters the weekend 15-6 overall and 8-3 in duals. He has won his last five matches. 

  • Fernandez's consistency has earned him spots in multiple national rankings, including InterMat.com (No. 23), FloWrestling (No. 29) and The Open Mat (No. 13). 

  • Fernandez was ranked No. 24 at his weight in the first NCAA coaches' rankings. 

Other Big Red Storylines and Individual Notes 

  • Eight Big Red wrestlers earned spots in the first round of coaches' rankings, which are used in determining seeds for the NCAA Championships. A minimum of eight matches were required to be ranked. 

  • The Big Red's ranked wrestlers include sophomore Brett Ungar (#12 at 125), sophomore Vince Cornella (#12 at 141), junior Ethan Fernandez (#24 at 149), freshman Meyer Shapiro (#9 at 157), junior Julian Ramirez (#3 at 165), senior Chris Foca (#6 at 184), senior Jacob Cardenas (#7 at 197) and senior Lewis Fernandes (#17 at 285). 

  • Three-time All-American and 2023 national champion Vito Arujau (133) recently returned to the Big Red lineup after a month out of it. He has won seven matches in a row dating back to December. 

  • Shapiro has been performing to his billing as the top recruit in the 2023 class. Since losing two straight matches at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite, he has won 10 straight. He's 15-2 overall and 10-0 in duals. 

  • Shapiro earned arguably his best victory of the season against Missouri, beating then-No. 5 Brock Mauller 13-4 by major decision. 

  • The Big Red has won 48 matches by technical fall this season, one shy of the program record (49) set in 2015-16. 

Know the Foe and Series History: Princeton 

  • Cornell leads the all-time series 60-16. The Big Red had won 33 in a row against the Tigers until its 19-13 loss in February 2020. 

  • The Big Red has won the last two duals in the series. 

  • Eligh Rivera (#21 at 149), Nate Dugan (#20 at 184), Luke Stout (#11 at 197) and Matthew Cover (#24 at 285) earned spots in the first coaches' rankings. 

Know the Foe and Series History: Penn

  • Cornell is 89-21-1 all-time against Penn. 

  • The Big Red has won the last 20 duals in the series. 

  • Seven Penn wrestlers are ranked in the coaches' rankings: Michael Colaiocco (#11 at 133), CJ Composto (#15 at 141), Kelly Dunnigan (#27 at 149), Lucas Revano (#21 at 157), Nick Incontrera (#5 at 174), Max Hale (#17 at 184) and Cole Urbas (#24 at 197).

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