LEWISBURG, Pa. — Trailing Ivy League Wrestler of the Year Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) by two in the final minute of the third period, Benny Baker (174 pounds) staged a two-takedown rally to earn the biggest win of his career and the top upset of day one at the EIWA Tournament on Friday at Bucknell University's Sojka Pavilion.
Baker, the No. 8 seed, trailed No. 1 Conigliaro almost the entire match before going ahead 5-4 with 25 seconds left. Moments later, he added four more with a near fall to secure the 9-4 win, punching his ticket to Saturday's EIWA semifinals and the NCAA Championships in Kansas City later this month. It's the first time the senior has accomplished both of those feats in his collegiate career.
Cornell ended Friday in first place with 91.5 team points, 11 ahead of second-place Lehigh and 29 ahead of third-place Penn and Army. The Big Red's 10 wrestlers combined to go 19-2 on the day and earned bonus points with 12 of those wins.
Baker is one of nine Cornell grapplers who will wrestle in the semifinals, along with Brett Ungar (125), Vito Arujau (133), Ethan Fernandez (149), Meyer Shapiro (157), Julian Ramirez (165), Chris Foca (184), Jacob Cardenas (197) and Lewis Fernandes (285). Foca, Cardenas and Fernandes also clinched NCAA berths.
Cornell created some separation on the team scoreboard midway through the second session with a run of bonus wins. It started with No. 1 Fernandez's 17-2 technical fall over No. 9 Dominic Findora (Drexel) at 149 pounds. Ivy League Rookie of the Year and No. 1 Shapiro (157), who pinned his first opponent in 58 seconds, followed with an 18-2 tech fall over No. 8 Jonathan Ley (Navy). No. 1 Ramirez piled on at 165 with his second pin of the day.
After Baker's triumph, No. 1 Foca picked up a 10-6 decision over No. 8 David Key (Navy). No. 2 Cardenas and No. 5 Fernandes capped Cornell's night with major decisions, with Fernandes avenging his early season loss to No. 4 Keaton Kluever.
Day One Notes
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Baker has turned his season around, winning five straight matches after losing nine in a row.
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Conigliaro is the highest-ranked opponent Baker has beaten in his career. Conigliaro entered the day ranked No. 5 in the nation and had just one loss.
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Foca and Cardenas, both All-Americans in 2023, have qualified for NCAAs three times in their careers. Fernandes, who missed most of last season, will be making his second appearance.
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Arujau can win his third EIWA title with two more wins on Saturday. He would become the seventh Cornell wrestler to win three EIWA titles.
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Cornell is looking for its 28th EIWA title, 14th since 2007 and third in a row.
125: No. 2 Brett Ungar (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 2 Ungar def. No. 15 Eric Howe (Franklin & Marshall) 17-1 by technical fall
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Ungar def. No. 7 Max Gallagher (Penn) 4-3 by decision
133: No. 2 Vito Arujau (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 2 Arujau def. No. 15 Hunter Adrian (Brown) 8-2 by decision
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Arujau def. No. 10 Max Leete (American) 4-2 by decision
141: No. 2 Vince Cornella (top four qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 2 Cornella def. No. 15 Raymond Lopez (American) 9-2 by decision
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Cornella lost No. 7 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) 4-1 in SV
Consolation Round of 8: No. 2 Cornella lost by medical forfeit to No. 12 Tyler Vasquez (Princeton)
149: No. 1 Ethan Fernandez (top 4 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 1 Fernandez def. No. 17 Braden Bower (Bucknell) 4-1 by decision
Quarterfinal: No. 1 Fernandez def. No. 9 Dominic Findora (Drexel) 17-2 by technical fall
157: No. 1 Meyer Shapiro (top 3 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 1 Shapiro def. No. 17 Andy Garr (Columbia) by fall in 58 seconds
Quarterfinal: No 1 Shapiro def. No. 8 Jonathan Ley (Navy) 18-2 by technical fall
165: No. 1 Julian Ramirez (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 1 Ramirez def. No. 17 Breon Phifer (American) by fall in 1:01
Quarterfinal: No. 1 Ramirez def. No. 9 Cael Berg (Harvard) by fall in 2:10
174: No. 8 Benny Baker (top 6 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 8 Baker def. No. 9 Jack Janda (Drexel) 15-7 by major decision
Quarterfinal: No. 8 Baker def. No. 1 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) 9-4 by decision
184: No. 1 Chris Foca (top 7 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 1 Foca def. No. 16 Dalton Harkings (Army) 15-0 by technical fall
Quarterfinal: No. 1 Foca def. No. 8 David Key (Navy) 10-6 by decision
197: No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (top 6 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 2 Cardenas def. No. 15 Alex Whitworth (Harvard) 15-0 by technical fall
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Cardenas def. No. 7 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) 11-3 by major decision
285: No. 5 Lewis Fernandes (top 8 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: No. 5 Fernandes def. No. 12 Alex Semenenko (Brown) by fall in 3:53
Quarterfinal: No. 5 Fernandes def. No. 4 Keaton Kluever (Hofstra) 13-0 by major decision
Semifinal Matchups
125: No. 2 Ungar vs. No. 3 Diego Sotelo (Harvard)
133: No. 2 Arujau vs. No. 6 Braden Basile (Army)
149: No. 1 Fernandez vs. No. 4 Jude Swisher (Penn)
157: No. 1 Shapiro vs. No. 4 Nate Lukez (Army)
165: No. 1 Ramirez vs. No. 4 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell)
174: No. 8 Baker vs. No. 4 Ben Pasiuk (Army)
184: No. 1 Foca vs. No. 5 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia)
197: No. 2 Cardenas vs. No. 3 Lou DePrez (Binghamton)
285: No. 5 Fernandes vs. No. 1 Nate Taylor (Lehigh)
