SOURCE: cornellbigred.com

February 16, 2019

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Sophomore Max Dean set the tone by opening the match up with a major decision victory over the third-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds and No. 9 Cornell never looked back as the Big Red improved to 12-2 on the season with a 17-16 win over the Hokies on Friday evening at Cassell Coliseum.

Dean had the only three takedowns of the match to upset No. 3 Zack Zavatsky to open the dual, a match that would play a big role in the Big Red's criteria win. Despite the team score being tied at 16-16, Cornell scored more match points from decisions, major decisions and technical falls by a 65-54 margin, nearly entire made up of the nine-point shutout for the returning All-American in the feature match of the day. Both teams won five bouts, though the Big Red won two of three matchups between top 20 wrestlers. In addition to Dean's win, Chas Tucker earned a decisive 8-3 victory over No. 14 Korbin Myers at 133, while seventh-ranked David McFadden of Virginia Tech used a late takedown to topple No. 14 Brandon Womack at 174 to close the match.

Cornell jumped out to a 16-3 lead after 141 pounds in a match that started at 184. Honis picked up an 11-5 win for the Big Red over Brooks Wilding at 197, with Billy Miller getting the Hokies on the board with a 5-3 win over Jeramy Sweany at heavyweight. The Big Red's three nationally ranked wrestlers at 125, 133 and 141 all earned decisions, with Tucker topping Myers and top-ranked Diakomihalis dominating Mitch Moore, but only coming away with a 6-1 decision.

Virginia Tech mounted its comeback starting at 149 when Ryan Blees defeated surprise starter Will Koll, who made his dual debut after being injured in the preseason. B.C. LaPrade collected a victory at 157 and No. 8 Mekhi Lewis topped Andrew Berreyesa 14-5 at 165. David McFadden picked up the win at 174, but needed a major decision to secure the win and needed a late score to get out with an 8-6 victory.

The win extended the Big Red's win streak to seven overall and makes Cornell 4-0 all-time against Virginia Tech. Cornell is now 47-5 in its last 52 road duals.