Lehigh Tops Cornell in Nailbiter In Renewal of EIWA's Top Rivalry
January 08, 2022

 


BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh earned a pair of top 20 upsets and won a toss-up match by a single point as the Mountain Hawks topped No. 8 Cornell 18-15 on Saturday afternoon at Grace Hall. The Big Red slipped to 3-2, while 17th-ranked Lehigh improved to 6-4 with the victory.

Top-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis earned a third period tech fall at 149 to close the dual, No. 2 Vito Arujau won against a top 11 opponent and Julian Ramirez won a top 25 battle, but it wasn't enough as the Mountain Hawks won a pair of one-point matches en route to the upset. No. 18 Jacob Cardenas captured bonus points at 197 and Julian Ramirez hung on at 165 for the fourth Big Red's victory of the night.

Diakomihalis' 21-6 victory over Steven Storm and Cardenas' 19-4 triumph over Eli Jones added bonus points to the totals, as all six of Lehigh's triumphs came by decision in an early sneak preview of the EIWA tournament.


After ninth-ranked Josh Humphrey's set the tone with his win at 157, Ramirez squeaked out a 3-2victory over No. 25 Brian Meyer at 165. Lehigh then swung the match with upsets at 174 and 184 as unranked grapplers topped the Big Red's starters, Chris Foca and Jonathan Loew. Cornell won twoof its next three, behind Cardenas and Arujau, but Lehigh won toss-ups at 133 and 141 to seal the win before Diakomihalis took the mat to close out the dual.

The victory was Lehigh's third consecutive against the Big Red and extends its series lead to 63-33-3 dating back to the first meeting in 1910.

No. 17 Lehigh 18, No. 8 Cornell 15
157 ? #9 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Hunter Richard (Cornell) 9-2
165 ? #9 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec. #25 Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 3-2
174 ? Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. #10 Chris Foca (Cornell) 5-2
184 ? AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) dec. #13 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) 7-6
197 ? #18 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) major dec. Eli Jones (Lehigh) 19-4
285 ? #8 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. #18 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 9-3
125 ? #2 Vito Arujau (Cornell) dec. #11 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) 9-3
133 ? #20 Malyke Hines (Lehigh) dec. #31 Dom LaJoie (Cornell) 10-4
141 ? Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) dec. Cole Handlovic (Cornell) 3-2
149 ? #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) tech fall Steven Storm (Lehigh) 21-6, 5:35
Attendance ? 1,593

Extra matches
141 ? JJ Wilson (Cornell) dec. Drew Munch (Lehigh) 3-2
285 ? Brendan Furman (Cornell) dec. TJ Moore (Lehigh) 4-3





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