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Cornell Claims 26th EIWA Title On Strength of Three Champions, Six NCAA Qualifiers

NEWS


ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell wrestling team claimed its 26th EIWA title in program history and its first since 2017, crowning three champions and qualifying six for NCAA Tournament bids when the two-day meet concluded on Sunday at Newman Arena. The Big Red's 153 team points narrowly held off Ivy rival Penn (143). Princeton (120.5), Lehigh (111) and Columbia (84.5) rounded out the top five teams.


Junior Yianni Diakomihalis (149) claimed his third title and first at 149 pounds, while both Vito Arujau (125) and Jonathan Loew (184) clinched their first titles. Lewis Fernandes was also a finalist, coming out on the short end of a 2-0 decision to Lehigh's Jordan Wood, who claimed an unprecedented fifth EIWA individual title. Arujau was named the Championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

At the end of Sunday, Arujau, Diakomihalis, Julian Ramirez (165), Loew, Jacob Cardenas (197) and Fernandes had each qualified for NCAAs in two weeks, while Dom LaJoie (133), Hunter Richard (149) and Chris Foca (174) will hope for word on at-large bids. All nine reached the podium with LaJoie taking third, Ramirez taking fourth, Cardenas slotting in fifth and Richard and Foca placing sixth in addition to the finalists.

The 26th title didn't come easy, which was to be expected. The Big Red's semifinal session was full of adversity - second-seeded Jacob Cardenas dropped consecutive matches at 197, while second-seeded Chris Foca was forced to injury default with a lead in his semi that resulted in him medically forfeiting out to sixth. Top-seeded Julian Ramirez fell in the semis at 165, as did fourth-seeded Dom LaJoie. He was caught in sudden victory by Navy's Josh Koderhandt. It entered the finals with a slim two-point edge over Penn.


The Big Red bounced back in a big way in the finals, starting right from the start. Vito Arujau, who won by fall less than two minutes into his semifinal match against Penn's Ryan Miller, ran right through top-seeded Patrick Glory on Princeton for his first EIWA title. In the fourth matchup between the rivals, Arujau earned three first period takedowns and cruised to a 19-6 win. The junior improved to 14-1 on the season with 13 of the wins coming with bonus points attached.


Diakomihalis also ran through the field, picking up an injury default victory to send him into the semifinals, where his head-to-head win over Anthony Artalona of Penn created some separation for the Big Red over the Quakers. He won all three of his matches with bonus points and extended his win streak to 70 entering the NCAA Championships.


Loew extended his own win streak to 12 with a 12-5 win over second-seeded Travis Stefanik of Princeton to secure his first EIWA title. He guaranteed himself a second NCAA Tournament bid with his 8-4 semifinals win over Neil Antrassian of Penn earlier in the day. He closed the championship with a team-high 26 victories this season.

Fernandes, who became the seventh Big Red wrestler to earn the EIWA's Billy Sheridan Memorial Award for the most falls in the least amount of time with two pins in 3:36 of action, gave Lehigh's Wood all he could handle in the finals, falling 2-0. The only points of the match came when Wood reversed Fernandes in the second after a hard ride for nearly a minute on the seventh-ranked Mountain Hawk heavyweight. Fernandes chose neutral in the third eyeing a tying takedown, but couldn't get it against the crafty veteran. The Big Red sophomore will bring an 18-7 record into nationals.

Cornell Claims 26th EIWA Title On Strength of Three Champions, Six NCAA Qualifiers

NEWS


ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell wrestling team claimed its 26th EIWA title in program history and its first since 2017, crowning three champions and qualifying six for NCAA Tournament bids when the two-day meet concluded on Sunday at Newman Arena. The Big Red's 153 team points narrowly held off Ivy rival Penn (143). Princeton (120.5), Lehigh (111) and Columbia (84.5) rounded out the top five teams.


Junior Yianni Diakomihalis (149) claimed his third title and first at 149 pounds, while both Vito Arujau (125) and Jonathan Loew (184) clinched their first titles. Lewis Fernandes was also a finalist, coming out on the short end of a 2-0 decision to Lehigh's Jordan Wood, who claimed an unprecedented fifth EIWA individual title. Arujau was named the Championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

At the end of Sunday, Arujau, Diakomihalis, Julian Ramirez (165), Loew, Jacob Cardenas (197) and Fernandes had each qualified for NCAAs in two weeks, while Dom LaJoie (133), Hunter Richard (149) and Chris Foca (174) will hope for word on at-large bids. All nine reached the podium with LaJoie taking third, Ramirez taking fourth, Cardenas slotting in fifth and Richard and Foca placing sixth in addition to the finalists.

The 26th title didn't come easy, which was to be expected. The Big Red's semifinal session was full of adversity - second-seeded Jacob Cardenas dropped consecutive matches at 197, while second-seeded Chris Foca was forced to injury default with a lead in his semi that resulted in him medically forfeiting out to sixth. Top-seeded Julian Ramirez fell in the semis at 165, as did fourth-seeded Dom LaJoie. He was caught in sudden victory by Navy's Josh Koderhandt. It entered the finals with a slim two-point edge over Penn.


The Big Red bounced back in a big way in the finals, starting right from the start. Vito Arujau, who won by fall less than two minutes into his semifinal match against Penn's Ryan Miller, ran right through top-seeded Patrick Glory on Princeton for his first EIWA title. In the fourth matchup between the rivals, Arujau earned three first period takedowns and cruised to a 19-6 win. The junior improved to 14-1 on the season with 13 of the wins coming with bonus points attached.


Diakomihalis also ran through the field, picking up an injury default victory to send him into the semifinals, where his head-to-head win over Anthony Artalona of Penn created some separation for the Big Red over the Quakers. He won all three of his matches with bonus points and extended his win streak to 70 entering the NCAA Championships.


Loew extended his own win streak to 12 with a 12-5 win over second-seeded Travis Stefanik of Princeton to secure his first EIWA title. He guaranteed himself a second NCAA Tournament bid with his 8-4 semifinals win over Neil Antrassian of Penn earlier in the day. He closed the championship with a team-high 26 victories this season.

Fernandes, who became the seventh Big Red wrestler to earn the EIWA's Billy Sheridan Memorial Award for the most falls in the least amount of time with two pins in 3:36 of action, gave Lehigh's Wood all he could handle in the finals, falling 2-0. The only points of the match came when Wood reversed Fernandes in the second after a hard ride for nearly a minute on the seventh-ranked Mountain Hawk heavyweight. Fernandes chose neutral in the third eyeing a tying takedown, but couldn't get it against the crafty veteran. The Big Red sophomore will bring an 18-7 record into nationals.

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