ITHACA, N.Y. – In its first dual of 2014, No. 19 Lehigh ran into a tough Cornell squad and the sixth-ranked Big Red proved their strength winning eight of ten weight classes in a 33-7 win over the Mountain Hawks Sunday at Newman Arena. Sophomore Mason Beckman and freshman Elliot Riddick posted wins for the Mountain Hawks as Lehigh falls to 5-4 on the dual season, while Cornell remains unbeaten at 4-0.

 

Beckman gave Lehigh an early short-lived lead with a 12-1 major decision over Big Red backup Logan David at 133. He scored a takedown and two point near fall in the first period and after getting ridden out in the second period, secured a reversal, takedown and three point near fall in the third to secure the major.

 

Riddick temporarily halted a four-bout Big Red run with LehighÂ’s second win of the dual, a 7-4 decision over Duke Pickett at 174. Riddick scored on a double leg shot in the first period and tacked on two second-period takedowns plus a third period escape.

 

CornellÂ’s eight weight class wins included four major decisions, a technical fall and a forfeit. Freshman Darian Cruz wrestled valiantly against the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 125 and held Nahshon Garrett to a 10-3 regular decision.

 

BeckmanÂ’s major decision temporarily put Lehigh in front before Cornell rolled off four straight wins to build an 18-4 lead. Jim Carucci subbed for sophomore Laike Gardner at 141 and All-American Mike Nevinger broke open a 3-0 match with eight third period points to post an 11-0 major decision.

 

Fresh off his Midlands title, freshman Mitch Minotti met Chris Villalonga in a battle of top-12 grapplers at 149. As a team, the Mountain Hawks struggled on bottom all day and in this bout Villalonga rode out Minotti in the second period before scoring a reversal in the third period to win 3-0.

 

“We didn’t do a great job on bottom,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “We didn’t get our hips under us. We didn’t get to our feet and that’s going to cost you against a team that’s good on top. There were some key bouts early on and we knew we needed to win those to have a chance but they didn’t go our way.”

 

After missing LehighÂ’s last two competitions due to injury, senior Joey Napoli returned to action at 157 against nationally-ranked Cornell freshman Brian Realbuto. Napoli fell victim to an early four-point move and was never able to recover as Realbuto posted an 8-0 major decision to give the hosts a 14-4 lead at intermission.

 

“He had been out since November and coming back we knew it was going to be a tough battle,” Santoro said. “He fell behind 4-0 against a guy that’s really solid on top. Joey will get better as he works his way back into competition.”

 

Sophomore Ben Haas made his season dual debut at 165 against Dylan Palacio and despite a pair of takedowns, including the first score of the match, Palacio used a strong finish to post a 17-8 major decision.

 

At 184, freshman Zach Diekel ran into second ranked Cornell freshman Gabe Dean, who was dominant in a 20-5 technical fall in 6:17. The Big Red posted another major at 197 as Jace Bennett scored a late takedown to defeat sophomore John Bolich 9-1.

 

With freshman heavyweight Doug Vollaro a late scratch due to a skin infection and sophomore Max Wessell just recently cleared to return to action after his injury in LehighÂ’s season-opener, the Mountain Hawks elected to forfeit at heavyweight.

 

 

The Mountain Hawks will return home Friday night to host EIWA rival Navy inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The match, which serves as the annual Billy Sheridan Memorial Dual, is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.

 

Cornell 33, Lehigh 7

125 – Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 10-3

133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) major dec. Logan David (Cornell) 12-1

141 – Mike Nevinger (Cornell) major dec. Jim Carucci (Lehigh) 11-0

149 – Chris Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 3-0

157 – Brian Realbuto (Cornell) major dec. Joey Napoli (Lehigh) 8-0

165 – Dylan Palacio (Cornell) major dec. Ben Haas (Lehigh) 17-8

174 – Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) dec. Duke Pickett (Cornell) 7-4

184 – Gabe Dean (Cornell) tech. fall Zach Diekel (Lehigh) 20-5, 6:17

197 – Jace Bennett (Cornell) major dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 9-1

285 – Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell) won by forfeit

Referee – Joe Bartell

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Steve Lomangino
Media Relations Director - Lehigh University Athletics
sjl304@lehigh.edu
610-758-3174