#5 Cornell vs #10 Wisconsin Preview & Predictions
#5 Cornell vs #10 Wisconsin Preview & Predictions
A full preview with predictions for the dual between Wisconsin and Cornell on Saturday, November 19.
#5 Cornell will welcome #10 Wisconsin to Ithaca on Saturday, November 19 at 1:00 pm (ET) for one of the best duals of the weekend. Check out the projected lineups below with a full breakdown of each match.
Projected Wisconsin vs Cornell Matchups:
125: #6 Eric Barnett, Wisconsin vs Brett Ungar, Cornell
133: #16 Taylor LaMont, Wisconsin vs #3 Vito Arujau, Cornell
141: #12 Joseph Zargo, Wisconsin vs HM Vince Cornella, Cornell
149: #4 Austin Gomez, Wisconsin vs #1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell
157: #17 Garrett Model, Wisconsin vs HM Colton Yapoujian/Gage McClenahan, Cornell
165: #5 Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin vs #10 Julien Ramirez, Cornell
174: HM James Rowley/Josh Otto, Wisconsin vs #24 Chris Foca, Cornell
184: Tyler Dow, Wisconsin vs #7 Jonathan Loew, Cornell
197: HM Braxton Amos, Wisconsin vs HM Jacob Cardenas, Cornell
285: #13 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin vs #10 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell
There are 19 total ranked wrestlers in the above matchups that could produce a combined 9 head-to-head ranked matches. This dual will be incredible from start to finish so let’s take a closer look at each match.
125: #6 Eric Barnett, Wisconsin vs Brett Ungar, Cornell
Returning All-American Eric Barnett had a rocky start to his season when he lost to Iowa State’s Kysen Terukina in overtime, 9-7. Despite that loss, Barnett is still a big favorite in this matchup against Dom Lajoie. Barnett is a dangerous top wrestler who earned pins in 5 of his 26 matches last year and will threaten for bonus points on Saturday. Ungar is looking to make his first start for Cornell and is currently 3-2 on the year. He'll be a big underdog against Barnett and his role will be to keep this match to a regular decision.
Prediction: Barnett by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 3, Cornell 0
Eric Barnett's win in the 7th place match at the 2022 NCAA tournament:
133: #16 Taylor LaMont, Wisconsin vs #3 Vito Arujau, Cornell
Vito Arujau and Taylor LaMont are both past 125-pound All-Americans who have moved up to 133 this year. Arujau was 4th at the NCAA tournament in 2019 and 3rd last year while LaMont finished 5th in 2021.
Despite being 2 of the top 125 pounders in the country over the past few years, Arujau and LaMont have never met in their college careers making this match even more interesting. Arujau is certainly the more dynamic offensive wrestler and should be considered the favorite in this match. However, LaMont will present unique challenges because of his length and defensive ability. In the end, I see Arujau’s offense being a little too much for LaMont to handle.
Prediction: Arujau by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 3, Cornell 3
Hear Vito Arujau talk about his thoughts on moving up to 133 pounds this season:
141: #12 Joseph Zargo, Wisconsin vs Vince Cornella, Cornell
Zargo vs Cornella is an interesting matchup and could play a big role in determining the outcome of this dual. As the returning starter for Wisconsin, Zargo brings more experience to this matchup after qualifying for the NCAA tournament last year. However, Cornella put together a solid gray shirt year where he went 23-7 and then made the U20 world team where he finished 5th. More recently, Cornella kicked off his season by winning the Bearcat Open by going 5-0.
Is Cornella ready to challenge for All-American honors this year or will Zargo prove too much for the young freshman? That’s the question that will be answered when these two meet in Ithaca.
Prediction: Zargo by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 6, Cornell 3
149: #4 Austin Gomez, Wisconsin vs #1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell
The main event of the dual - Austin Gomez vs Yianni Diakomihalis! Yianni is a world silver medalist and 3-time national champion while Gomez is the returning 4th place finisher at NCAAs and one of the most exciting wrestlers in the country. On top of being incredibly exciting, Gomez has big move potential and showed that off by pinning the likes of Sammy Sasso and Ridge Lovett last year. However, Yianni is currently on a completely different level and showed that off last year when he beat Gomez 12-6. We should expect a similar controlling decision from Yianni in this dual filled with incredible wrestling exchanges.
Prediction: Yianni by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 6, Cornell 6
Highlights of Yiannis win in the 2022 NCAA finals over Ridge Lovett:
157: #17 Garrett Model, Wisconsin vs HM Colton Yapoujian/Gage McClenahan, Cornell
Colton Yapoujian is set to step into the starting lineup for Cornell after his season came to an end early with an injury last year. However, he's yet to wrestle a match this year and if Yapoujian isn't ready to go, we'll likely see Gage McClenahan for Cornell. Regardless of who takes the mat, Model is a favorite in this matchup after qualifying for NCAAs last season after putting together notable wins over #5 Brayton Lee, Chase Saldate, and Derek Holschlag.
Prediction: Model by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 9, Cornell 6
165: #5 Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin vs #10 Julien Ramirez, Cornell
Dean Hamiti and Julien Ramirez met twice last season with Hamiti coming out on top in both matches. In their first match, Hamiti ended it early with a pin just 16 seconds into the second period. However, their second match was a wild 15-11 bout in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The difference in those matches makes it hard to predict the outcome of this one but Hamiti is proven to be a step above Ramirez and should have the edge again in round 3.
Prediction: Hamiti by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 12, Cornell 6
Highlights of Hamiti's win over Ramirez at the 2022 NCAA tournament:
174: HM James Rowley/Josh Otto, Wisconsin vs #24 Chris Foca, Cornell
Wisconsin has two options at 174 in James Rowley and Josh Otto. Both wrestled the opening weekend with Otto losing to Rocky Jordan (4-0) and Rowley going 1-1 with a win over MJ Gaitan (4-3) and a loss to Jay Nivison (3-1, SV-1). Either way, Chris Foca is a slight favorite to win against whoever takes the mat opposite him in Ithica. Foca was a national qualifier last season and had regular-season-ranked wins over Cade Devos, Ben Pasiuk, Nick Incontrera, and Jacob Nolan. On top of that, Foca had incredibly close losses to both NCAA runner-up Mekhi Lewis (3-1, TB1-1) and national champion Carter Starocci (3-2).
Prediction: Foca by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 12, Cornell 9
184: Tyler Dow, Wisconsin vs #7 Jonathan Loew, Cornell
The matchup at 184 is the most lopsided one of the dual with returning All-American Jonathan Loew as the big favorite for Cornell. Loew placed 8th at last year’s NCAA tournament and will look for bonus points in his match against Tyler Dow.
Prediction: Loew by tech-fall
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 12, Cornell 14
197: HM Braxton Amos, Wisconsin vs HM Jacob Cardenas, Cornell
Braxton Amos and Jacob Cardenas had almost identical years last season - both qualified for the NCAA tournament where they failed to place going 1-2. The one difference: Cardenas beat Amos 3-1 in overtime when the two met in February. Look for this match to be a similar contested bout decided by a takedown or less.
Prediction: Cardenas by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 12, Cornell 17
285: #13 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin vs #10 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell
Like at 197, the match at heavyweight between Hillger and Fernandez is almost impossible to pick. They met twice last season with Hillger winning the first match in February (6-2) but Fernandez got revenge a month later at the NCAA tournament (3-2). Fernandes has noticeably improved with the help of assistant coach Nick Gwiazdowski while Hillger has seemed to regress slightly over the past two years. Either way, we should expect this bout to be a tight battle between these two high-level heavyweights.
Prediction: Fernandes by decision
Dual score prediction: Wisconsin 12, Cornell 20
Half the matches in this dual could realistically go either way meaning we should expect to see “upsets” throughout. Because of those swing matches, this dual is a must-watch from start to finish and is sure to entertain college wrestling fans in Ithaca and throughout the country!