The Open Mat

Cornell dominates Princeton, moves one step closer to Ivy title

Cornell Sports Information
Feb 09

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The No. 10 Cornell wrestling team moved a step closer to a 43rd Ivy League title on Friday night at the Jadwin Gymnasium, winning nine of 10 matches in a 35-3 thrashing of the Princeton Tigers.

The Big Red, winners of five consecutive duals, improved to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in the Ivy, which it can win Saturday night with a victory over Penn at the Palestra. It would be Cornell's third straight Ivy title under Mike Grey, The David Dunlop '59 Head Coach of Wrestling.

Cornell led 20-0 after five matches, as No. 2 Vito Arujau (133 pounds, technical fall), No. 6 Meyer Shapiro (15, technical fall) and No. 4 Julian Ramirez (165, major decision) earned bonus points for the Big Red.

At 141 pounds, freshman Mark Botello won his first collegiate dual match, beating Chris Martino 4-2 by decision. No. 23 Ethan Fernandez followed with an 11-7 victory over No. 25 Eligh Rivera, a match he sealed with a late takedown after a 6-2 lead slipped away.

After Princeton's Mike Squires (174) beat Evan Canoyer 5-1 by decision, the Big Red finished the dual with four consecutive wins. No. 7 Chris Foca (184), No. 17 Lewis Fernandes (285), and No. 14 Brett Ungar (125) tacked on more bonus points. Foca won 17-4 by technical fall against No. 22 Nate Duggan, Fernandes beat No. 30 Matt Cover 8-0 by major decsion, and Ungar took down Drew Heethuis 10-2 by major decsion.

In the night's top match, No. 7 Jacob Cardenas and No. 12 Luke Stout went down to the wire. Cardenas, who led 1-0 through two periods, secured the 4-0 win with a takedown in the third.

Big Red Notes

  • The Big Red has won 106 of its last 107 Ivy League duals, including 14 in a row since losing to Princeton in 2020.
  • Cornell is 316-53-1 all-time against Ivy League opponents.
  • Cornell wrestlers are 34-6 against Ivy opponents in duals this season. The Big Red has 27 bonus-point wins in 40 matches.
  • Cornell improved to 61-16 against Princeton. It has won three duals in a row against the Tigers.
  • With two technical falls, Cornell set a new program record for technical falls in a season (50).
  • Cardenas, who leads Cornell with 17 wins this season, won his 60th career match.
  • Cardenas improved to 8-3 against wrestlers ranked in the top 25 at 197 in the coaches' rankings.
    Botello earned the first collegiate dual win.
  • Arujau picked up his 16th career technical fall. The three-time All-American and 2023 national champion stands alone in ninth in program history in that category.
  • Shapiro won his 11th match in a row, improving to 16-2 overall. The freshman is unbeaten (11-0) in duals.
  • Fernandez won his sixth match in a row and beat his highest-ranked opponent of the season in Rivera.

    Results:
    133: No. 2 Vito Arujau def. Sean Pierson 19-4 by technical fall (Cornell 5, Princeton 0)
    141: Mark Botello def. Chris Martino 4-2 by decision (Cornell 8, Princeton 0)
    149: No. 23 Ethan Fernandez def. No. 25 Eligh Rivera 11-7 by decision (Cornell 11, Princeton 0)
    157: No. 6 Meyer Shapiro def. Rocco Camillaci 20-5 by technical fall (Cornell 16, Princeton 0)
    165: No. 4 Julian Ramirez def. Blaine Bergey 15-3 by major decision (Cornell 20, Princeton 0)
    174: Mike Squires def. Evan Canoyer 5-1 by decision (Cornell 20, Princeton 3)
    184: No. 7 Chris Foca def. No. 22 Nathan Duggan 17-4 by major decision (Cornell 24, Princeton 3)
    197: No. 7 Jacob Cardenas def. No. 12 Luke Stout 4-2 by decision (Cornell 27, Princeton 3)
    285: No. 17 Lewis Fernandes def. No. 30 Matt Cover 8-0 by major decision (Cornell 31, Princeton 3)
    125: No. 14 Brett Ungar def. Drew Heethuis 10-2 by major decision (Cornell 35, Princeton 3)

    Up Next
    Cornell faces Penn on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Palestra.