Wrestling Slams Princeton
Big Red impressive in final tuneup before Penn
ITHACA – The Big Red wrestling team opened the Ivy League portion of its 2005 schedule in impressive fashion Friday night at Friedman Wrestling Center, notching a 42-0 victory over the Princeton Tigers. Cornell, ranked 14th in the nation, improves to 5-4 overall while Princeton falls to 4-4. It marked the first time the Big Red had shutout an opponent since a 48-0 win over James Madison last February.
On a night in which Princeton head coach, and Cornell alumnus, Michael New along with his siblings and father were honored by the Big Red for their contributions to the program, the new breed of Cornell standouts showed firsthand that they are just as formidable. Up first was the 149-pound match and talented junior Dustin Manotti. Manotti, ranked first in his weight class, was able to take his opponent, Andrew Iannuzzi, down repeatedly throughout the contest and came very close to earning a technical fall. The 23-9 win, though, gave Cornell a 4-0 lead that it would not relinquish.
After Manotti, 157-pounder John Cholish used two near falls to grind out a 9-1 win over Princeton’s Alex Enriquez and Joey Hooker dispatched of Charlie Wiggins 10-5 to put the Big Red up 11-0. Senior Joe Mazzurco, ranked ninth, then took to the mat for the Big Red in the 174-pound bout. He unleashed some furious offense in the first period as he took down the Tigers Matthew DeNichilo four times. Though DeNichilo, starting from the bottom, was able to escape to begin the second period, Mazzurco quickly reversed and picked up where he left off and gained a 19-7 decision.
Eighth-ranked Tyler Baier continued the Cornell onslaught in the evening’s 184-pound matchup. He twice almost pinned Princeton’s Jack Fleming in the initial period, building a 7-0 lead. Subsequent takedowns in both the second and third period provided Baier with the 12-0 win. With the match at 19-0 in favor of the home team, it was time for tenth-ranked Jerry Rinaldi to ply his trade at 197 pounds. Princeton’s Jake Butler gave the Big Red sophomore a tough test as the only scoring recorded in the first two periods was a takedown by Rinaldi as the first drew to a close. Taking that 2-0 lead into the final frame, Rinaldi started from the bottom and was able to escape. It put him up 3-0 and proved to be all the offense he would need.
In the following bout, heavyweight Matt Bogumil provided the crowd with the Big Red’s only fall of the match. He built an 8-0 lead before pinning the Tigers’ Kris Berr in the third period. Princeton did not send a 125 pound competitor out and Cornell’s Mike Mormile took the forfeit setting the stage for 133-pounder Travis Lee. Lee, ranked second, put on a wrestling clinic. He used his quickness to stay firmly in control of the Tigers’ Greg Redman throughout, with a near fall coming in the final stages of the first period. The relentless attack led to 12 takedowns for the senior and a convincing 27-11 victory. Cornell then put the finishing touches on the 42-0 rout as Jordan Leen scored three takedowns in the third period in a 9-3 decision over Eric Marcotulli.
The Big Red is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 29 when it hosts No. 24 Penn at Friedman Wrestling Center. The match will be televised live on College Sports Television (CSTV) and is slated for a 3 p.m. start time.
Princeton- 0
CORNELL- 42
149- Dustin Manotti (C) dec. Andrew Iannuzzi (P), 23-9 (C-4, P-0)
157- John Cholish (C) dec. Alex Enriquez (P), 9-1 (C-8, P-0)
165- Joey Hooker (C) dec. Charlie Wiggins (P), 11-5 (C-11, P-0)
174- Joe Mazzurco (C) dec. Matt Denichilo (P), 19-7 (C-15, P-0)
184 – Tyler Baier (C) dec. Jack Fleming (P), 12-0 (C-19, P-0)
197- Jerry Rinaldi (C) dec. Jake Butler (P), 4-0 (C-22, P-0)
HWT-Matt Bogumil (C) pinned Kris Berr (P), 6:14 (C-28, P-0)
125- Mike Mormile (C) won by forfeit, (C-34, P-0)
133- Travis Lee (C) dec. Greg Redman (P), 27-11 (C-39, P-0)
141- Jordan Leen (C) dec. Eric Marcotulli (P), 9-3 (C-42, P-0)
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