The match opened at 165 pounds with No. 10 Steve Anceravage taking on the Quakers' No. 17 Zach Shanaman. Shanaman was the first to score making a takedown at 1:12, and with an escape by Anceravage, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Penn wrestler after the first period. Anceravage started in the down position in the second and tied the match with the only point of the second by evading Shanaman's grasp. Penn took back the lead when Anceravage was called for a second stalling violation, and with an escape from his down position, Shanaman was ahead, 4-2. With 30 seconds left in the match, Shanaman made the vital takedown, keeping control of Anceravage for only 12 seconds before he fought back to the neutral position. With seven seconds left, Shanaman received his second stalling call and the Big Red wrestler could tie it with a takedown, but time ran out giving Penn an early 3-0 team lead.
Next on the mat was unranked senior Joey Hooker facing No. 10 Matt Harrington of Penn. The match at 174 had a similar first period to the previous weight class with Harrington having a 2-1 lead after the first period. The Penn wrestler started the second down on the mat and only needed 13 seconds to make his escape. After 30 seconds of neutral wrestling, Hooker tied the match making his first takedown of the night, but Harrington would quickly grab it back making the escape ending the second with a 4-3 lead. Hooker started the third on the mat, and with an escape of his own once again had the score tied . With a Penn takedown followed by another Cornell escape, with a 1:30 left in the match, Hooker was once again down by a point. Hooker took control of the match scoring four points with two late takedowns to which Harrington could only earn a point with an escape, allowing Hooker to win a 9-7 decision.
Sophomore Josh Arnone would wrestle in just his second dual match of his career at 184 pounds for the Big Red. The unranked wrestler would meet No. 13 Lior Zamir, with the two remaining scoreless after three minutes. Arnone started the second in the down position, and the two wrestlers would be locked in two stalemates before Arnone would maneuver Zamir onto his back. With one second left in the second period, Arnone earned the pin, giving Cornell a 9-3 team lead.
At 197 pounds, senior All-American Jerry Rinaldi would prove to be too much for Penn's Jack Sullivan. From the moment the referee blew his opening whistle, No. 3 Jerry Rinaldi took control of the match. With six takedowns, Rinaldi manhandled Sullivan to a 15-3 victory.
Zach Hammond would find similar success for the Big Red at heavyweight when he would take on Penn's Ben Reiter. Hammond made four takedowns of his own, and with an escape, a point for Reiter stalling, and one for 1:08 in riding time, Hammond easily won a 10-3 decision. Cornell would increase its team lead to 16-3.
Penn would see its hopes of ending Cornell's quest for a fifth-straight Ivy title fade as the match headed into the bout at 125 pounds. No. 2 Troy Nickerson would take the mat with No. 16 Matt Eveleth. Nickerson made two takedowns in the first period to take a 4-1 early lead. The Big Red sophomore All-American would keep the score table busy for the remainder of the match racking up his points with a variety of takedowns and nearly pinning Eveleth twice. Nickerson would take his five team points at 6:24 when he would earn the tech fall by going up 24-5.
Taking the mat next would be the 133 pound weight class with No. 3 Adam Frey squaring off against No. 1 Matt Valenti of Penn. Frey entered the match with an unblemished 12-0 record to start off his rookie season. The two wrestlers were scoreless until halfway through the first period when Valenti caught Frey in his clutches and with one wrong turn had the Big Red wrestler pinned in 1:30.
Freshman Corey Manson would take to center stage next for the Big Red to wrestle Brett McCurdy to a scoreless opening three minutes. McCurdy would choose the down position to start the second period, and with a wrong move by Manson, would make the reversal for two points. With an escape and a takedown Manson would take the lead, and win the match by a final decision of 4-3. Cornell would head to the 149 pound weight class with a 24-9 lead.
No. 4 ranked Jordan Leen faced unranked Rick Rappo, with the Penn wrestler getting off to a quick lead with a takedown 17 seconds into the match. That would be the last time that the Quakers would see Rappo ahead as Leen immediately took back control of the match. The Big Red grappler would continue to rack in the points making takedowns and letting Rappo earn just one point with an escape. Leen was looking to earn the tech fall but time ran out on his quest. With 11 takedowns, Leen would get four points for his 25-12 major decision.
The final match of the night would be at 157 pounds with the Big Red's Drake Hovis meeting No. 20 Matt Dragon. Luck would be in favor of Dragon for the first period with an early takedown, he trapped Hovis, twice looking for the pin but only walking away with the nearfalls and an 8-0 lead. Dragon started the second period down, and Hovis kept control for 30 seconds before he earned a point with an escape. Hovis earned his only points of the match with a takedown with 38 seconds left in the period. Dragon would earn a late 13-2 major decision for the Quakers, but Cornell would win the match by a final score of 28-13.
The Big Red will wrestle its final home match of the season Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. when it will face another Ivy opponent, Princeton.
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