Cornell posts second Top 10 win in 48 hours, drops Virginia Tech 22-12 in Blacksburg

Action image courtesy of Cornell Athletics


BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Cornell wrestling team earned its second win over a top 10 opponent away from home in a 48-hour span, topping No. 8 Virginia Tech 22-12 on Friday evening at the Moss Arts Center. The Big Red improved to 4-2 on the season after the comfortable team win.


Two days removed from its win over No. 3 Arizona State in Austin, Texas, Cornell took the lead three matches into the dual on Chris Foca's win by fall at 174 pounds and never looked back. The Big Red won 5-of-6 matches between ranked wrestlers, though third-ranked Vito Arujau suffered his first loss of the season in a narrow 3-2 loss to 10th-ranked Sam Latona at 133 pounds.


Foca's second period fall came on the heels of Julian Ramirez's shutout of No. 22 Connor Brady in a 3-0 victory at 165 to even the dual at 3-3. After Tech got back within 9-6, Jacob Cardenas topped No. 21 Andy Smith, nearly majoring him in a 10-3 triumph. Brett Ungar at 125 and Vince Cornella at 141 upset higher ranked opponents with Ungar winning in overtime over No. 15 Eddie Ventresca and Cornella majoring No. 15 Tom Cook, 12-4.


Three-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis closed the dual with a solid 6-2 win over No. 11 Caleb Henson for his 99th career victory.


157: Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) won by decision over Gage McClenahan (Cornell), 4-2

165: #7 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over #22 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech), 3-0

174: #5 Chris Foca (Cornell) won by fall over Jordan Florence (Virginia Tech), 4:30

184: #7 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) won by decision over Ethan Hatcher (Cornell), 4-0

197: #17 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over #21 Andy Smith (Virginia Tech), 10-3

285: #22 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech) won by decision over Brendan Furman (Cornell), 6-1

125: #20 Brett Ungar (Cornell) won by decision over #15 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech), 2-1 (OT)

133: #10 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) won by decision over #3 Vito Arujau (Cornell), 3-2

141: #22 Vince Cornella (Cornell) won by major decision over #15 Tom Cook (Virginia Tech), 12-4

149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #11 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), 6-2

Next Up

• Cornell and Lehigh, the two EIWA superpowers over the past quarter-century, will face off in a dual on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Friedman Wrestling Center.

• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

• The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series 59-32-3 and have won three straight.

• Prior to the most recent three-game stretch, Cornell had won seven-of-eight contests.