Wrestling: Top-ranked Cornell continues stellar season with sweep of Princeton

The Big Red (11-1 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) entered this season as the nation’s top team and is still seen as the favorite to win next month’s NCAA Championships. Princeton (4-11, 1-4) dropped its second match of the weekend after falling to Columbia (7-6, 1-2) and is now riding a season-high three-game losing streak.

The 125-pound weight class saw a matchup between two nationally ranked foes. No. 10 Frank Perrelli of Cornell defeated sophomore No. 18 Garrett Frey 4-1 in what became the afternoon’s most closely-fought contest. Earlier this season, Frey wrestled a victory in the same matchup, but Perrelli got his revenge this past Saturday.

“I think I wrestled well but I could have made some more attempts,” Frey explained. “I still don’t feel as if I was offensive enough during the match.”

One of Cornell’s two reigning national champions, 149-pounder Kyle Dake, eased to a 19-2 technical fall over sophomore Jason Ott. A pair of Cornell wrestlers earned majors over junior 133-pounder Tony Comunale and sophomore 141-pounder Zach Bintliff.

In the 197-pound division, freshman Dan Santoro had his work cut out for him against No. 1 Cam Simaz, who pinned him for the win. Cornell heavyweight Stryker Lane continued in a similar fashion, pinning sophomore Charles Fox. No. 11 D.J. Meagher pinned junior Daniel Kolodzik in the 157-pound bout to widen the Big Red’s lead. Senior 184-pounder and captain Travis Erdman was also pinned by No. 3 Mack Lewnes. Both teams forfeited the 174-pound match.

“It’s really tough to hold high expectations when wrestling against a team like Cornell,” Frey said. “We knew we were outmatched ... It pains me to say it but Cornell is the team that I want us to be.”

The previous day, the Tigers took the lead at Columbia in the lower weight classes, but the Lions swept the heavier matches for a 32-8 win.

Frey won a 12-3 major decision over Penn Gottfried, and two matches later a major decision in favor of Bintliff put the visitors ahead 8-3. Those were the only two contests that Princeton won.

Kolodzik lost a thrilling match in overtime to Jake O’Hara, and freshman Seth Hazelton was pinned by Eren Civan in the 165-pound division. No. 20 heavyweight Kevin Lester finished off the match for the Lions, earning a 13-4 major over Fox.

The Tigers will close out their regular-season matches this weekend at Dillon Gymnasium, taking on Boston University and Hofstra before focusing their attention on the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships, which take place in March.