Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh, Cornell to renew rivalry Friday in Ithaca
1/20/2010 11:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 8 Lehigh will face one of its toughest tests of the dual season Friday night as the Mountain Hawks travel to Ithaca, N.Y. to face the sixth-ranked Big Red of Cornell. The Mountain Hawks returned home last weekend and picked up a pair of convincing wins over West Virginia and Navy. Lehigh will now look to knock-off the three-time defending EIWA Champions as the Mountain Hawks and Big Red meet for the 87th time overall, but the first time since 2007. Cornell is just 3-3 in duals, but the Big Red boast seven nationally ranked wrestlers, including five projected starters who are ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes.
After starting the season 2-6, sophomore Joe Kennedy has bounced back, winning eight of his last 12 bouts to even his season record. More than half of Kennedy’s bouts have come against wrestlers currently ranked in the InterMat top 20, including eight matches with men ranked in the top 10. Kennedy owns wins over sixth-ranked Eric Lapotsky of Oklahoma and eighth-ranked Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin. The Milford, Pa. native went 20-12 as a true freshman last season before defaulting out of the EIWA Championships with an injury. Kennedy is expected to face his eighth top 10 wrestler of the season Friday, when he meets Cornell’s fifth-ranked sophomore Cam Simaz.
Freshman Joey Napoli is the latest in a recent string of true freshmen who have earned starting spots in the Lehigh lineup. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, eight true freshmen have started duals for the Brown and White, including Kennedy last season. Napoli made his dual debut at the Northeast Duals in November. He owns a 16-9 overall record and picked up his first career dual meet win, over Quentin Fuentes of Oklahoma State at the Virginia Duals earlier this month.
Cornell returns home for the first time in two months to host Lehigh on Friday before hosting the New York State Intercollegiate Championships on Saturday. The three-time defending EIWA Champions have been off since going 3-2 en route to a sixth place team finish at the NWCA National Duals January 9-10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Cornell has had success on the tournament circuit as well. The Big Red were second at the Body Bar Invitational and the Las Vegas Invitational and won the Southern Scuffle in late December.
Rob Koll is in his 17th season as coach of the Big Red and has led Cornell to top 10 NCAA tournament finishes in each of the last two seasons. Seven of Cornell’s projected starters are ranked nationally by InterMat, led by defending NCAA Champion Troy Nickerson (No. 2 at 125). In addition, freshman Kyle Dake comes in at No. 2 at 141, junior Mack Lewnes occupies the top spot at 174, and EIWA Freshman of the Year Cam Simaz is ranked fifth at 197.
Following a two-season hiatus, longtime rivals Lehigh and Cornell will meet for the 87th time Friday night. The Big Red serve as Lehigh’s third most often wrestled opponent, behind just Penn State and Navy. Lehigh won the last meeting, upsetting Cornell 21-19 in 2007 at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks have won six of the last seven duals in the series. Lehigh’s first ever dual meet was against Cornell, 100 years ago next month. The Big Red captured that dual, winning five bouts to two.
Friday night’s dual gets underway at 7 p.m. from Cornell’s Newman Arena. The match can be heard on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as online at Lehighsports.com with coverage beginning at 6:45.
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Date: |
January 22, 2010 |
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Opponent: |
No. 6 Cornell Big Red |
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First match: |
7 p.m. |
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Arena: |
Newman Arena (4,473) |
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Location: |
Ithaca, N.Y. |
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Lehigh’s record: |
11-3 overall, 1-0 EIWA |
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Cornell’s record: |
3-3 overall, 0-0 EIWA |
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Series: |
Lehigh leads 57-26-3 |
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Streak: |
Lehigh won the last meeting in 2007 |
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Television: |
None |
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Radio: |
ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell beginning at 6:45 p.m. |
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Internet broadcast: |
Live audio at Lehighsports.com |
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Behind enemy lines: |
Lehigh Wrestling - Cornell Preview
