It’s not always easy being the head coach of the wrestling team. Rob Koll has shepherded, prodded, cajoled and guided his squad to seven straight (and nine total) Ivy titles, dozens of Invitational victories and the team is currently ranked No. 2 in the country. But wrestling is often left behind in terms of television and radio coverage, as compared to more “marquee” sports such as men’s ice hockey and basketball. But not this Sunday. Hug it out: Junior Taylor Moore (right) grapples with his opponent at the Body Bar Invitational on November 22.

The wrestling team knows it is incredibly talented. That explains the feeling of disappointment the team conveyed after its 28-10 domination over Eastern Michigan. The second-ranked Red won seven of 10 matches en route to a comfortable victory. Nevertheless, the team believed it could have done better.

“We can’t be disappointed with the result because we won and it was a fairly decent margin of victory, but everybody feels that we came out a little flat yesterday,” said sophomore Justin Kerber. “We didn’t have a lot of energy and we were pretty disappointed with how we wrestled.”

Last week, the wrestling team walked right into the proverbial lion’s den of Division I competition at the National Duals and emerged as the tournament runner-up with three victories in four tries, defeating Michigan, No. 5 Ohio State and then-No. 2 Iowa State.

Now ranked second in the country, the Red will be hosting Eastern Michigan in the Friedman Wrestling Center tomorrow at 1 p.m. with a chance to push its dual meet record to 5-1 and solidify the Red’s position as the Ivy League giant-killer.

The wrestling team used winter break to show that it is serious about competing for a National Championship this season. The Red was victorious in the 31-team Southern Scuffle in the final days of 2008. Two weeks later, the squad performed well on the national stage as runner-up at the National Duals.

At the National Duals, held in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Red opened the event with a dominant performance over the Michigan Wolverines. Cornell won seven of ten matches to notch a 23-9 victory.

Less than a week after Christmas, the wrestling team was back in action, traveling to North Carolina for the Southern Scuffle. Despite missing team stars junior Troy Nickerson and senior Jordan Leen, the wrestling team pulled through on Tuesday, Jan. 30, to win the Scuffle, moving up from a third place finish on the first day, following individual titles by sophomore Mack Lewnes and senior Steve Anceravage.

While a portion of the wrestling team will stay in Ithaca this weekend to study for finals, the members of the wrestling team who determined that studying could wait a few days will be treated with a trip to Sin City. Partying will be kept to a minimum, however, as the wrestling team will be competing in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational beginning today.

Cornell is among 49 teams that will compete in the two-day event in Nevada. Some of the top teams in the nation will be there, including six squads from the Big Ten. Four other Ivy League teams will also participate in the early season test.

After finishing ninth in the nation last season, the wrestling team is poised to continue its assault on some of the nation’s top teams. Cornell was fourth in the preseason rankings, behind a trio of Big Ten schools — Iowa, Ohio State and Iowa State. The Red returns six All-Americans, each with a realistic chance of capturing an individual National championship.

“Our team goal is to win the Ivy League title, win the [EIWA] title and win a national title,” said head coach Rob Koll.

Senior captain Jordan Leen has a long season ahead of him as he builds up to his last NCAA tournament, and the rare chance to repeat as the titleholder at 157 pounds. Leen is in good position on his personal road to a repeat. But despite his confident exterior, his experience at last year’s championships was far from easy, as the then-junior, ranked No. 8, upset the top-2 seeds en route to becoming only the second NCAA champion from his home state of Tennessee, and the lowest-ranking wrestler of the meet to capture a title.

3/20/2008

Def. Ryan Hluschak

4-3

Last season, Mack Lewnes had one of the most successful campaigns of any freshman in Cornell wrestling history. He went undefeated in the EIWA championships, advanced farther at Nationals than any other freshman and was named the National Freshman of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News. With a year of experience under his belt, Lewnes hopes to achieve even greater results this season.

Lewnes was a four-time Maryland State Champion while attending Mount Saint Joseph High School. He graduated in 2006, but did not immediately come to Cornell. “He went to Colorado Springs [Colo.] for a year to take a few courses to lighten his course load and train at the Olympic Training center,” said wrestling head coach Rob Koll.

The wrestling team opened its schedule with an impressive victory over No. 14 Penn St. Cornell — which was ranked fourth in preseason polls — won seven of 10 matches en route to defeating Penn State Friday night by a score of 24-10. The Red continued its successful weekend at the Body Bar Invitational the next day, winning two individual titles and taking third overall.Vertical limit: Senior 174-pounder Steve Anceravage takes down Penn St. freshman Quentin Wright at Newman Arena on Friday in a 6-1 decision.