Following Chris Villalonga’s EIWA wrestler of the week award, the Red was able to extend its streak with a 28-11 win over No. 14 Iowa State on Sunday. With the win, the No. 4 Red improved to 8-0, and remains atop the Ivy League standings with a 4-0 record.“It was awesome. We all preformed really well,” senior Frank Perrelli said. “It was a big production. It was in their arena so it was cool to get in front of a big crowd and kind of stick it to them in front of their home crowd.” Additionally, according to an NWCA/USA Today poll that asks coaches to vote on the current top teams, the Red is in third place. They followed closely behind Oklahoma State and Penn State respectively, both of whom have been good competitors in the past and are continuing their dominance this season. Despite these recent successes, the Red is still looking to rack up two more victories this weekend in order to finish off its Ivy League slate with an undefeated record. The team will face Columbia (4-2) at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Hofstra (10-0) at 3 p.m. at the Friedman Wrestling Center. Currently, the Red leads the Ancient Eight, with Columbia following closely behind The trip will be the Lions’ third trip to Ithaca this season, previously traveling for the Body Bar System Invitational, where the Red ended up victorious, and the New York State Tournament, where the Red’s Junior Varsity squad took second, behind Army. The Red will also take on Hofstra, who defeated Penn last weekend to maintain their undefeated record. The No. 24 Pride will provide tough competition for the Red as they battle head-to-head this weekend. According to Perrelli, though, the Red needs to have the same attitude that it brought into Iowa State. “We are just going to put it on them like we did with Iowa State,” he said. “Just as with any other team, we are going to wrestle them tough and look to dominate … We go into every match with the same mentality and we are using these matches as preparations for nationals … I want to be a national champion and to capture that team title as well.” The Red hopes to continue its winning streak this weekend to put it closer to another Ivy League title. If the team can hang on, it would be its 10th consecutive title and the 13th in total for head coach Rob Koll.
Original Author: Haley Velasco