The Red flaunted its Ivy League dominance this weekend, notching two landslide victories against Harvard and Brown. Its win against Harvard sealed the Red’s 300th all-time Ivy League victory.
With the bitter taste of defeat still fresh from last weekend’s dual against Virginia Tech and energized by Ivy competition, the Red (8-5, 3-0 Ivy League) entered Saturday’s competition with a renewed drive.
“We were excited as a team to kick off Ivy League competition, get some familiar foes in this weekend,” said senior Noah Baugman. “It was a really great weekend for us. On top of the two team wins, we had a lot of really great individual wins.”
A 12-3 major decision win by sophomore Dom Lajoie at 125 lbs set the tone for the match, as the Red went on a four-win streak to start the day.
Senior Chas Tucker was up next in the 133 lbs bout. He did not disappoint, maintaining his unblemished individual record against the Crimson’s Michael Jaffe. Baugman replicated these results, emerging as victor in his 141 lbs match, before junior Hunter Richard, at 149 lbs, wrestled his way to a major decision to deepen the Red’s comfortable lead.
The Crimson, however, wiggled its way onto the scoreboard with back-to-back wins at 157 and 165 lbs. Despite its efforts, Harvard only managed to muster a measly six points.
Sophomore Andrew Berreyesa won at 174 lbs to end the Red’s brief lapse, followed by freshman Jonathan Loew, who notched a victory at 184 lbs.
Sophomore Ben Darmstadt returned to the lineup after an injury against Columbia shortly sidetracked his season. But the Crimson’s final victory in the heavyweight bout proved too little, too late — the Red collected 32 points versus Harvard’s nine.
That evening, the Red welcomed Ivy foe Brown to the mat in Friedman Wrestling Center. The evening met Cornell with the same success it experienced during the day against Harvard — the team clinched another decisive victory, facing a loss in only one weight class.
“We have an expectation to win every time we step on the mat against the other Ivys,” head coach Rob Koll said. “It was nice for us to get some confidence and rack up some points for the guys.”
The dual started with a win from LaJoie at 125 lbs, before Tucker, Baughman, Richard, Brindley and Berreyesa all followed suit, extending the Red’s lead to 24-0.
Ever since his return to the lineup after commencing the season as an Olympic redshirt, Berreyesa has been an important asset to the team, delivering three consecutive wins in the matches.
“He looked great — he gives us a nice spark,” Koll said. “He is very physical and it is nice going into 174 not hoping to win, but expecting to win.”
Loew received a win by forfeit in the 197 lbs bout, and Furman sealed the results of the night, skillfully pinning his opponent in a mere 43 seconds.
“It was a great weekend for our guys this time of year,” Koll said. “Our big challenge ahead this year is winning the Ivys, which we have won for 17 years in a row. We wrestled a brutal schedule up to now, so I was happy to have a lighter weekend before we finish up our Ivy League season.”
“The Ivy League championships is something we are thinking about every day and working towards,” Baughman said. “Right now our main focus is just getting better every time we wrestle.”
The Red will continue its Ivy competition next weekend as it travels to Philadelphia to take on Penn. The teams will hit the mat at 2 p.m. on Saturday.