Lions Head To Binghamton And No. 19 Cornell For EIWA And Ivy League Openers

Friday, January 10

Vestal, NY

6:30 p.m.

Columbia University

Binghamton

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/David Collins

Lions Head To Binghamton And No. 19 Cornell For EIWA And Ivy League Openers

1/9/2020 2:25:00 PM | Wrestling

Watch (at Binghamton [$])Watch (at Cornell)2019-20 Columbia Stats

Columbia Wrestling will begin its dual meet season with a pair of weekend matches at Binghamton and No. 19 Cornell.

VESTAL, N.Y./ITHACA, N.Y. – Tournament season is finally in the review mirror, as Columbia Wrestling (0-1) sets its sights on dual meet season starting with its Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association opener at Binghamton (2-1, 1-0 EIWA) on Friday, Jan. 10 (6:30 p.m.), before heading to No. 19 Cornell (4-3) for its Ivy League opener on Saturday, Jan. 11 with that match set to get going at 3 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
at Binghamton – Watch (Flowrestling [$]) | Follow (@ColumbiaWR)
at No. 19 Cornell – Watch (ESPN+) | Follow (@ColumbiaWR)

RANKED LIONS: Through the opening two months of the season, sophomores Matt Kazimir (16-3) and Joe Manchio (15-4) have both been impressive, and their strong start has been recognized by the national polls, with Manchio sitting at No. 29 at 125 pounds and Kazimir coming in at No. 21 at 141 pounds in the latest Trackwrestling rankings.

Overall, both Kazimir and Manchio have been off to strong starts, with Kazimir already taking a pair of tournament titles (Princeton Open [Nov. 3], Patriot Open [Dec. 7]) and Manchio knocking off the then-ranked No. 14 125-pounder from Stanford and taking the Roadrunner Open (Nov. 24) title all in the same weekend. Along with those tournament wins, both Kazimir and Manchio lead the Lions in wins so far this season with Kazimir's 16 leading the way, and Manchio's 15 wins sitting right behind his fellow sophomore.

NOT THE FIRST DUAL: Although this weekend truly marks the start of dual meet season, the Lions did have a dual meet back on Nov. 23, when Columbia faced Stanford in an outdoor meet in Palo Alto, California. Despite losing, 21-19, the Lions gave the Cardinal all it could handle with the match being decided by the last few matches, with Columbia nearly pulling off the upset taking four out of the final five matches.

During that dual meet, five Lions picked up wins, with Manchio's 6-3 decision over then-ranked No. 14 Gabe Townsell highlighting Columbia's wins. Joining the Lion sophomore in picking up wins was Kazimir, first-years Lennox Wolak (174) and Andrew Garr (149) and junior Daniel Herman (285).

WHAT THE BOBCATS BRING: Binghamton enters the match with Columbia having already snagged two wins in dual meets, including an EIWA win over Scared Heart (25-9) on Dec. 20. The Bearcats will take on No. 14 Lehigh at 5 p.m. on Friday, before turning their attention to the Lions.

Historically, this will be the 12th meeting all-time between the two programs with Columbia holding a 6-5 advantage. The Bearcats have taken the last three dual meets between the two sides, with Columbia's last win coming in 2016 and its last win at Binghamton coming in 2015.

In terms of ranked wrestlers, the Bearcats only have two ranked by Trackwrestling, but at 184 pounds, Lou DePrez is one of the best in the country coming in at No. 3 in the nation, boasting a record of 13-1, with a 2-1 dual match record. Along with DePrez, Zack Trampe currently sits at No. 14 at 133 pounds and he brings a record of 11-2, 2-0 in dual matches.

PROBABLE LINEUP

AT BINGHAMTON (JAN. 10)
Vestal, New York (Events Center)

125 | No. 29 Joe Manchio (Columbia) vs. Carson Sauriol (Binghamton)
133 | Angelo Rini -or- Trent Svingala (Columbia) vs. Tommaso Frezza (Binghamton)
141 | No. 21 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) vs. Anthony Sparacio (Binghamton)
149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) vs. Michael Zarif -or- Matt Swanson (Binghamton)
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) vs. Chris Baker (Binghamton)
165 | Riley Jacops (Columbia) vs. Dylan Wood (Binghamton)
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) vs. Alex Melikian (Binghamton)
184 | Joe Franzese (Columbia) vs. No. 3 Lou DePrez (Binghamton)
197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) vs. Sam DePrez (Binghamton)
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) vs. Joe Doyle (Binghamton)

WHAT THE BIG RED BRING: The Big Red, who currently hold a national ranking of No. 19 according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, enters the weekend at 4-3, having already faced four ranked opponents so far this season, taking down then-ranked No. 19 Missouri, 19-18, on Dec. 30 for their lone win against a ranked opponent this season. Cornell will face Lehigh, which will be the Big Red's EIWA opener, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, before taking on the Lions at 3 p.m. to open Ivy League play.

Overall, Cornell leads the series 93-14, as this will be the 108th meeting between two of the oldest programs in the EIWA and the country. The Lions last knocked off Cornell in 1986, which also doubled as the last win in Ithaca, New York for the Lions.

Five wrestlers from Cornell are currently ranked by Trackwrestling in their respective weight classes, with Chas Tucker's (17-0) No. 5 ranking at 133 pounds leading the way for the Big Red. Right behind Tucker, sitting at 18-4, is Ben Darmstadt, who claims the No. 6 ranking at 197 pounds, while Brandon Womack (174/No. 11), Jonathan Loew (184/No. 28) and Brendan Furman (285)/No. 31) round out Cornell's five ranked wrestlers.

PROBABLE LINEUP

AT NO. 19 CORNELL (JAN. 11)
Ithaca, New York (Friedman Wrestling Center)

125 | No. 29 Joe Manchio (Columbia) vs. Dom Lajoie (Cornell)
133 | Angelo Rini -or- Trent Svingala (Columbia) vs. No. 5 Chas Tucker (Cornell)
141 | No. 21 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) vs. Noah Baughman (Cornell)
149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) vs. Hunter Richard (Cornell)
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) vs. Adam Santoro (Cornell)
165 | Riley Jacops (Columbia) vs. Milik Dawkins -or- Andrew Merola (Cornell)
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) vs. Milik Dawkins -or- Andrew Merola (Cornell)
184 | Joe Franzese (Columbia) vs. No. 28 Jonathan Loew (Cornell)
197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) vs. No. 6 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) vs. No. 31 Brendan Furman (Cornell)

FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@ColumbiaWR), Instagram (@columbiawr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).