No. 11 Virginia Tech Wrestling Falls At No. 8 Cornell

No. 11 Virginia Tech dropped its second straight dual match on the road against No. 8 Cornell on Sunday, 24-13. Despite winning three of the first four bouts, the Hokies lost momentum after No. 8 Bryce Andonian injury defaulted in the 157-pound match.

Tech (3-3) led Cornell (4-2) 10-3 through the first four matches of the afternoon prior to Andonian’s injury.

Following a takedown of Cornell’s No. 15 Meyer Shapiro in the first 35 seconds of the bout, Andonian’s right leg got tied 40 seconds later in a scramble. He immediately grabbed his right knee and the match was called shortly after.

Tech nabbed victories from No. 9 Cooper Flynn (125), No. 12 Sam Latona (133) and No. 2 Caleb Henson (149) to open the dual before Andonian went down.

Flynn took down Cornell’s No. 14 Brett Ungar to begin the dual, narrowly edging out the Big Red sophomore 4-3. He snagged a takedown to begin the match and added 1:49 in riding time through the first three minutes. He added another minute of riding time in the second, earning the riding time point and the win, despite Ungar tying the match at three in the final 45 seconds.

The subsequent match featured more offense as Latona squashed Cornell’s Ethan Qureshi by major decision, 14-3. The Alabaster, Ala., native bounced-back after being pinned on Tuesday by Missouri’s Kade Moore, exploding for four takedowns in the victory.

Henson improved his record on the year to 19-1 with a swift 9-2 win over Cornell’s No. 24 Ethan Fernandes. He dominated the Big Red junior in the first period with a takedown and 2:03 in riding time.

Tech’s lone loss in the first half of the match came at 141 pounds as No. 18 Tom Crook fell to Cornell’s No. 17 Vince Cornella, 4-2. Cornella burst out the gates with a takedown and Crook escaped shortly after. He added another escape point in the second period to cut the deficit to 3-2 entering the third. Despite a couple of solid attacks down the stretch, he wasn’t able to notch a takedown, falling to 0-2 in his career to Cornella.

The Hokies led Cornell 10-9 at the halfway point following Andonian’s injury default and lost the lead in the ensuing match as No. 23 Connor Brady (165) suffered his second career loss to No. 3 Julian Ramirez, 10-0. He was shut out by the former EIWA champion despite falling to him by only three points in their meeting in last year’s dual.

No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (174) provided some relief for Tech a match later with his 9-3 win over Cornell’s Benny Baker. Although it appeared he was trying for a bonus-point victory, he still nabbed his sixth win of the season to tie the dual at 13 with three bouts left to wrestle.

In the final three matches of the afternoon, Virginia Tech was outscored 29-8 and only notched one takedown.

No. 18 Dakota Howard (184) struggled to keep up with Cornell’s No. 8 Chris Foca, as the Big Red senior built a 10-3 advantage by the end of second period en route to the 12-4 win.

No. 26 Andy Smith (197) was bested by Cornell’s No. 7 Jacob Cardenas for the third time in his career a bout later, 11-1. Cardenas exploded for seven points in the third period to cement the bonus-point win for the Big Red.

True freshman Jimmy Mullen (285) got the start at heavyweight and performed admirably against Cornell’s No. 19 Lewis Fernandes in a 6-3 overtime loss. The dual-sport wrestler scored on a takedown in the second period and held on against his ranked opponent through the sudden victory period before falling in the tiebreaker round.

Tony Robie and Co. return home on Friday to take on No. 26 Appalachian State (7 p.m. ET on ACCNX) before a two-week break prior to the start of ACC competition. The Hokies took down the Mountaineers in Boone last season, 23-11.

Results:

125: No. 9 Cooper Flynn (VT) dec. No. 14 Brett Ungar (CORN), 4-3

133: No. 12 Sam Latona (VT) maj dec. Ethan Qureshi (CORN), 14-3

141: No. 17 Vince Cornella (CORN) dec. No. 18 Tom Crook (VT), 4-2

149: No. 2 Caleb Henson (VT) dec. No. 24 Ethan Fernandez (CORN), 9-2

157: No. 15 Meyer Shapiro (CORN) wins by injury default over No. 8 Bryce Andonian (VT)

165: No. 3 Julian Ramirez (CORN) maj dec. No. 23 Connor Brady (VT), 10-0

174: No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (VT) dec. Benny Baker (CORN), 9-3

184: No. 8 Chris Foca (CORN) maj dec. No. 18 Dakota Howard, 12-4

197: No. 7 Jacob Cardenas (CORN) maj dec. No. 26 Andy Smith (VT), 11-1

285: No. 19 Lewis Fernandes (CORN) dec. Jimmy Mullen (VT), 6-3 (TB)