#10 Cornell vs #5 Virginia Tech - Preview & Predictions
#10 Cornell vs #5 Virginia Tech - Preview & Predictions
A full preview for the dual between Cornell and Virginia Tech on January 6, 2023.
On Friday, January 6 #10 Cornell will travel to Blacksburg to take on #5 Virginia Tech at 7:00 pm (ET). This will be one of the top duals of the weekend filled with ranked matchups from top-to-bottom.
Virginia Tech vs Cornell Expected Lineups:
125: HM Eddie Ventresca/Cooper Flynn, VT vs #17 Brett Ungar, COR
133: #9 Sam Latona, VT vs #3 Vito Arujau, COR
141: #11 Tom Crook, VT vs #16 Vince Cornella, COR
149: #11 Caleb Henson, VT vs #1 Yianni Diakomihalis, COR
157: #5 Bryce Andonian/Clayton Ulrey, VT vs Colton Yapoujian, COR
165: #24 Connor Brady, VT vs #9 Julian Ramirez, COR
174: #3 Mekhi Lewis/Jordan Florence/Kolton Clark, VT vs #5 Chris Foca, COR
184: #6 Hunter Bolen, VT vs #9 Jonathan Loew/Nathan Thacker, COR
197: #22 Andy Smith, VT vs #18 Jacob Cardenas, COR
285: #18 Hunter Catka, VT vs #16 Lewis Fernandes, COR
The above lineups have the potential to feature 19 total ranked wrestlers with potential ranked head-to-head matches at 9 of the 10 bouts. The dual will be streamed on the ACC Network but check out a breakdown of every potential match below.
125: HM Eddie Ventresca/Cooper Flynn, VT vs #17 Brett Ungar, COR
Ungar will be a slight favorite in this matchup against Ventresca. Ungar is a dangerous top wrestler and has notable wins on the season over #9 Malik Heinselman, #23 Jarrett Trombley, and #13 Brandon Kaylor. However, Ungar, like many freshman, has struggled a bit with consistency and has suffered losses to #21 Stevo Poulin, Corey Cabanban, and Jax Forrest. This will be a match Ungar has to wrestle his best to get the win.
While Ventresca has put together a solid season, he’s yet to record a win over a wrestler ranked in the top 24. Ventresca is currently 10-3 on the year with his best wins coming against teammate Cooper Flynn. Ventresca wrestles at a high pace and will absolutely be in the match against Ungar. He’ll have to win the battle on their feet and avoid get stuck underneath Ungar on the mat.
Prediction: Ungar by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 0, Cornell 3
Ungar's win over Malik Heinselman at the 2022 CKLV:
133: #9 Sam Latona, VT vs #3 Vito Arujau, COR
In a matchup of two past All-Americans, the bout at 133 has the potential to be one of the best of the night. Vito and Latona recently met in the semis of the 2022 CKLV in early December where Vito came out on top, 6-1. In that match, Vito converted on a first-period takedown and was able to convert that takedown immediately to back points earning 2 near fall. The rest of the match was largely uneventful with Arujau and Latona trading escape and Vito earning riding time. Latona will need to make adjustments both on his feet and on the mat if he hopes to close the gap in this upcoming match.
Prediction: Arujau by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 0, Cornell 6
Vito's win over Sam Latona at the 2022 CKLV:
141: #11 Tom Crook/Collin Gerardi, VT vs #16 Vince Cornella, COR
Both Crook and Cornella are freshmen off to great starts in their college careers. Crook has wins over HM Jesse Vasquez, #23 Lachlan McNeil, #20 Parker Filius, and HM Matt Kazimir. Cornella has wins over #19 Cleveland Belton, #17 Darren Miller, #18 Joe Zargo, and #14 Josh Koderhandt. The two haven’t met in college yet but both were at the CKLV where Cornella failed to place but Crook took 5th. On top of that, Crook beat McNeil and Filius who Cornella has lost to on the year. For those reasons, Crook should be considered the slight favorite in this matchup.
Prediction: Crook by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 3, Cornell 6
Crook's win over Parker Filius at the 2022 CKLV:
149: #11 Caleb Henson, VT vs #1 Yianni Diakomihalis, COR
True freshman Caleb Henson announced his presence to the country the second week of the season when he defeated two-time All-American Sammy Sasso in overtime. Is he ready to take out 3-time NCAA Champion Yianni Diakomihalis? Probably not yet, but their matchup on Friday night will be an interesting and exciting match for both wrestlers.
Prediction: Yianni by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 3, Cornell 9
157: #5 Bryce Andonian/Clayton Ulrey, VT vs Colton Yapoujian, COR
The matchup at 157 is the only projected match that doesn’t feature a head-to-head ranked matchup. That makes Bryce Andonian a big favorite in his potential match against Colton Yapoujian. Andonian is one of the most exciting wrestlers in all of college wrestling and has the potential to end a match early at any time with a big move. However, Andonian has only wrestled one match on the year and hasn’t competed since the All-Star match in November. If Andonian doesn’t wrestle, expect Clayton Ulrey to fill in, making this a much more competitive bout.
Prediction: Andonian by major
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 7, Cornell 9
165: #24 Connor Brady, VT vs #9 Julian Ramirez, COR
While Julian Ramirez and Connor Brady are separated by 15 spots in the rankings, expect this match to be ultra-competitive on Friday night. The two have never wrestled in their college careers and Connor Brady has wrestled Keegan O’Toole, Shane Griffith, and Carson Kharchla very competitively this year. In fact, in the Griffith match, Brady took the bout all the way to tiebreakers before falling 4-2. Ramirez is the favorite but expect this bout to be decided by 2 points or less.
Prediction: Ramirez by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 7, Cornell 12
174: #3 Mekhi Lewis/Jared Florence/Kolton Clark, VT vs #5 Chris Foca, COR
This match has the potential to be the best bout of the night in a top 5 matchup between Foca and Lewis. The two have wrestled twice in their college careers with Mekhi coming out on top both times in tight matches 3-2 (last month) and 3-1 in overtime (last year). Expect this match to be similar to previous matches decided by the slimmest of margins. Mekhi is certainly the favorite based on the last two results but Foca will have his opportunity to come out on top.
However, Mekhi Lewis was not listed by Virginia Tech in their projected lineup but only Jared Florence and Kolton Clark. If Mekhi doesn’t take the mat, expect Foca to come out on top with a bonus-point win.
Prediction: Mekhi by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 10, Cornell 12
Mekhi's win over Foca at the 2022 CKLV
Chris Foca’s win over Mekhi Lewis back at the 2016 Super 32
184: #6 Hunter Bolen, VT vs #9 Jonathan Loew/Nathan Thacker, COR
The potential ranked matchups just keep rolling with a top-10 showdown between Hunter Bolen and Jonathan Loew. Loew hasn’t wrestled since going down with an injury at the CKLV but he’s set to make his return to the mat against Anthony Montalvo on Wednesday night. Bolen has been phenomenal this season with ranked wins over #5 Kaleb Romero, #15 Lenny Pinto, #16 Cade King, and #10 Matt Finesilver. Bolen’s only 2 losses on the year are to Kaleb Romero which he avenged at the CKLV.
If Loew is 100%, the match on Friday night against Bolen should be fantastic. The two have wrestled twice in their college career with each wrestler winning 1 match in the series. Loew won last season (7-5 in overtime) while Bolen won 3 years ago (7-2). Because Loew has been off the mat for the last month, I give Bolen a slight edge but this should be a great test for both wrestlers.
Prediction: Bolen by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 13, Cornell 12
197: #22 Andy Smith, VT vs #18 Jacob Cardenas, COR
Andy Smith and Jacob Cardenas have met once in their college careers with Cardenas winning a tight, 3-2 decision last season. Smith and Cardenas have had similar seasons this year with highs and lows against ranked wrestlers. Cardenas is only 2-2 on the year with wins over #19 Tanner Harvey and Max Shaw but losses to #4 (at 184) Marcus Coleman and #17 Braxton Amos. Andy Smith is 7-4 on the year with notable wins on the year over #23 Evan Bockman and #14 Tanner Sloan but losses to HM Nick Stemmet, #1 Rocky Elam, #19 Tanner Harvey, and #13 Gavin Hoffman. 197 might be the deepest weight in the country with little separation between most of the top-ranked wrestlers. Expect this to be another tight match decided by a takedown or less.
Prediction: Cardenas by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 13, Cornell 15
285: #18 Hunter Catka, VT vs #16 Lewis Fernandes, COR
If the match results go according to my predictions, and the dual ends at 285, this match could decide the outcome of the dual! Catka and Fernandes have never wrestled in college but Fernandes has had slightly better results in his career. Fernandes finished 1 match shy of All-American status last season while Catka went 1-2 at the 2021 NCAA tournament. Like many of the other matches in this dual, this one is a toss-up on paper and should be a highly competitive match on Friday night!
Prediction: Fernandes by decision
Team score prediction: Virginia Tech 13, Cornell 18
Catka’s win over Fernandes at Fargo in 2017:
Virginia Tech has a bit of an uphill battle to win this dual against Cornell and will need to win all of the toss-up matches at 125, 141, 184, 197, and 285. If Bryce Andonian and Mekhi Lewis don’t take the mat, the path to victory becomes even tougher for the Hokies. Cornell looks to be a considerable favorite but as we know, crazy things always happen in duals and we should expect the unexpected on Friday night in Blacksburg!