CORTLAND, N.Y. – The fourth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team hit the road for its final dual-meet of the season on Wednesday evening when it made the short trip up Route 13 to clash with rival SUNY Cortland. The Bombers won six of 10 bouts to defeat the 15^th-ranked Red Dragons 27-17, improving their record to 12-2 in duals on the year. It also upped IC's record to 4-2 against nationally-ranked foes this season.
 
Wrestling shorthanded with three of its nationally-ranked grapplers sidelined for the much-anticipated rivalry matchup, Ithaca turned to the familiar faces that remained in the lineup to seal the victory down the stretch. IC won three of the final four bouts, scoring pins by sophomore Jake Ashcraft at 184-pounds and sophomore Jake O'Brien at 285-pounds to pull away for the 10-point win.
 
125 LB | Jimmy Kaishian (ITHACA) def. Andrew Roden (CORTLAND) (DEC: 6-2)
133 LB | Maverick Passaro (CORTLAND) def. Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) (DEC: 6-1)
141 LB | Nick Wahba (ITHACA) def. Da'mani Burns (CORTLAND) (FALL: 4:19)
149 LB | Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. Matt Caputo (CORTLAND) (DEC: 8-3)
157 LB | Bobby Dierna (CORTLAND) def. Al Ciccitto (ITHACA) (TF: 23-6)
165 LB | Zack Zupan (CORTLAND) def. Anthony Fano (ITHACA) (DEC: 8-4)
174 LB | Jaison White (ITHACA) def. Colin Barber (CORTLAND) (SV-1: 4-2) 
184 LB | Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Deuly Espinal (CORTLAND) (FALL: 2:19)
197 LB | Nick Bellanza (CORTLAND) def. Liam Korbul (ITHACA) (FALL: 4:44)
285 LB | Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Nicholas Lupi (CORTLAND), (FALL: 2:17)
 
Ithaca jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when their senior captain, Jimmy Kaishian (6^th d3wrestle.com) played a tactical defensive bout in a 6-2 decision over Cortland's Andrew Roden. However, the Red Dragons struck back to level the match score with a 6-1 decision over IC's Ferdinand Mase.
 
Back in the lineup following a one-dual hiatus, senior Nick Wahba (7^th d3wrestle.com) reestablished Ithaca's lead with a second-period pin (4:19) of Cortland's Da'mani Burns. It was Wahba's fourth victory by fall on the year, while it upped IC's advantage to 9-3. The lead swelled to 12-3 when Ben Brisman, filling in for IC's nationally-ranked 149-pounder in Sammy Schneider, picked up a huge 8-3 decision over Cortland's sophomore transfer Matt Caputo.
 
The Red Dragons clawed back into the match with two victories at 157-pounds and 165-pounds. First, the nation's unanimous top-ranked grappler in Cortland's Bobby Dierna scored a dominant 23-6 technical fall over IC's rookie Al Ciccitto. The home side closed within one point in the following bout when Zack Zupan outlasted Ithaca's Anthony Fano in an 8-4 decision, making the match score 12-11.
 
The momentum turned at 174-pounds when Jaison White continued his hot stretch with a huge upset over Cortland's Colin Barber (6^th d3wrestle.com). Entering sudden-victory tied at 2-2, White scored a late takedown with 19-seconds left in the first sudden-victory period to turn the tide for IC, simultaneously silencing a rowdy SUNY Cortland crowd that began to rumble during Cortland's comeback.
 
Ashcraft picked up another clutch result for IC at 184-pounds when he defeated another nationally-ranked Red Dragon in Deuly Espinal (9^th d3wrestle.com). After a stalemate during the opening moments of the bout, Ithaca's talented sophomore flipped Espinal to his back for six more points just 2:19 into the bout. It was Ashcraft's 14^th victory by fall on the year.
 
Cortland answered with a pin at 197-pounds when Nick Bellanza took advantage of another IC absence as usual 197-pounder Carlos Toribio (4^th NWCA, 5^th d3wrestle.com) was held out of the lineup on Wednesday. Bellanza pinned Liam Korbul in the second period (4:44) to pull back within four points at 21-17.
 
Jake O'Brien (9^th d3wrestle.com) had the last laugh for IC, sealing the match with a first-period pin (2:17) of Cortland's Nick Lupi. It was O'Brien's fourth consecutive victory by fall dating back to the Oneonta Quad two weeks ago.
 
The Bombers' six bout wins, combined with six Top-3 finishes by the IC gymnasts helped IC capture the overall win at the Beauty and the Beast Meet by a final score of 12-10.
 
Ithaca returns to action next weekend when it travels to Roger Williams for the two-day NCAA Northeast Regionals on Saturday, February 25, and Sunday, February 26.