LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 13^th-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team had a quick turnaround during the morning session during Friday's first day of the NWCA National Duals in Louisville, Kentucky. Fresh off a convincing 30-12 triumph over Western New England during the Opening Round of the dual-format competition, the Bombers were back on the mats to face sixth-ranked Coe College. Unfortunately, Ithaca was unable to sustain its momentum from a strong finish against the Golden Bears, as the Kohawks pulled away for a 35-3 victory, sending Ithaca to the consolation bracket for potentially as many as two more duals on Friday.
 
The final score did not accurately portray how competitive the dual was despite the lopsided final score. Six of Ithaca's defeats came by way of close decisions, three of which were just one-point margins, which could have drastically altered the complexion of the dual. Unfortunately, only one match-up went in the Bombers favor, as junior transfer Jordan Wallace (5^th NWCA | 7^th d3wrestle.com) remained unbeaten on the year with a 7-3 decision over nationally-ranked opponent Ryan Schott (8^th d3wrestle.com).
 
The most pressing concern coming out of the defeat is the status of redshirt-senior Austin Whitney (6^th NWCA | 6^th d3wrestle.com) who took an injury default midway through the first period. His status will be key to monitor not only for the remainder of this weekend, but also moving forward during the final six weeks of the season in advance of NCAA Regional qualifying.
 
#6 Coe 35 – #13 Ithaca 3
125 LB: Amier Khamis (Coe) def. Logan Ninos (IC) | DEC: 4-3
133 LB: Brock Henderson (Coe) def. Travis Jones (IC) | DEC: 6-5
141 LB: Riley Wright (Coe) def. #10/- Ben Brisman (IC) | DEC: 10-3
149 LB: Josh Gerke (Coe) def. Al Ciccitto (IC) | DEC: 7-4
157 LB: #6/7 Cole Erickson (Coe) def. #-/10 Sam Schneider (IC) | DEC: 8-5
165 LB: Luke Silva (Coe) def. #6/6 Austin Whitney (IC) | INJ.: 2:04
174 LB: #5/7 Jordan Wallace (IC) def. #-/8 Ryan Schott (Coe) | DEC: 7-3
184 LB: Josh Edel (Coe) def. Eze Chukwuezi (IC) | DEC: 3-2
197 LB: #2/2 Taylor Mehmen (Coe) def. Dymir Davis-Carruth (IC) | FALL: 2:37
285 LB: #9/10 Kaleb Reeves (Coe) def. Dalton Elias (IC) | TF: 18-0
 
The tone for today's second dual presented itself right from the outset, as the Bombers came out on the short end of the stick on a pair of razor-thin battles in the 125-pound and 133-pound weights. Sophomore Logan Ninos got the nod to open today's second match-up after senior Tito Colom got the start in today's first clash against Western New England. Ninos competed well against Coe's Khamis, but just was not able to get enough scoring in a narrow 4-3 defeat. First-year Travis Jones looked poised to even the match at 3-3 at 133-pounds, leading 5-4 late in the third period, before Brock Henderson connected for a late takedown to steal away the win by a 6-5 margin. The early hole grew even deeper when senior Ben Brisman (10^th NWCA) struggled to get anything going in an upset loss to unranked Riley Wright.
 
Junior Al Ciccitto got the call at 149-pounds and performed admirably in an effort to stop the Coe momentum. Unfortunately, much like the first three Bombers, offense was challenging to create in a 7-4 defeat. The first-half was rounded out with a ranked-on-ranked battle with Cole Erickson (6^th NWCA | 7^th d3wrestle.com) taking on redshirt-sophomore Sam Schneider (10^th d3wrestle.com). It was another close battle with the two wrestlers deadlocked at 4-4 through the opening period. Schneider's bugaboo during the early part of the year has been getting out from on bottom and that sadly reared its head again in the second period. Erickson rode out the period to lock-in a riding time point. A third-period escape and takedown widened the margin and sealed the win for Erickson.
 
Ithaca looked poised to potentially make a run beginning at 165-pounds with a favorable match-up in Whitney (6^th NWCA | 6^th d3wrestle.com) facing an unranked Luke Silva. However, hopes of an IC comeback charge were foiled when Whitney suffered an injury that not only put Coe firmly in command up 21-0, but also likely brought an end to his competition in Louisville.
 
Wallace provided the lone bright spot for IC with another workmanlike triumph over a nationally-ranked foe in Ryan Schott. Wallace never trailed in the match and took control with a late takedown in the second period. Another two-point connection in the third period sealed things for the IC grappler in a 7-3 decision. With the win, Wallace has now gone 4-0 against ranked wrestlers this season, boasting two wins over TCNJ's Dan Kilroy, as well as a win over ranked Division II foe Brock Biddle of Pitt-Johnstown.
 
Chukwuezi provided the highlight of today's opening round dual against Western New England when he knocked off the reigning 184-pound champ John Boyle. Another challenging battle loomed in the match-up against Coe, as Josh Edel has also been on the periphery of the national rankings like Chukwuezi throughout much of the season's first half. A second period takedown was the only difference between the two sides, as the scoring connection by Edel washed out a pair of escapes for Chukwuezi in the frame. Edel got his escape early in the third period and prevented Chukwuezi from finishing a shot in a 3-2 decision.
 
IC had a challenging proposition in the final two bouts of the day, as Coe's strength certainly resided in its heaviest weights with Taylor Mehmen (2^nd NWCA | 2^nd d3wrestle.com) at 197-pounds and Kaleb Reeves (9^th NWCA | 10^th d3wrestle.com) at heavyweight. The duo both earned bonus points to cap off Coe's impressive performance.
 
Ithaca will be back on the mat shortly after 1:00 p.m. when it faces Alma College in its first of potentially two consolation duals on the day. If Ithaca should defeat the Scots, it will face the winner of Washington & Jefferson and No. 19 Wisconsin-Whitewater during the 5:00 p.m. window.