The Binghamton wrestling team saw its five dual win streak snapped with a 33-6 loss to No. 8 Cornell. The Bearcats captured two individual wins, one from junior Brevin Cassella who earned his 24th overall win this year. The other came from graduate student Lou DePrez, who kept his momentum going heading into the postseason, earning a victory by decision in his 197-pound matchup over his seventh-ranked Cornell opponent.

“[DePrez] got a really nice win,” said Binghamton coach Kyle Borshoff said. “[Cassella] got a nice win. We dropped a couple of really tight matches at 184 and 174. It would’ve been nice to come out of here with those wins as well. But Cornell’s got a great team. They did a good job today. I am disappointed that we didn’t get more wins, but I think it’s important to wrestle a match like this before the [Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association’s (EIWA)].”

Coming off being named EIWA wrestler of the week, Cassella earned a 5-2 decision win his 165-pound matchup for BU (9-4, 7-3 EIWA) that opened things at Cornell (12-4, 5-0 EIWA). Redshirt junior Dimitri Gamkrelidze hit the mat next, taking a close 4-1 decision loss to his 174-pound Cornell opponent. Then, redshirt senior Jacob Nolan suffered a 4-2 decision loss to his sixth-ranked Cornell opponent.

“[Cassella] did a nice job controlling the match,” Borshoff said. “He got an early takedown, [was] really just never in danger and did a nice job doing what he had to do. We’ve got to be offensive. I’m hoping that [Gamkrelidze and Nolan] learned from those matches and understand that they can’t be hanging and waiting on defense. They have to be aggressive looking to score.”

DePrez’s 7-3 decision win over his seventh-ranked opponent would be the Bearcats’ final win on the day. Sophomore Charlie Tibbitts was pinned in his 285-pound matchup against his 17-ranked Cornell opponent, while freshman Carson Wagner suffered a loss by technical-fall against his ranked 125-pound opponent.

“[DePrez] did a great job,” Borshoff said. “Two takedowns to none got a riding time point as well. [He had] another match where he did a great job controlling the match, and he did it with offense. You try to control matches with offense, not defense. [DePrez] did a great job of that, and he got a really nice win. Probably the best match that he’s wrestled in a couple years. I think that’s a big positive sign of what we should be excited for as we move into the postseason.”

Graduate student Matt Griffin also suffered a loss by technical-fall in his 133-pound matchup, while redshirt sophomore Nate Lucier was defeated in a 9-1 major decision via his ranked Cornell opponent in the 141-pound matchup. Freshman Jordan Brown also faced a ranked opponent from Cornell, suffering an 11-0 major decision loss in the 149-pound dual. Sophomore Carter Baer was the final Bearcat to hit the mat on Sunday, taking a close 1-0 loss by decision. Cornell’s win in the final match brought the final score to 33-6, giving the No. 8 ranked Big Red a decisive victory.

“Those [Cornell] guys are great wrestlers,” Borshoff said. “They did a nice job of putting up bonus point wins. Nobody’s more disappointed in losing than the guys on the team. It’s tough to go out and wrestle the best guys in the country in their home gym.”

In Borshoff’s seventh season at the helm, the Bearcats made big leaps as a team, finishing 9-4 overall. With the dual season wrapped up, going into the EIWA championships, Borshoff is looking forward to what the team can do, competing as individuals.

“We had a great dual-meet season,” Borshoff said. “It’s one of the best dual-meet seasons the team has had since I’ve been here. I think we made a lot of positive strides this year as a program. The EIWA is a different beast. Dual meets have zero meaning when you go to the conference tournament. Now it’s all about the individuals and that’s what I told the guys after the match. They’ve been wrestling for the team, now they wrestle for themselves.”

The Bearcats’ next stop will be the EIWA Championships — hosted by Bucknell — beginning on Friday, March 8. First bout is scheduled at a time to be decided at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.