ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cortland women's gymnastics team defeated Ithaca College, 188.15-185.55, and the wrestling team lost to nationally 16th-ranked Ithaca, 31-9, during the schools' "Rumble and Tumble" event that featured the two sports competing simultaneously at Ithaca's Ben Light Gymnasium.

The combination event was held between the rival schools for the fourth straight year. It's been billed as "Beauty and the Beast" when held at Cortland.

WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS (Cortland 188.15, Ithaca 185.55)

Cortland pulled away over the final two rotations to earn the victory over the Bombers. The Red Dragons held a slight 94.175-93.875 lead after two events, including a season-high 47.55 on vault. Cortland outscored Ithaca on beam by more than two points, 46.60-44.575, and also held a 47.357-47.10 edge on floor as the Red Dragons eclipsed the 188-point mark for the third straight meet.

Emma Schulz (Poughquag/Arlington) registered three top-six finishes, highlighted by a win on floor exercise with a 9.70. She was fourth on vault (9.575) and sixth on balance beam (9.125). Glynis Curcione (Wilson) won uneven bars with a 9.65 and Julie Giardina (Wantagh) finished second on beam with a season-high 9.60.

Abby Bang (Montgomery, MA/Gateway Regional) tied for second on vault with a career-best 9.625 and tied for fifth on floor with a 9.425. Kamryn Rodriguez (Middletown/Minisink Valley) earned a pair of third-place finishes with scores of 9.525 on beam and 9.50 on floor. Ashley Scarantino (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) recorded a career-best 9.55 on vault to finish in fifth place.

In a tightly contested all-around, Megan Hanley (Lynbrook/Malverne) finished first with a combined score of 37.575, followed by Ithaca's Cameryn Nichols in second (37.525) and Red Dragon Emily Speciale (San Antonio, TX/James Madison) in third (37.10). Speciale placed third on bars (9.45) and Hanley was fourth on beam (9.425) and sixth on bars (9.35).

Ithaca's Cassidy Marquette won vault with a 9.65, while Nichols tied Bang for second place with a 9.625. Katie Holcomb won beam for the hosts with a 9.70 and was second on bars (9.525).

Cortland is off for a week and a half before hosting Ithaca and Springfield in a tri-meet on Sunday, March 1 at 1 p.m. in the Red Dragons' first home contest of the season.

Coach's Corner - Comments from Head Coach Sulekha Modi Zaug:
Big win tonight which is great for our confidence and morale! They are seeing how good they are and we are staying inside our bubble of focusing on ourselves and minimizing distractions. Incredible vaults from Ashley, Emma, and Abby, beautiful floor performances from all gymnasts, solid beam from Julie, and high flying bars from Glynis as top highlights from tonight. The team looks like they are enjoying the sport and showing great sportsmanship. That was our goal from Day 1. 

Cortland 188.15, Ithaca 185.55

Complete Results

(Top 4)

Vault: 1) Cassidy Marquette (ITH) 9.65, tie 2) Abby Bang (CORT) 9.625, tie 2) Cameryn Nichols (ITH) 9.625, 4) Emma Schulz (CORT) 9.575

Uneven Bars: 1) Glynis Curcione (CORT) 9.65, 2) Katie Holcomb (ITH) 9.525, 3) Emily Speciale (CORT) 9.45, tie 4) Cameryn Nichols (ITH) 9.425, tie 4) Zoe Kyriakopoulos (ITH) 9.425

Balance Beam: 1) Katie Holcomb (ITH) 9.70, 2) Julie Giardina (CORT) 9.60, 3) Kamryn Rodriguez (CORT) 9.525, 4) Megan Hanley (CORT) 9.425

Floor Exercise: 1) Emma Schulz (CORT) 9.70, 2) Paige Landes (ITH) 9.525, 3) Kamryn Rodriguez (CORT) 9.50, 4) Alexis Griffin (ITH) 9.45

All-Around:  1) Megan Hanley (CORT) 37.575, 2) Cameryn Nichols (ITH) 37.525, 3) Emily Speciale (CORT) 37.10  (only three competitors)


WRESTLING (Ithaca 31, Cortland 9)

Ithaca improved to 12-4 with the victory, while Cortland closes the regular season with a 7-9 dual mark. Both teams will compete at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Qualifiers Feb. 29-March 1 at Ithaca's Athletics & Events Center.

Cortland picked up three victories on the evening. Freshman Chandler Merwin (Walton) won 9-5 over Tito Colom at 141 pounds, sophomore Demitreus Henry (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus) was a 6-3 winner over Alec Corrao at 174 pounds, and junior Dylan Dubuque (East Greenbush/Columbia) posted a 7-3 decision versus Steven Rice at 197 pounds.

Merwin, now 17-11 on the season, was tied 3-3 after one period and used an escape and takedown in the second to take a 6-3 lead. Colom closed to within 6-5 in the third, but Merwin recorded a takedown with 1:04 left and earned a riding time point for the final margin.

Henry improved to 26-5 on the season with his victory. He led 2-1 after one period, and the wrestlers were tied at 2-2 entering the third. Henry took the lead with an escape four seconds into the third and registered a takedown with 38 seconds left to go up 5-2. Corrao escaped with four seconds left, and Henry recorded a riding time point to win by three.

Dubuque's victory upped his season record to 10-1. It appeared that he might have a pin at the end of the first period, but it was ruled to have come just after the buzzer. He instead received four points for a takedown and a near fall to lead 4-0, extended the score to 5-0 after two and added a takedown late in the third to secure the victory.

Freshman Cahal Donovan (Marietta/Marcellus) took 2018 NCAA Division III 141-pound champion and 2019 national semifinalist Ben Brisman to the wire at 149 pounds in a 3-2 loss. The two were scoreless after one period. Brisman led 1-0 after two periods on an escape. Donovan tied it with an escape six seconds into the third and Brisman registered a takedown with 54 seconds left to go up 3-1. Donovan escaped with 14 seconds left but was unable to score as time expired.

Ithaca notched three pins during the match – by Travis Jones at 133, nationally ranked Austin Whitney at 165 and Dalton Elias at 285 – along with a 14-2 major decision by nationally ranked Eze Chukwuezi at 184 and decisions by Logan Ninos at 125 and Sam Schneider at 157, in addition to Brisman's victory.

Ithaca 31, Cortland 9

125 – Logan Ninos (ITH) dec. Ben Lloyd, 8-1
133 – Travis Jones (ITH) pinned Pat Owens, 4:33
141 – Chandler Merwin (CORT) dec. Tito Colom, 9-5
149 – Ben Brisman (ITH) dec. Cahal Donovan, 3-2
157 – Sam Schneider (ITH) dec. Ben Bivar, 9-4
165 – Austin Whitney (ITH) pinned Alex Leone, 5:45
174 – Demitreus Henry (CORT) dec. Alec Corrao, 6-3
184 – Eze Chukwuezi (ITH) major dec. Kevin Morgans, 14-2
197 – Dylan Dubuque (CORT) dec. Steven Rice, 7-3
285 – Dalton Elias (ITH) pinned Trentyn Rupert, 3:40

Exhibition:
Luis Hernandez (ITH) pinned Jeremy Pond, 4:04

Records after match:
Cortland (Red Dragons) 7-9
Ithaca (Bombers) 12-4 (ranked 16th nationally in Division III)