Rob Koll named Coach of the Year

LEE WINS SECOND NATIONAL TITLE
TYLER BAIER PLACES SECOND
BIG RED PLACES FOURTH AT NCAA'S

Mazzurco Places Fifth, Manotti Sixth at NCAA Championships

Travis Lee won his second national title and first at 133 pounds with a sweep through the championships, going 5-0 and topping No. 2 seed Shawn Bunch of Edinboro in the finals, 6-3. The win avenged his only loss this season and finished 2004-05 with a record of 37-1. The two-time Ivy League Wrestler of the Year became the first Cornell wrestler to earn four EIWA titles and he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second year in a row. Lee had previously captured a national title at 125 pounds during the 2002-03 campaign. He ended his career with a school and Ivy record 143 wins, posting a 143-13 record. With the title, Lee became the third Ivy wrestler to win two NCAA championships.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - After coming to Cornell from St. Louis High School in Hawaii, Travis Lee closed out his decorated career tonight in St. Louis, Mo., where the senior went out in style by becoming just the second two-time national champion in Big Red history at the 75th NCAA wrestling championships at the Savvis Center. Lee posted a 6-3 decision over Shawn Bunch of Edinboro in the 133-pound finals to avenge his only loss this season and finish the year with a record of 37-1. Fellow senior Tyler Baier ended his amazing run through the 184-pound bracket with a 5-3 loss to top-ranked Greg Jones of West Virginia, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Cornell placed fourth in the team standings with 76.5 points, its highest finish in 52 years. Head coach Rob Koll was rewarded by his peers by being named the NWCA Division I Coach of the Year.

Lee took a 2-0 lead with a takedown two minutes into the first period before Bunch escaped and tied the score at 2-2 by getting free to open second period. Later in the middle frame, Lee used a single-leg takedown to record his second takedown and rode Bunch for over a minute before letting him free. Up 4-3, Lee put the finishing touches on the victory with an early third-period escape to keep his riding-time advantage and fought off Bunch for the remainder of regulation, resulting in the 6-3 score.

With the title, Lee becomes the third Ivy wrestlers to win two NCAA championships and the first since 1960. Penn's Dick DiBatista was the first double champion, winning at 175 in 1941 and 1942. Cornell's Dave Auble `60 won at 123 in 1959 and 1960. Lee also becomes the first Ivy wrestler to earn four All-American accolades. wrestler in Ivy League history and tonight's victory pushed his Ivy-record win total to 143.

When Lee captured the national title two years ago at 125 pounds, two of his teammates also earned All-America honors, helping the team finish 10th. This time around, the Hawaiian had a little more help as Baier, his classmate, reached the finals and two other Cornellians also placed in their bracket, giving the team four All-Americans for the first time in school history. Senior Joe Mazzurco earned All-America honors for the first time in his career, placing fifth at 157 pounds, while junior Dustin Manotti placed sixth at 149 pounds to become just the fourth three-time All-American from the Ivies.

Baier put up a valiant effort against Jones, who brought a 50-match win streak into Saturday's title bout before claiming his third national title. The Mountaineer opened up with a takedown 50 seconds into the match before Baier was able to get free to make it a 2-1 match. On bottom to start the second, Jones escaped and worked around before recording his second takedown of the bout. Down 5-1, Baier escaped soon after being taken down and was set free by Jones at the start of the third to get within 5-3. Jones, who was taken down only 10 times during his standout career, proved to be too much, as Baier was unable to turn in a successful shot.

The Big Red was represented by its largest contingent ever on the national stage, as nine Cornellians qualified for the tournament. Each grappler won at least one match, helping contribute to the team's highest point total ever at the NCAAs.

The Big Red's finish is the second highest in Cornell and Ivy League history, only bettered by the 1953 squad, which finished third on the strength of national champions Frank Bettucci (147) and Don Dickason (167). That was also the last time an Ivy League team had a top five finish. The best placing by an Ivy squad since was seventh by Cornell in 1958.

Final Team Standings - Top 10 1. Oklahoma State - 153 2. Michigan - 83 3. Oklahoma - 77.5 4. CORNELL - 76.5 5. Minnesota - 72.5 6. Illinois - 70.5 7. Iowa - 66 8. Lehigh - 60 9. Indiana - 58.5 10. Iowa State - 57