It was a special night, in particular for the Hamm family out of Iowa City. The home fans, many wearing "Support the Troops" t-shirts, acknowledged military personnel in attendance in a pre-meet ceremony that included a voice message from U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Andy Hamm, brother of Cornell sophomore 174-pounder Brent Hamm.

Andy Hamm was expected to return home Saturday after serving nearly a year in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Much to his family's delight, Andy made a surprise entrance through the back door of the gym that brought everyone to their feet. Brent was the first to embrace his brother as he walked toward the Ram bench, and then headed to his mother, Elisha, and sister, Chandler, both standing in the front row.

"It was an emotional night," Cornell head coach Mike Duroe said. "The ceremony went off real well. The military people were very appreciative, Hamm's family especially. They were surprised."

The meet did not go Cornell's way as the 13th-ranked Rams had their five-dual winning streak snapped with a 27-20 setback to 19th-ranked Augustana. Inexperience showed for Cornell, which had five freshmen and a pair of sophomores in the starting lineup. The Rams were without two of their starters.

The Vikings (3-2) won six of the first eight bouts, scoring bonus points in five of them. Cornell (5-2) gave up 16 nearfall points while collecting only three.

"Augustana came out and controlled the action," Duroe said. "We let the opponent dictate the tempo. We got tied up. That goes against what we practice and try to teach. One thing that continues to be an issue is we spend a lot of time on the bottom.

"We had a lot of young guys in the lineup, but so did Augustana. You've got to give their team credit. They were the aggressors."

Cornell's Trevor Engle (12-3) continued an impressive start to his freshman season, recording a third-period pin in 5:35 at 149 pounds. His victory gave the Rams a 9-7 lead through four matches.

Augustana took control by winning the next four matches - two pins and two major decisions - to open a 27-9 lead.

The Rams finished the meet with victories from 197-pounder Alex Coolidge and heavyweight Carl Gaul. Fourth-ranked Coolidge (14-2) was his dominant self, delivering nine takedowns in a 22-7 technical fall that was stopped 5:33 into the match. He extended his winning streak to nine matches.

Gaul (11-6) was in a battle with Augustana's Abe Duran, trailing 8-7 through two periods. Duran was hurt early in the third period, and Gaul was awarded six points for an injury default.

Freshman Zachary Henning (2-7) picked up Cornell's other win on the night. He posted a takedown in the second and third period for a solid 5-1 win over Jimmy Panozzo (13-5) at 133.

Cornell freshman Todd Murakawa (2-5) gave up four third-period points in a 6-2 loss at 141. Ben Rosen (9-8) at 125, Bryce Lightner (2-4) at 165 and Kevin Stahmer (9-10) at 184 all fell by major decision. Cornell 157-pounder Danny Klema (5-11) and Hamm (9-8) both lost by fall.

Coming up - The Rams get a lengthy break from competition before heading to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the Citrus Invitational Dec. 29-30.