DUBUQUE – Cornell's men's wrestling team split the first six matches with ninth-ranked Loras, but couldn't pull off the upset on the road in Thursday's 27-14 dual loss at Loras Fieldhouse.
 
The Rams (1-2) picked up bonus points from two of their veteran leaders in seventh-ranked 165-pounder Brian Petry and senior 197-pounder Jackson Brinker.
 
Petry (8-4) recorded an 11-3 major decision over Aiden Cartwright, scoring three takedowns in the first two periods. Petry's win brought the Rams within 13-10 with four bouts to go.
 
Loras (4-1) answered with a fall from third-ranked Dustin Bohren (1:05 over Logan Pausch) at 174, and then clinched the dual with a major decision from Landry Barker (16-4 over Austin Wilkins) at 184.
 
At 197, Cornell's Brinker (8-2) handled Kam Royster with a 14-3 major decision, his fourth such victory of the season.
 
The Rams took two tight matches early in the dual, including 12th-ranked Eli Sneed's 5-2 decision over Wiley Jessup at 133. Sneed (9-3) rallied for a reversal and a takedown in the final period. Cornell sophomore 141-pounder Dylan Heater (10-4) prevailed 4-3 over Owen Seffrood in a match decided by riding time.
 
At 125, Cornell's Jase Van Pelt was edged 6-4 by Aidan Gruenenfelder.
 
The Duhawks posted technical falls at 149 (14th-ranked Chase Fiser 21-5 over Nate Wood) and 157 (top-ranked Eric Kinkaid 17-0 over 14th-ranked AJ Parrish).   
 
Coming up – Cornell hosts the Ram Duals Saturday in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center Arena. The Rams wrestle No. 10 Luther at 12 p.m., No. 24 Central at 1:45 p.m. and UW-Stevens Point at 3:30 p.m.