No. 24 Rutgers topples No. 10 Wisconsin, 17-16 on tiebreaker
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by Bradly Derechailo, Rutgers Athletics and Ryan Weinkauf, Wisconsin Athletics
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 24 Rutgers wrestling (7-2, 1-1) earned its signature win of the season, defeating No. 10 Wisconsin (6-2, 1-2), 17-16, Friday night in front of 4,563 fans at the RAC. With the dual ending in a five-five split, the Scarlet Knights secured their first Big Ten Conference victory of 2019 by criteria with a 56-50 advantage in total match points.
No. 2 Nick Suriano (133), No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (149), No. 15 John Van Brill (157), Joseph Grello (174) and Matthew Correnti (197) all collected wins to help RU earn its second consecutive win over the Badgers. The dual victory also marked the first over a top-10 program since Rutgers defeated then-No. 7 Lehigh on Feb. 20, 2016 at the RAC.
“Each dual meet is different,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “We’ll be confident that we can wrestle hard and win big matches; that’s what we’re confident in. We’re confident in Suriano. We’re confident in Ashnault. We’re confident in [Nicholas] Gravina. We’re confident in our guys. It was a good Big Ten win.”
How it Happened
• After Wisconsin opened with a decision at 125 pounds, Suriano responded with his sixth major decision of the season against Jens Lantz. Suriano recorded two takedowns in each of the three periods, and added the riding time point for a 14-5 final score.
• Peter Lipari (141) followed with what looked to be the match of the night at the time, as the redshirt junior held a 7-4 advantage over Tristan Moran after two periods. However, Moran responded with an escape and takedown in the closing seconds, securing the 8-7 decision with the riding time point.
• Ashnault won by decision for just the third time this season with his 12-6 win over two-time NCAA qualifier Cole Martin. Ashnault recorded three takedowns in the final minute of the second period against Martin to help him move to 14-0 on the season.
• Van Brill followed with a gritty 6-0 decision over Devin Bahr. The graduate student landed a takedown in the first period, added an escape and reversal in the second and capped off his first conference dual win with the riding time point.
• Rutgers held a 10-6 advantage at intermission.
• After Anthony Olivieri (165) dropped a major decision to No. 3 Evan Wick in his Rutgers varsity debut, Grello got the crowd on its feet in his bout with Pat Spray. The redshirt sophomore tilted Spray twice, including a two-point near fall in the final 20 seconds of the opening period for an early 4-0 lead. Grello would ride out Spray for the majority of the match for the final 5-0 decision.
• In just his third match of the season, Nicholas Gravina (184) dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Mason Reinhardt. Tied 1-1 with just four seconds left, Gravina went down with an injury, allowing Reinhardt to choose bottom to close out the period, escaping for the final result. After the loss, the dual was tied, 13-13.
•In his bout with Beau Breske, Correnti led, 3-2, heading into the final period. With a chance to secure the win, Correnti landed a two-point near fall and a takedown in the final two minutes for a 7-4 decision.
• With Rutgers leading in match points, 55-45, Christian Colucci (HWT) did his job by dropping just a 5-1 decision to No. 9 Trent Hillger.
Notables
• This was the first win by criteria for Rutgers since last season, when it earned an 18-17 victory over then-No. 24 North Carolina on Jan. 12, 2018 at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights prevailed in that match courtesy of a 70-64 advantage in match points.
• This was the second consecutive win over Wisconsin, as the Scarlet Knights muscled a 24-12 victory over the Badgers in Madison.
• Ashnault now has 105 wins for his career, tied with Mike Kwapriewski and Billy Smith for ninth all-time in program history.
• Ashnault and Suriano are now a combined 28-0 with 23 wins by bonus points this season, including 10 falls, eight major decisions, four tech falls and a forfeit. In dual action, they are a combined 18-0 and have collected 93 team points in RU’s first nine matches.
• Suriano has yet to concede a takedown this season.
• Correnti has now won seven consecutive matches dating back to his 6-3 decision over Ethan Laird of Rider on Dec. 16, 2018.
No. 24 Rutgers 17, No. 10 Wisconsin 16
Rutgers wins by criteria (total match points, 56-50)
Match started at 125 Pounds
Officials: Nathan Chatman, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 4,563
125: Connor Brown (WISC) over Shane Metzler (RUTG) (Dec 8-2)
133: Nick Suriano (RUTG) over Anders Lantz (WISC) (MD 14-5)
141: Tristan Moran (WISC) over Pete Lipari (RUTG) (Dec 8-7)
149: Anthony Ashnault (RUTG) over Cole Martin (WISC) (Dec 12-6)
157: John Vanschenkbrill (RUTG) over Devin Bahr (WISC) (Dec 6-0)
165: Evan Wick (WISC) over Anthony Olivieri (RUTG) (MD 14-4)
174: Joe Grello (RUTG) over Patrick Spray (WISC) (Dec 5-0)
184: Mason Reinhardt (WISC) over Nick Gravina (RUTG) (Dec 2-1)
197: Matt Correntti (RUTG) over Beau Breske (WISC) (Dec 7-4)
285: Trent Hillger (WISC) over Christian Colucci (RUTG) (Dec 5-1)
(RUTG Criteria (56-50) 1.0)
Up Next
Rutgers hosts No. 3 Oklahoma State on Sunday, Jan. 13 for a 1 p.m. dual at the RAC.
Wisconsin Press Release
Wisconsin narrowly defeated by Rutgers
Badgers drop a 17-16 match by tiebreaker criteria
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 10 Wisconsin wrestling team almost left New Jersey with another Big Ten win, but just couldn’t pull it out. The match ended in a tie, but No. 24 Rutgers took the tiebreaker criteria by total points to win the dual, 17-16.
It was a tight and back-and-forth affair all night between the two Big Ten opponents. Sophomore No. 16 Connor Brown got the Badgers (6-2, 1-2 B1G) off on the right foot as he earned an 8-2 decision over Shane Metzler at 125 pounds.
Rutgers (7-2, 1-1 B1G) took their first lead of the night in the next match at 133 pounds, as undefeated No. 2 Nick Suriano took down Wisconsin senior Jens Lantz with a 14-5 major decision.
But the Badgers jumped back in front after the next match. Junior No. 16 Tristan Moran trailed for most of his match against Peter Lipari at 141 pounds, but an escape and a clutch takedown in the third period propelled Moran to an 8-7 decision.
The flip-flopping ended as Rutgers strung together two consecutive victories at 149 and 157 pounds. At 149 pounds, No. 2 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers defeated No. 13 junior Cole Martin, but only by a 12-6 decision after Martin secured a buzzer-beating takedown to prevent the major decision. At 157 pounds, No. 15 John Van Brill defeated UW freshman Devin Bahr by a 6-0 decision to extend Rutgers’ lead.
After intermission, No. 3 sophomore Evan Wick got the Badgers back on track with a comfortable 14-4 major decision over Anthony Olivieri of Rutgers.
With the normal starter at 174 pounds, No. 10 senior Ryan Christensen, not traveling due to injury, the Badgers bumped up sophomore Patrick Spray, who normally competes at 157 this season, to face Joe Grello of Rutgers. Spray couldn’t get much going, dropping a 5-0 decision, but admirably stepped in for the man-down Badgers to keep the score close.
The biggest upset of the night came at 184 pounds, when UW junior Mason Reinhardt knocked off No. 16 Nick Gravina with a 2-1 decision. Both wrestlers recorded an escape in the match to tie it at one late in the third. With four seconds left, the match was stopped for a quick injury timeout for Gravina. At the restart, Reinhardt chose down, and pulled off the fast escape to win at the buzzer.
Sophomore Beau Breske made his competitive debut for Wisconsin at 197 pounds, facing Matt Correnti of Rutgers. Breske hung strong through the first two periods, but a two point near fall and final takedown for Correnti gave him the 7-4 decision over Breske.
After nine matches, the Badgers found themselves trailing 16-13. No. 9 freshman Trent Hillger of Wisconsin faced Christian Colucci in the final match, and won by a 5-1 decision, tying the match at 16.
Ending in a tie, the dual then went to tiebreaker criteria. Rutgers took home the extra point and the win by virtue of scoring more total points on the night than Wisconsin.
Next up, Wisconsin travels to the home of No. 1-ranked Penn State (5-0, 1-0 B1G) this Sunday at 12 p.m.
Straight from the mat
Head Coach Chris Bono
On the team performance
“Very happy coming out here shorthanded and having our guys fighting their tails off. We got a bunch of fighters and a bunch of team players, guys moving up weight classes, guys filling in for people, and so I’m very happy with the team side of where we are at and where we are with each other.
On the top individual performances
“Very proud of Mason Reinhardt pulling off a big time upset against the No. 16 ranked wrestler in the country, and everybody else that did a great job for us. It’s a tough place to wrestle, but I’m fired up about the effort and the hustle and the grit we showed.”
No. 2 Nick Suriano (133), No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (149), No. 15 John Van Brill (157), Joseph Grello (174) and Matthew Correnti (197) all collected wins to help RU earn its second consecutive win over the Badgers. The dual victory also marked the first over a top-10 program since Rutgers defeated then-No. 7 Lehigh on Feb. 20, 2016 at the RAC.
“Each dual meet is different,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “We’ll be confident that we can wrestle hard and win big matches; that’s what we’re confident in. We’re confident in Suriano. We’re confident in Ashnault. We’re confident in [Nicholas] Gravina. We’re confident in our guys. It was a good Big Ten win.”
How it Happened
• After Wisconsin opened with a decision at 125 pounds, Suriano responded with his sixth major decision of the season against Jens Lantz. Suriano recorded two takedowns in each of the three periods, and added the riding time point for a 14-5 final score.
• Peter Lipari (141) followed with what looked to be the match of the night at the time, as the redshirt junior held a 7-4 advantage over Tristan Moran after two periods. However, Moran responded with an escape and takedown in the closing seconds, securing the 8-7 decision with the riding time point.
• Ashnault won by decision for just the third time this season with his 12-6 win over two-time NCAA qualifier Cole Martin. Ashnault recorded three takedowns in the final minute of the second period against Martin to help him move to 14-0 on the season.
• Van Brill followed with a gritty 6-0 decision over Devin Bahr. The graduate student landed a takedown in the first period, added an escape and reversal in the second and capped off his first conference dual win with the riding time point.
• Rutgers held a 10-6 advantage at intermission.
• After Anthony Olivieri (165) dropped a major decision to No. 3 Evan Wick in his Rutgers varsity debut, Grello got the crowd on its feet in his bout with Pat Spray. The redshirt sophomore tilted Spray twice, including a two-point near fall in the final 20 seconds of the opening period for an early 4-0 lead. Grello would ride out Spray for the majority of the match for the final 5-0 decision.
• In just his third match of the season, Nicholas Gravina (184) dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Mason Reinhardt. Tied 1-1 with just four seconds left, Gravina went down with an injury, allowing Reinhardt to choose bottom to close out the period, escaping for the final result. After the loss, the dual was tied, 13-13.
•In his bout with Beau Breske, Correnti led, 3-2, heading into the final period. With a chance to secure the win, Correnti landed a two-point near fall and a takedown in the final two minutes for a 7-4 decision.
• With Rutgers leading in match points, 55-45, Christian Colucci (HWT) did his job by dropping just a 5-1 decision to No. 9 Trent Hillger.
Notables
• This was the first win by criteria for Rutgers since last season, when it earned an 18-17 victory over then-No. 24 North Carolina on Jan. 12, 2018 at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights prevailed in that match courtesy of a 70-64 advantage in match points.
• This was the second consecutive win over Wisconsin, as the Scarlet Knights muscled a 24-12 victory over the Badgers in Madison.
• Ashnault now has 105 wins for his career, tied with Mike Kwapriewski and Billy Smith for ninth all-time in program history.
• Ashnault and Suriano are now a combined 28-0 with 23 wins by bonus points this season, including 10 falls, eight major decisions, four tech falls and a forfeit. In dual action, they are a combined 18-0 and have collected 93 team points in RU’s first nine matches.
• Suriano has yet to concede a takedown this season.
• Correnti has now won seven consecutive matches dating back to his 6-3 decision over Ethan Laird of Rider on Dec. 16, 2018.
No. 24 Rutgers 17, No. 10 Wisconsin 16
Rutgers wins by criteria (total match points, 56-50)
Match started at 125 Pounds
Officials: Nathan Chatman, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 4,563
125: Connor Brown (WISC) over Shane Metzler (RUTG) (Dec 8-2)
133: Nick Suriano (RUTG) over Anders Lantz (WISC) (MD 14-5)
141: Tristan Moran (WISC) over Pete Lipari (RUTG) (Dec 8-7)
149: Anthony Ashnault (RUTG) over Cole Martin (WISC) (Dec 12-6)
157: John Vanschenkbrill (RUTG) over Devin Bahr (WISC) (Dec 6-0)
165: Evan Wick (WISC) over Anthony Olivieri (RUTG) (MD 14-4)
174: Joe Grello (RUTG) over Patrick Spray (WISC) (Dec 5-0)
184: Mason Reinhardt (WISC) over Nick Gravina (RUTG) (Dec 2-1)
197: Matt Correntti (RUTG) over Beau Breske (WISC) (Dec 7-4)
285: Trent Hillger (WISC) over Christian Colucci (RUTG) (Dec 5-1)
(RUTG Criteria (56-50) 1.0)
Up Next
Rutgers hosts No. 3 Oklahoma State on Sunday, Jan. 13 for a 1 p.m. dual at the RAC.
Wisconsin Press Release
Wisconsin narrowly defeated by Rutgers
Badgers drop a 17-16 match by tiebreaker criteria
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 10 Wisconsin wrestling team almost left New Jersey with another Big Ten win, but just couldn’t pull it out. The match ended in a tie, but No. 24 Rutgers took the tiebreaker criteria by total points to win the dual, 17-16.
It was a tight and back-and-forth affair all night between the two Big Ten opponents. Sophomore No. 16 Connor Brown got the Badgers (6-2, 1-2 B1G) off on the right foot as he earned an 8-2 decision over Shane Metzler at 125 pounds.
Rutgers (7-2, 1-1 B1G) took their first lead of the night in the next match at 133 pounds, as undefeated No. 2 Nick Suriano took down Wisconsin senior Jens Lantz with a 14-5 major decision.
But the Badgers jumped back in front after the next match. Junior No. 16 Tristan Moran trailed for most of his match against Peter Lipari at 141 pounds, but an escape and a clutch takedown in the third period propelled Moran to an 8-7 decision.
The flip-flopping ended as Rutgers strung together two consecutive victories at 149 and 157 pounds. At 149 pounds, No. 2 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers defeated No. 13 junior Cole Martin, but only by a 12-6 decision after Martin secured a buzzer-beating takedown to prevent the major decision. At 157 pounds, No. 15 John Van Brill defeated UW freshman Devin Bahr by a 6-0 decision to extend Rutgers’ lead.
After intermission, No. 3 sophomore Evan Wick got the Badgers back on track with a comfortable 14-4 major decision over Anthony Olivieri of Rutgers.
With the normal starter at 174 pounds, No. 10 senior Ryan Christensen, not traveling due to injury, the Badgers bumped up sophomore Patrick Spray, who normally competes at 157 this season, to face Joe Grello of Rutgers. Spray couldn’t get much going, dropping a 5-0 decision, but admirably stepped in for the man-down Badgers to keep the score close.
The biggest upset of the night came at 184 pounds, when UW junior Mason Reinhardt knocked off No. 16 Nick Gravina with a 2-1 decision. Both wrestlers recorded an escape in the match to tie it at one late in the third. With four seconds left, the match was stopped for a quick injury timeout for Gravina. At the restart, Reinhardt chose down, and pulled off the fast escape to win at the buzzer.
Sophomore Beau Breske made his competitive debut for Wisconsin at 197 pounds, facing Matt Correnti of Rutgers. Breske hung strong through the first two periods, but a two point near fall and final takedown for Correnti gave him the 7-4 decision over Breske.
After nine matches, the Badgers found themselves trailing 16-13. No. 9 freshman Trent Hillger of Wisconsin faced Christian Colucci in the final match, and won by a 5-1 decision, tying the match at 16.
Ending in a tie, the dual then went to tiebreaker criteria. Rutgers took home the extra point and the win by virtue of scoring more total points on the night than Wisconsin.
Next up, Wisconsin travels to the home of No. 1-ranked Penn State (5-0, 1-0 B1G) this Sunday at 12 p.m.
Straight from the mat
Head Coach Chris Bono
On the team performance
“Very happy coming out here shorthanded and having our guys fighting their tails off. We got a bunch of fighters and a bunch of team players, guys moving up weight classes, guys filling in for people, and so I’m very happy with the team side of where we are at and where we are with each other.
On the top individual performances
“Very proud of Mason Reinhardt pulling off a big time upset against the No. 16 ranked wrestler in the country, and everybody else that did a great job for us. It’s a tough place to wrestle, but I’m fired up about the effort and the hustle and the grit we showed.”
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