Rutgers Wrestling Competes in Tri-meet
Jan 13 | Wrestling
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Rutgers wrestling team, under the guidance of first-year head coach Scott Goodale, went 1-1 in matches against Army and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. RU (4-5, 2-2) pulled out a 21-12 victory over USMMA (5-4) before falling 27-10 to Army (7-4, 4-1). Army defeated USMMA 38-3 to win the tri-meet.
"I was very disappointed," said Goodale. "I thought we took a step backwards this weekend. I felt we had a good opportunity to win some bouts but we didn't. We did not win any of the close matches, especially against Army, and that was the key in our loss."
In the first match against USMMA, Keith Dobish (Lodi, N.J.) opened the scoring with a 6-0 decision over Troy McGuinness. The Mariners won two of the next three as Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) fell 10-4, DJ Russo (Netcong, N.J.) won 18-2 and Ryan Jablonski (Norristown, Pa.) lost in overtime 9-7. With the score 7-6 in favor of Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights reeled off three straight wins to take a commanding 18-6 lead. Dan Hilt (Manalapan, N.J.) earned an 11-4 decision, Steve Adamcsik (Chester, N.J.) earned a 15-7 major decision and Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J.) narrowly defeated Dan Twito 5-4. Jamie Lijo (Stanhope, N.J.) and Matt Rigoglioso (Wayne, N.J.) both fell in their bouts, 4-3 and 6-4, but Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) defeated Justin Diesel 6-1 to close out the 21-12 win.
Against Army, the Scarlet Knights fought valiantly, but were unable to come up with a victory until the eighth bout. Dobish and Brown both fell in tight contests, 3-2 and 7-4, respectively. Karim Mahmoud (Wallington, N.J.) and Jablonski were then pinned to give the Black Knights an 18-0 lead. Hilt, Adamcsik and Barrett all dropped their bouts to make the score 27-0, but Rutgers would regroup to win the final three contests. Chris Norrell (Phillipsburg, N.J.) defeated Sean Joyce 8-2, Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) earned a 10-2 major decision and Whalen won for the second time of the day, 6-4 over Dean Gaier.
"We definitely have some work to do," said Goodale. "We have to get back to the drawing board and work hard to get ready for Brown and Franklin & Marshall. We need to be tougher and we need to be better in certain spots."
The Scarlet Knights return to the mat on Saturday, Jan. 19, when they host Brown and Franklin & Marshall. The tri-meet will get underway at noon; Rutgers will wrestle at 2:00 p.m. and then at 4:00 p.m. Admission is free to the public.
Rutgers 21, USMMA 12
184 - Keith Dobish (RU) dec. Troy McGuinness, 6-0
197 - Eric Vincent (KP) dec. Lamar Brown, 10-4
285 - D.J. Russo (RU) tech. Judd Connell (KP), 18-2 (5:00)
125 - Jordan Alfaro (KP) dec. Ryan Jablonski, 9-7 (OT)
133 - Dan Hilt (RU) dec. Philip Green, 11-4
141 - Steve Adamscik (RU) maj. Jimmy Beshada, 15-7
149 - Jack Barrett (RU) dec. Dan Twito, 5-4
157 - Scott Lowe (KP) dec. Jamie Lijo, 4-3
165 - Vincent Renaut (KP) dec. Matt Rigoglioso, 6-4
174 - Mike Whalen (RU) dec. Justin Diesel, 6-1
Army 27, Rutgers 10
184 - Scott Ferguson (A) dec. Keith Dobish, 3-2
197 - Richard Starks (A) dec. Lamar Brown, 7-4
285 - Nathan Thobaben (A) pin. Karim Mahmoud 4:49
125 - Fernando Martinez (A) pin. Ryan Jablonski 4:12
133 - Whitt Dunning (A) dec. Dan Hilt, 6-0
141 - Matt Kyler (A) dec. Steve Adamscik, 7-2
149 - Casey Thome (A) dec. Jack Barrett, 3-2
157 - Chris Norell (RU) dec. Sean Joyce, 8-2
165 - Matt Pletcher (RU) maj. John Drew, 10-2
174 - Mike Whalen (RU) dec. Dean Gaier, 6-4
