Rutgers University
No. 2 Minnesota
No. 2 Minnesota Trumps Upset Bid
Jan 11 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Four consecutive wins to start the day had No. 23 Rutgers ahead of No. 2 Minnesota, but the Golden Gophers recovered with six-straight wins to close the dual on top, 23-12, Sunday afternoon at the RAC. The 12 points and four bout victories were the most in a Big Ten match this season for the Scarlet Knights.
Post-Match Press Conference - Minnesota
Minnesota Play-by-Play Solid wins by 125-pounder Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and 133-pounder Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.) to begin the day got the crowd of 2,636 fans at the RAC into it early.
McCabe (12-4) reversed to start the third period before capping a 5-2 win. Along with junior 149-pounder Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.), McCabe finished the weekend 2-0 in Big Ten competition.
DelVecchio (13-4) attacked from the outset in his match, recording three takedowns and 1:26 of riding time in an 8-3 win against Jordan Kingsley. A match later, No. 7/6/8 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) followed suit, building the RU lead to 9-0 with a 12-5 win versus Conrad Rangell. He improved to 15-3 overall and has a team-best 11-1 dual record this season.
Theobold (15-4) fought the full seven minutes in his matchup with Minnesota's Jake Short, rebounding from a 6-2 deficit in the first period to win, 7-6.
Trailing, 6-4, entering the third period, Theobold quickly escaped to make it a one-point match down the stretch. At the 1:07 mark, Theobold took Short down, taking the lead and also reversing Short's riding time. He rode the Golden Gopher out for the remainder of the match to build the team lead to 12-0.
From there, No. 2 Minnesota (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) took over.
Unanimous No. 1 157-pounder Dylan Ness pinned redshirt freshman Dylan Painton (South Plainfield, N.J.) in Painton's first-career match to get Minnesota on the board, before a pair of decisions at 165 and 174 pounds tied the match at 12-12.
Consecutive major decisions at 184 and 197 pounds put the match out of reach, 20-12, entering the heavyweight match, where No. 9/11/10 Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) dropped a tough match, 6-5, to No. 13/12/13 Michael Kroells.
Smith led, 4-3, entering the third period after escaping late in the second, but Kroells got the takedown he needed and warded Smith off late to seal the win.
Redshirt junior 157-pounder Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) did not wrestle Sunday due to a lower body injury.
The Scarlet Knights return home for their final RAC match of the season on Friday, Jan. 16 against No. 3 Penn State. The 7 p.m. match will be streamed live on BTN Plus, with Danny Breslauer and Sean Dedeyn on the call.
No. 2 Minnesota 23, No. 23 Rutgers 12
Dual started at 125 pounds
125: Sean McCabe (RU) dec. over Jordan Bremer (MINN), 5-3; Rutgers leads, 3-0
133: Scott DelVecchio (RU) dec. over Jordan Kingsley (MINN), 8-3; Rutgers leads, 6-0
141: No. 7/6/8/5 Anthony Ashnault (RU) dec. over Conrad Rangell (MINN), 12-5; Rutgers leads, 9-0
149: No. NR/NR/17 Ken Theobold (RU) dec. over Jake Short (MINN), 7-6; Rutgers leads, 12-0
157: No. 1/1/1 Dylan Ness (MINN) wins by fall over Dylan Painton (RU), 4:30; Rutgers leads, 12-6
165: Brandon Kingsley (MINN) dec. over Nicholas Gravina (RU), 4-0; Rutgers leads, 12-9
174: No. 3/4/3 Logan Storley (MINN) dec. over No. NR/15/20 Phil Bakuckas (RU), 5-1; Match tied, 12-12
184: No. 10/10/11 Brett Pfarr (MINN) major dec. over Hayden Hrymack (RU), 19-9; Minnesota leads, 16-12
197: No. 1/3/2 Scott Schiller (MINN) major dec. over No. NR/9/NR Andrew Campolattano (RU), 11-2; Minnesota leads, 20-12
285: No. 13/12/13 Michael Kroells (MINN) dec. over No. 9/11/10 Billy Smith (RU), 6-5; Minnesota wins, 23-12
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / The Open Mat / WIN Magazine (Jan. 6)
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