Rutgers University
Big Ten Championships
WRES Concludes Big Ten Championships
Mar 08 | Wrestling
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Rutgers wrestling team concluded its first Big Ten Championships Sunday at St. John Arena, finishing in 11th place as a team with 20.5 points. Redshirt junior Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) added his name to the list of RU's automatic NCAA qualifiers, defeating Nebraska's Collin Jensen, 5-2, in the ninth-place match. Host Ohio State and Iowa ended as Co-Big Ten Champions with 120 team points. Minnesota finished third with 108 points.
FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKETS NINTH-PLACE BRACKETS FINAL TEAM SCORES
"It was hard. Usually we kind of have an idea of who's going to get through, but we had to wrestle all the way to ninth place in some spots," said head coach Scott Goodale. "It was definitely a different tournament than we're used to. I'm just glad we got through it and now can concentrate on the national tournament."
141-pounder Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) was the highest-placing Scarlet Knight, finishing the tournament fifth overall. He escaped at the 1:46 mark in the third period and held Purdue's No. 8 Nick Lawrence off the board for the win.
A match earlier in the consolation semifinals, Ashnault dropped a 5-2 decision against Nebraska's No. 3 Anthony Abidin.
NCAA qualifier Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) closed out his tournament run in seventh place after defeating Maryland's Lou Mascola by a 4-1 margin. He went 2-2 in the tournament with a pair of tiebreaker losses.
133-pounder Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.), who qualified for nationals Saturday for the Scarlet Knights, pinned Purdue's No. 7 Danny Sabatello in the third period (6:33). DelVecchio leaned his back into the Boilermaker amid a scramble to press his shoulders to the mat.
174-pounder Phillip Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.) and 184-pounder Anthony Pafumi (Westfield, N.J.) ended their tournaments in 11th place with wins Sunday.
The 2015 NCAA Championships will be held in St. Louis from March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center. Four Scarlet Knights are guaranteed to make the trip, while the remaining Rutgers wrestlers will await the completion of the at-large selection process.
"It becomes a waiting game right now," Goodale added. "I think some of our guys have done enough during the regular season. I think they had good enough seasons where they beat nationally ranked guys throughout the year and guys that are already qualified. I think that means a lot to the committee and that there's an opportunity for sure to get some at-large bids."
| Wrestler - Weight (Record) | Opponent (School) | Result |
| Sean McCabe - 125 Pounds (0-2) - ELIM. | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 4 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) | L-D, 7-2 |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 6 Conor Youtsey (Michigan) | L-D, 2-1 |
| No. 10 Scott DelVecchio - 133 Pounds (2-2) - Ninth Place | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 7 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) | L-D, 3-1 |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) | L-D, 8-5 |
| Ninth-Place Semifinal | No. 11 Dom Malone (Northwestern) | W-D, 9-6 |
| Ninth-Place Match | No. 7 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) | W-F, 6:33 |
| No. 5 Anthony Ashnault - 141 Pounds (3-2) - Fifth Place | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 12 Shyheim Brown (Maryland) | W-D, 7-2 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 13 Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) | W-F, 5:50 |
| Championship Semifinals | No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) | L-D, 5-1 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 3 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) | L-D, 5-2 |
| Fifth-Place Match | No. 8 Nick Lawrence (Purdue) | W-D, 3-2 |
| No. 4 Ken Theobold - 149 Pounds (0-2) - ELIM. | ||
| Championship First Round | BYE | |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) | L-Inj. Def. |
| Consolation Second Round | Brandon Nelsen (Purdue) | L-MD, 16-4 |
| No. 8 Anthony Perrotti - 157 Pounds (2-2) - Seventh Place | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 9 Luke Frey (Penn State) | L-D, 7-5 (TB-1) |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 7 Michael Kelly (Iowa) | W-F, 0:55 |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 6 Josh Demas (Ohio State) | L-D, 2-1 (TB-1) |
| Eighth-Place Match | No. 10 Lou Mascola (Maryland) | W-D, 4-1 |
| No. 11 Nick Visicaro - 165 Pounds (0-2) - ELIM. | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 6 Garrett Hammond (Penn State) | L-D, 8-2 |
| Consolation First Round | No. 14 Justin Alexander (Maryland) | L-D, 5-3 |
| No. 11 Phillip Bakuckas - 174 Pounds (1-3) - 11th Place | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 6 Mark Martin (Ohio State) | L-D, 6-2 |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 5 Zach Brunson (Illinois) | L-D, 8-7 |
| Ninth-Place Semifinal | No. 10 Nathan Jackson (Indiana) | L-D, 7-5 |
| 11th-Place Match | No. 11 Josh Snook (Maryland) | W-MD, 12-1 |
| No. 11 Anthony Pafumi - 184 Pounds (2-3) - 11th Place | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 6 TJ Dudley (Nebraska) | L-MD, 11-3 |
| Consolation First Round | No. 14 Tony Gardner (Maryland) | W-D, 8-2 |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 5 Kenny Courts (Nebraska) | L-D, 8-3 |
| Ninth-Place Semifinal | No. 10 Patrick Kissel (Purdue) | L-MD, 11-0 |
| 11th-Place Match | No. 12 Mitch Sliga (Northwestern) | W-D, 4-3 |
| No. 12 Hayden Hrymack - 197 Pounds (1-3) - ELIM. | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) | W-D, 6-3 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) | L-D, 9-5 |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 11 Jeff Koepke (Illinois) | L-D, 2-0 |
| Ninth-Place Semifinal | No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) | L-D, 6-2 |
| No. 8 Billy Smith - Heavyweight (3-2) - Ninth Place | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 9 Nick Tavanello (Ohio State) | W-D, 7-1 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 1 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) | L-D, 6-3 |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 7 Spencer Myers (Maryland) | L-D, 6-4 |
| Ninth-Place Semifinal | No. 13 Garret Goldman (Indiana) | W-D, 6-1 |
| Ninth-Place Match | No. 11 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) | W-D, 5-2 |
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