Rutgers University
Minnesota
No. 6 WRES Edged at Minnesota, 17-16
Jan 17 | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS - No. 6 Rutgers wrestling battled to take a one-point lead into intermission, but consecutive wins out of the break by Minnesota at 149 and 157 pounds put the match out of reach in a 17-16 loss Sunday at The Sports Pavilion.
The Scarlet Knights (11-3, 2-2 Big Ten) trailed, 17-12, entering the final match at 184 pounds and needed a pin to take the victory. Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.) controlled Christopher Pfarr in the match in an attempt to get him on his back, but the bout ended in an 11-3 major for Gravina and one-point loss for RU.
A tech fall would have tied the dual, but the Golden Gophers (6-6, 2-2 Big Ten) had criteria on their side.
No. 16 heavyweight Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) posted a quality, 2-1, win over No. 7 Michael Kroells early on. The two were tied, 1-1, through regulation and a minute of sudden victory.
Smith (17-5) held Kroells down in the first tiebreaker period, and slipped away in the next 30 second stanza for the win. The victory was Smith's third in-a-row and avenged a 6-5 loss to Kroells at the RAC last season.
Rutgers clicked over the next two matches with decisions at 125 pounds from Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and at 133 pounds from No. 18 Anthony Giraldo (Guttenberg, N.J.).
McCabe (11-7) scored at the buzzer in a 7-6 win, while Giraldo (13-7) cruised after only surrendering an escape to Sam Brancale. The wins established a 9-5 dual lead.
The Golden Gophers took charge for good with three-straight wins from 141-157 pounds.
No. 10 Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) overcame an illegal hold, stall, and caution call against him in an 8-6 win against Brandon Krone at 165 pounds to keep RU in it.
But the dual swung on the 174-pound bout, where Nicholas Wanzek defeated Phillip Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.), 8-4.
Rutgers returns to the RAC, where it is unbeaten this season, on Friday, Jan. 22 against Wisconsin (1-4, 0-3 Big Ten). The match will stream live on BTN Plus.
Minnesota 17, No. 6 Rutgers 16
Dual started at 197 pounds
Location: The Sports Pavilion (Minneapolis, Minn.)
197: No. 4/4/4 Brett Pfarr (MINN) tech fall over Anthony Messner (RU), 23-8; Minnesota leads, 5-0
285: No. 16/16/15 Billy Smith (RU) dec. over No. 7/7/6 Michael Kroells (MINN), 2-1 (TB-1); Minnesota leads, 5-3
125: Sean McCabe (RU) dec. over Skyler Petry (MINN), 7-6; Rutgers leads, 6-5
133: No. 18/19/17 Anthony Giraldo (RU) dec. over Sam Brancale (MINN), 3-1; Rutgers leads, 9-5
141: No. 12/11/11 Tommy Thorn (MINN) dec. over No. 4/4/5 Anthony Ashnault (RU), 8-1; Rutgers leads, 9-8
149: No. 9/13/9 Jake Short (MINN) dec. over Tyson Dippery (RU), 6-1; Minnesota leads, 11-9
157: Brandon Kingsley (MINN) dec. over John Van Brill (RU), 4-2; Minnesota leads, 14-9
165: No. 10/5/4 Anthony Perrotti (RU) dec. over Brandon Krone (MINN), 8-6; Minnesota leads, 14-12
174: Nicholas Wanzek (MINN) dec. over Phillip Bakuckas (RU), 8-4; Minnesota leads, 17-12
184: No. NR/20/NR Nicholas Gravina (RU) major dec. over Christopher Pfarr (MINN), 11-3; Minnesota wins, 17-16
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
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