No. 16 Wrestling Hosts No. 7 Iowa Friday Night

Friday, December 8

Piscataway, NJ

8 p.m.

Rutgers University

Iowa

Buy Tickets

Dec 07 | Wrestling

Rutgers Match Notes Iowa Match Notes Watch Live: BTN Plus Radio: WRSU (88.7 FM)Tickets

Scarlet Knights compete for first time at RAC in 2017-18

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 16 Rutgers wrestling (3-1, 1-0) makes its much-anticipated return to the RAC for the 2017-18 season when it hosts No. 7 Iowa (5-0, 1-0) Friday night at 8 p.m. ET in Piscataway. The match follows the Rutgers women's basketball game against Seton Hall, which begins at 2 p.m.

Friday's ranked vs. ranked dual has been labeled a "Red Out", with fans encouraged to wear red to the match. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a Rutgers wrestling season T-shirt, while 1,000 red rally towels will be distributed. Fans located in the 100 level will receive red glow sticks to illuminate the RAC when lights go out for pre-match introductions.

Tomorrow's match will be streamed live via the web on BTN Plus, with Lou Brogno and Sean DeDeyn on the call. WRSU (88.7 FM) will broadcast the game on the radio.

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Knight Notes
• The Scarlet Knights enter Friday night's match after they dropped a tight dual with Lock Haven, 22-16, last Friday on the road. Five RU grapplers - Nick Suriano (125), Scott DelVecchio (133), Joseph Grello (174), Jordan Pagano (184) and Nicholas Gravina (197) all picked up individual victories against the Bald Eagles.
• Seven individuals are ranked in at least one poll entering the sixth week of the season, including five by Intermat in No. 2 Suriano (125), No. 9 Richie Lewis (157), No. 9 Gravina (184), No. 13 DelVecchio (133) and No. 14 Eleazar DeLuca (149).
• In other polls, Pagano is ranked No. 19 at 174 pounds by WIN Magazine, while Anthony Ashnault – despite not appearingyet this season due to injury – in ranked No. 6 at 141 pounds by the publication.
• Rutgers is ranked No. 16 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. RU is also No. 12 by FloWrestling and No. 19 by Intermat.
• Nick Suriano has not disappointed during his first month with the Rutgers wrestling team, as the Paramus, N.J., native has produced a perfect 8-0 record, including a 4-0 mark in duals, thus far. Suriano has outscored his opponents, 55-15, with a tech fall, a major decision and two decisions.

No. 16 Rutgers Projected Competitors

Wt.	Name	Yr.	2017-18 Record (Dual)
125	No. 2/2/2 Nick Suriano*^	So.	8-0 (4-0)
133	No. 13/12/11 Scott DelVecchio**	R-Sr.	4-0 (4-0)
141	Michael Van Brill	R-Fr.	5-3 (2-2)
149	No. 14/17/14 Eleazar DeLuca	R-Sr.	3-1 (3-1)
157	No. 9/7/9 Richie Lewis*	R-Sr.	1-0 (1-0)
165	John Van Brill*	R-Jr.	2-2 (2-2)
-OR-	Brett Donner	So.	3-4 (2-2)
174	Jordan Pagano*	R-Jr.	6-4 (1-3)
-OR-	Joseph Grello	R-Fr.	5-0 (1-0)
184	No. 9/11/12 Nicholas Gravina**	R-Sr.	4-0 (4-0)
197	Kevin Mulligan	R-Fr.	7-3 (2-1)
HWT	Razohnn Gross	Sr.	7-3 (2-2)

* denotes previous NCAA Championships qualifications
^ qualified with Penn State
rankings ordered by Intermat/FloWrestling/The Open Mat

No. 7 Iowa Projected Lineup

Wt.	Name	Yr.	2017-18 Record
125	Justin Stickley	Fr.	5-3
133	No. NR/20/NR Phillip Laux	Sr.	6-1
141	Vince Turk	So.	3-2
149	No. 2/2/2 Brandon Sorenson***	Sr.	5-0
157	No. 3/3/3 Michael Kemerer*	So.	5-0
165	No. NR/NR/15 Kaleb Young	R-Fr.	5-0
-OR-	No. 13/13/NR Alex Marinelli	R-Fr.	0-0
174	No. NR/NR/10 Joey Gunther*	So.	5-0
184	Mitch Bowman	Jr.	4-1
197	No. 8/8/11 Cash Wilcke*	So.	5-0
HWT	No. 6/7/6 Sam Stoll*	Jr.	5-0

* denotes previous NCAA Championships qualifications
rankings ordered by Intermat/FloWrestling/The Open Mat

Scouting Iowa
Iowa has started the season 5-0 in dual action, which includes a thrilling 18-17 victory over No. 15 Illinois last Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the Hawkeyes trailing, 17-12, to the Fighting Illini entering the last bout of the night, heavyweight Sam Stoll pinned Deuce Rachal in the first period to seal the comeback victory for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes feature five wrestlers ranked by Intermat - No. 2 Brandon Sorenson (149), No. 3 Michael Kemerer (157), No. 7 Stoll (HWT), No. 10 Cash Wilcke (197) and No. 14 Alex Marinelli (165).

Iowa returns four 2017 NCAA qualifiers - Kemerer, Wilcke, Sorenson and 174-pounder Joey Gunther. The Hawkeyes finished fourth at nationals last year in St. Louis with five All-Americans.

Series vs. Iowa
Iowa leads Rutgers in the all-time series, 3-0. On Jan. 2, 2015, The Scarlet Knights and Hawkeyes wrestled in front of a then school-record crowd of 5,420 at the RAC, as No. 1 Iowa defeated Rutgers, 27-9. Current Scarlet Knights Anthony Ashnault and Scott DelVecchio both earned decisions in the dual.

The programs met for the first time on Nov. 27, 2009, a neutral victory for the Hawkeyes at Bucknell University.

Ranked Matchups
According to Intermat, Friday night's dual features two ranked vs. ranked matchups.

No. 14 DeLuca will go against No. 2 Sorenson at 149 pounds. This will be DeLuca's third ranked opponent in his last four duals.

157 pounds features No. 9 Lewis vs. No. 3 Kemerer, as Lewis will compete for the first time since he claimed a U23 gold medal last month in Poland.

Razohnn Gross is set to face his third ranked opponent in dual action when he goes against No. 7 Stoll at heavyweight.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers wrestling, follow the program on Twitter (@RUWrestling) and Instagram (@RUWrestling). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.