PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 2
Anthony Ashnault (149) and No. 4
Nick Suriano (133) delivered bonus-point victories as No. 18 Rutgers wrestling (8-5, 2-3) dropped a 31-9 dual to No. 9 Nebraska (10-3, 4-2) Friday night in front of 4,562 fans at the RAC.
The Scarlet Knights trailed just 11-9 at intermission, but the Cornhuskers used wins in the final five bouts to secure the dual victory over RU, who was shorthanded due to injuries at its upper weights.
Ashnault's 16-1 tech fall over Jordan Shearer moved him to 18-0 on the season, setting him up for a showdown with No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik on Sunday against Princeton. For Suriano, his 12-2 major decision against Jevon Parrish gave him his 13
th bonus-point win of the season, as the junior sits at 16-2 in 2018-19.
How it Happened
• Nebraska won eight out of 10 bouts against Rutgers, including five by bonus. The Cornhuskers featured eight ranked wrestlers in Friday night's starting lineup, including four top-10 individuals.
• After
Shane Metzler (125) dropped a major decision to three-time national qualifier Zeke Moisey, Suriano took the mat against Parrish. Suriano opened with two takedowns in the first period, a two-point near fall and takedown in period two and closed the bout with his fourth takedown of the night and the riding-time point for the final result. The major tied that match at 4-4 heading into 141 pounds.
• Ashnault rolled to a second-period tech fall over Shearer, which included three consecutive four-point tilts in the first period for a commanding 14-0 lead. Ashnault closed the bout with a takedown for his fourth tech fall of the season. His victory made it a 9-8 dual in favor of the Scarlet Knights.
• No. 14
John Van Brill (157) faced No. 2 Tyler Berger for the fourth time in their careers. Berger held a 6-1 lead late in the third period before Van Brill landed a takedown, but Berger prevailed with a 7-1 decision.
• Rutgers dropped its final five bouts of the night, all to ranked foes, as
Stephan Glasgow (165) lost a tight 3-2 decision to No. 6 Isaiah White.
Notables
• Through six home events, RU has averaged 4,942 fans per dual at the RAC.
• Ashnault is now 18-0 this season with 13 of those wins by bonus, including seven pins, four tech falls and two majors. Ashnault leads the team in dual points with 64.
• Ashnault now owns 109 career wins, tied with Dan Rinaldi for sixth all-time in program history. Ashnault needs nine wins to surpass Mike McHugh (1986-89) for the most wins in program history.
• Suriano collected his seventh major of the season and is now 16-2 on the season with 14 wins by bonus, including seven majors, three pins, three tech falls and a medical forfeit.
• Suriano is second on the team with 54 dual points in 13 duals this year.
• True freshman
John Ciaramella made his varsity debut for Rutgers, competing at 184 pounds.
• The Scarlet Knights moved to 1-5 all-time against Nebraska.
No. 9 Nebraska 31, No. 18 Rutgers 9
Match started at 125 Pounds
Officials: Nick Grosso, Pete Rao
Attendance: 4,562
125: No. 16 Zeke Moisey (NEBR) over
Shane Metzler (RUTG) (MD 11-0)
133: No 4
Nick Suriano (RUTG) over Jevon Parrish (NEBR) (MD 12-2)
141: No. 19 Chad Red Jr. (NEBR) over
Peter Lipari (RUTG) (MD 16-5)
149: No. 2
Anthony Ashnault (RUTG) over Jordan Shearer (NEBR) (TF 16-1 4:05)
157: No. 2 Tyler Berger (NEBR) over
John Van Brill (RUTG) (Dec 7-3)
165: No. 6 Isaiah White (NEBR) over
Stephan Glasgow (RUTG) (Dec 3-2)
174: No. 9 Mikey Labriola (NEBR) over
Anthony Olivieri (RUTG) (MD 16-5)
184: No. 4 Taylor Venz (NEBR) over
John Ciaramella (RUTG) (Fall 1:52)
197: No. 11 Eric Schultz (NEBR) over Matt Correnti (RUTG) (MD 21-8)
285: No. 14 David Jensen (NEBR) over
Christian Colucci (RUTG) (Dec 6-1)
UP NEXT
Rutgers hosts No. 20 Princeton on Sunday at noon. The match will stream live on BTNPlus.
Quotes
Head Coach Scott Goodale
On tonight's performance: It's probably better off I don't say that much. It's probably better I keep my mouth shut, so I don't say anything stupid. It's very frustrating. We gave up how many bonus points, we don't even give ourselves a chance. There's no fight, a couple of guys fought. If you don't give yourself a chance to win, you're never going to beat anyone good. You have to give yourself a chance. That's just my take on it now, so I have to look at it, I guess. We scored 15 points in three or four matches, 22 in another. We got pinned, but obviously were shorthanded at 174 and 184. It's a lot of points to give up, and that's what we did.
On Glasgow: Win the match. You don't get you anything for being close. Win the match. I'm not sure if he's happy to be close. Win the match. Three to two, on bottom, got out to make it three to two, with 1:45 to go, go win the match.
On Suriano refocusing: I think it's he refocused, I think that is really important. He's refocused. He's had two really good weeks of preparation in practice and he knows what he needs to do and that's always good. He's been much more aggressive. He's been moving his feet really well, he's fast. He's also physical, so all of that is good stuff.
On message to team: We're going to have a spirited practice tomorrow, get after it, like we used to. It's going to be hard, and we'll be ready for Sunday. Otherwise, well make some decisions on what we need to do. We'll be ready to wrestle Sunday.
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