PITTSBURGH – No. 18 Rutgers wrestling closes out its season in the Steel City, as six Scarlet Knights are set to compete at the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from March 21-23 in Pittsburgh. RU looks to secure multiple All-Americans for the fourth consecutive year, as No. 1 seed Anthony Ashnault (149), No. 3 seed Nick Suriano (133), No. 16 seed John Van Brill (157), No. 21 seed Nicholas Gravina (184), No. 29 seed Joseph Grello and No. 33 seed Peter Lipari (141) all vie for top-eight finishes.
 
For the fifth straight year, all six sessions of the tournament will be shown on the ESPN family of networks, with ESPN3 streaming every match of the tournament. A full breakdown of ESPN's event coverage can be found below. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also have exclusive radio broadcast coverage of all six Rutgers wrestlers at the three-day tournament.

Thursday, March 21
Session I (ESPNU/ESPN3): Noon (Pigtails & First-Round Competition)
Session II (ESPN/ESPN3): 7 p.m. (Wrestle-Back Prelims & First Round, Championship Second Round & Consolation Round)

Friday, March 22
Session III (ESPNU/ESPN3): 11 a.m. (Quarterfinals, Wrestle-Back Second & Third Rounds) 
Session IV (ESPN/ESPN3): 8 p.m. (Semifinals, Wrestle-Back Fourth Round, Wrestle-Back Fifth Round)

Saturday, March 23
Session V (ESPNU/ESPN3): 11 a.m. (Wrestle-Back Semifinals, 3rd, 5th & 7th-Place Matches)
Session VI (ESPN/ESPN3): 7 p.m. (Finals & Individual Weight Class Awards)
 
Historic Showing in Cleveland
• Rutgers looks to surpass last year's historic performance at NCAAs, when it finished 11^th with 42.5 points for the highest team finish in school history. Six Scarlet Knights combined for 18 victories at the three-day tournament, highlighted by Suriano's run to the national final at 125 pounds and a sixth-place showing for Scott DelVecchio at 133 pounds.
 
Rutgers at NCAAs under Goodale
• The six at NCAAs this season marks the fifth consecutive season head coach Scott Goodale has had at least five competitors at the national tournament.
• In total, 70 Scarlet Knights have qualified for NCAAs during Goodale's tenure, the most in program history.
• Five individuals have combined for eight All-America accolades since Goodale took over the program in 2007-08, the most in program history.
• Rutgers finished 2018 with two All-Americans - Suriano and DelVecchio - the third consecutive season RU had multiple podium finishes at nationals. Previously, RU only finished with multiple All-Americans once, when Emil Perona (157) and Ray Vohden (177) both finished fourth in 1952.
• Goodale has taken eight of the RU program's all-time top-eight squads (based on number of participants) to NCAAs in his 12 seasons at the helm.
 
Ashnault No. 1 Seed
• The three-time All-American enters this weekend's NCAA championships as the No. 1 seed at 149 pounds, marking the first time RU has had a No. 1 seed at the national tournament. The South Plainfield, New Jersey, native looks to close out his collegiate career with his fourth All-America finish, as the graduate student is 27-0 this season and is one of just 12 wrestlers without a loss heading into the championships.
 
• Ashnault is 12-0 against the field this season and owns eight wins over top-20 opponents, according to Intermat, including then-No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton), No. 3 Micah Jordan (Twice, Ohio State), No. 6 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), No. 7 Mitch Finesilver (Duke), No. 12 Pat Lugo (Iowa) and No. 20 Tommy Thorn (Twice, Minnesota).
 
• Ashnault became the program's all-time wins leader at 118 for his career when he defeated Jordan, 8-6, for his third Big Ten Conference individual title earlier this month in Minnesota.
 
Suriano Looking for a Return to the Finals
• A 2018 national finalist at 125 pounds and Rutgers' highest individual placewinner in program history, Suriano (24-3) is the No. 3 seed at 133 pounds. The seed is the highest of his career and marks the first time RU will have two top-4 seeds at NCAAs is program history.
 
• Suriano went 4-1 at nationals last season en route to the 2018 125-pound title match, the first time a Scarlet Knight has ever taken the sport's biggest stage. The run included a win over No. 1-seed and then-reigning NCAA champion Darian Cruz (Lehigh) in the semifinals.
 
• The 2019 Big Ten Conference individual champion at 133 pounds is 9-3 against the field this season, which includes wins over No. 4-seed Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh), No. 5-seed Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), No. 6-seed Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), No. 7-seed Austin DeSanto (Iowa) and No. 8-seed John Erneste (Missouri).
 
• Suriano defeated Pletcher, 4-1, in the 133-pound title match at the Big Ten Championships earlier this month in Minneapolis, giving the program two individual conference champions at the same tournament for the first time in its history.
 
Gravina Returns for a Fourth Time
• After his sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships earlier this month, Gravina became just the sixth four-time national qualifier in program history, joining Ashnault, Billy Smith (2013-16), Scott Winston (2009, 2011-13), Dan Rinaldi (2010-13) and Andy Roy (2002-05).
 
• Limited this season due to injury, Gravina muscled wins over No. 20 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) and Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin) to lock up an automatic spot at nationals.
 
Van Brill Looking for Redemption
• A three-time national qualifier, Van Brill looks to become an All-American for the first time in his career after nearly doing so a year ago. Van Brill advanced to the "Round of 12" last season and led late in his Blood Round match with No.9-seed Josh Shields (Arizona State) before losing in sudden victory.
 
• Van Brill has earned a top-16 seed at nationals in his three appearances. He was the No. 13 seed in 2017 and was a No. 15 seed last year in Cleveland.
 
• The Mullica Hill, New Jersey, native finished eighth at the 2019 Big Ten Championships to secure his third podium finish at the conference event. Van Brill finished eighth last season and seventh in 2017.
 
Grello & Lipari Debut
• Grello and Lipari will make their NCAA Championships debuts this weekend. Grello makes his first appearance at NCAAs after he earned an at-large selection with his 16-9 record. The Newtown, New Jersey, native used back-to-back wins to close the Big Ten Championships in ninth, which included a first-period pin of NCAA qualifier Mitch Bowman (Iowa).
 
• Lipari makes his first trip to nationals after he locked up an auto bid with his ninth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Lipari used wins over Austin Eicher (Michigan State) and Nate Limmex (Purdue) to secure his trip to Pittsburgh.
 
More Ashnault & Suriano Notes
• Ashnault passed Emil Perona (1950-52) – the No. 2 seed at the 1952 NCAA Championships – as the highest seed at the national tournament for Rutgers in program history. Ashnault has been seeded as high as fourth (2016) during his career "On the Banks".
• Already the first three-time All-American in program history, Ashnault will attempt to claim his fourth career appearance on the podium with a top-eight finish this weekend.
• With five wins at NCAAs, Ashnault can match the career-high 32 victories he produced as a redshirt sophomore in 2016.
• With a top-eight finish, Ashnault can also become just the second Scarlet Knight to All-America at two different weights, joining Anthony Perrotti who made it to the podium at 157 and 165 pounds.
• Ashnault has finished as high as fourth at the national tournament, which occurred in 2016 at Madison Square Garden.
• Ashnault became just the 58th three-time conference champion in Big Ten history with his 149-pound title over Micah Jordan (Ohio State) earlier this month. Ashnault is only the second three-time conference champion in program history, joining Emil Perona who secured three EIWA individual titles from 1950-52.
• With his win over Jordan at Big Tens, Ashnault became the program's all-time wins leader with 118 for his career, surpassing Mike McHugh (1986-89).
• Ashnault closed out the regular season with an 18-0 mark in duals and a 9-0 mark in the Big Ten Conference. Ashnault won 17 of those bouts by bonus, which included eight pins, five majors and four tech falls. Ashnault finished the dual season with 85 team points to lead the program in that category.
• Ashnault's last collegiate loss occurred on March 18, 2017 at the NCAA Championships, a 4-2 loss to Jayden Eiermann (Missouri) in the 141-pound fifth-place match.
• Suriano enters the NCAA Championships after securing the 133-pound Big Ten Conference title over Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) earlier this month. Suriano and Ashnault's individual titles marks the first time in program history RU has had multiple conference champions at the same tournament.
• Suriano went 4-0 at Big Tens earlier this March, which included a win over No. 5-seeded Pletcher in the final and a thrilling 6-3 decision over No.2-seed Austin DeSanto (Iowa), courtesy of a last-second takedown in front of the Hawkeye bench.
• During the regular season, the Bergen Catholic product finished as the team leader in bonus-point victories (18) and was second in dual points (73).
• In two seasons at Rutgers, Suriano has compiled a 49-4 record, which included a 25-1 mark as a sophomore and a 24-3 record as a junior.
 
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