CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 5-seed Sammy Alvarez claimed an individual title at 133 pounds to highlight action for Rutgers wrestling at the 2020 Southern Scuffle on Thursday in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The true freshman picked off two top-10 opponents during the tournament and used a takedown in the final 20 seconds against No. 2-seed Cam Sykora (NDSU) to earn a 5-4 decision in his championship bout.

Along with Alvarez, four other Scarlet Knights - Brett Donner (seventh, 165), Jordan Pagano (seventh, 197), Nicolas Aguilar (eighth, 125) and Michael Van Brill (eighth, 157) - placed as RU finished seventh in the team race with 84 points. Sixteen student-athletes combined for 17 wins by bonus points during the two-day tournament, including seven falls. 

"Overall, we lost a bunch of big matches," said head coach Scott Goodale. "We need to be better in a lot of different spots. We understand this is a different team than in years past, but there are expectations now at Rutgers and we need to do our part to meet them. We will continue to improve and prepare for the rest of our Big Ten and out-of-conference dual schedule."

Trailing Sykora 3-1 midway through the second period of his final, Alvarez and Sykora scrambled before Alvarez was awarded two with 41 seconds left in the second. With a neutral start in the third, Alvarez and Sykora were once again caught together, but Alvarez spun around for another takedown to make it 5-3 with 45 seconds remaining. Sykora would escape and threaten, but Alvarez held on for the victory.

"Sammy was poised, controlled and confident these past two days and did not let the moment get too big," Goodale said. "All of this is a stepping stone for March, but man, he is fun to watch and coach."

Alvarez scored one of the biggest victories of the tournament with his 6-3 decision over No. 1 seed and No. 4 ranked Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) in Thursday morning's semifinal match. After a scoreless first and a Phillippi escape to begin period two, Alvarez countered with a double leg takedown for a 2-1 lead. Both traded escapes before Alvarez was hit for a stall to make it 3-3 with 30 seconds to go. However, Alvarez would add another takedown in the closing seconds and the riding time point for the biggest win of his young collegiate career.

Alvarez' victory over Phillippi, a 2019 NCAA qualifier ranked as high as No. 2 in the country during his time at Pitt, made it six wins for Alvarez over ranked foes. Alvarez has yet to lose to a ranked foe during his rookie campaign and owns a 15-4 record in 2019-20.

Up Next
Rutgers returns to Big Ten Conference dual action with a weekend road swing at No. 7 Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 10 and at Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 12. 

Results
133: Sammy Alvarez (Champion, 5-0)

Round of 32	Jacob Allen (Navy)	W-MD, 11-2
Round of 16	Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa State)	W-D, 2-1
Quarterfinals	Kai Orine (NC State)	W-D, 4-2
Semifinals	No. 1 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh)	W-D, 6-3
Finals	No. 2 Cam Sykora (NDSU)	W-D, 5-4

165: Brett Donner (Seventh, 6-2)

Round of 32	No. 5 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)	L-Fall (2:33)
Consi of 32 #2	Thelbert Cornish (Lehigh)	W-MD, 10-6
Consi of 16 #1	Aaron Olmos (Oregon State)	W-D, 7-4
Consi of 16 #2	Zane Mulder (Iowa State)	W-D, 7-3
Consi of 8 #1	Austin Matthews (Northern Colorado)	W-Fall (1:31)
Consi of 8 #2	Chase Straw (Iowa State)	W-D, 3-2
Consi of 4	Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)	L-TF, 18-2
7th-Place	Ebed Jarrell (Drexel)	W-MFF

197: Jordan Pagano (Seventh, 5-2)

Round of 32	Francis Duggan (Iowa State)	W-Fall (3:37)
Round of 16	Michael Beard (Penn State)	L-MD, 9-0
Consi of 16 #2	Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel)	W-MD, 9-1
Consi of 8 #1	Joel Shapiro (Iowa State)	W-MD, 9-1
Consi of 8 #2	Jacob Seely (UNCO)	W-MFF
Consi of 4	Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)	L-D, 9-3
7th Place	Nick Reenan (NC State)	W-MFF

125: Nicolas Aguilar (Eighth, 3-3)

Round of 32	Rhett Golowinski (Oklahoma State)	W-Fall (2:46)
Round of 16	Jackson DiSario (Stanford)	W-MD, 13-4
Quarterfinals	No. 7 Michael McGee (Old Dominion)	L-D, 5-4
Consi of 8 #2	Aslan Kilic (Navy)	W-MFF
Consi of 4	Logan Treaster (Navy)	L-D, 4-1
7th Place	Sean Carter (Appalachian State)	L-D, 3-2

157: Michael Van Brill (Eighth, 4-3)

Pigtails	Taylor Parks (Gardner-Webb)	W-MD, 16-3
Round of 32	Ryan Yorkdale (George Mason)	W-MD, 10-1
Round of 16	Tyler Eischens (Stanford)	W-D, 9-6
Quarterfinals	No. 2 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider)	L-MD, 14-5
Consi of 8 #2	Robbert Kanniard (Rutgers-Unatt.)	W-D, 7-2
Consi of 4	Hunter Willits (Oregon State)	L-D, 5-2
7th Place	Jared Franek (NDSU)	L-D, 7-2

141: JoJo Aragona (2-1)

Round of 32	Aiden Murphy (Chattanooga)	W-D, 10-3
Round of 16	Fabin Santillan (Stanford)	W-D, 2-0
Quarterfinals	No. 4 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven)	L-D, 6-5
Consi of 8 #2	Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield)	MFF

157: Robert Kanniard (4-2)*

Pigtail	Wyarr Gerl (CSU Bakersfield)	W-D, 10-7
Round of 32	Quentin Milliken (Rider)	W-MD, 11-2
Round of 16	No. 8 Jared Franek (NDSU)	L-MD, 12-3
Consi of 16 #2	Jose Champange (Arkansas-LR)	W-MD, 20-10
Consi of 8 #1	Jack Stanton-Taddeo (Navy)	W-MD, 12-4
Consi of 8 #2	Michael Van Brill (Rutgers)	L-D, 7-2

197: Matthew Correnti (3-2)

Round of 32	Joel Shapiro (Iowa State)	W-D, 7-0
Round of 16	No. 8 Ethan Laird (Rider)	L-D, 5-2
Consi of 16 #2	Logan Andrew (Chattanooga)	W-Fall (1:18)
Consi of 8 #1	Francis Duggan (Iowa State)	W-D, 5-2
Consi of 8 #2	Jacob Cardenes (Finger Lakes C.C.)	L-D, 7-5

174: Joseph Grello (2-2)

Round of 32	Jackson McKinney (Oregon State)	W-Fall (2:18)
Round of 16	Chris Foca (Finger Lakes C.C.)	L-D, 7-6
Consi of 16 #2	Tyler Wiederholt (Air Force)	W-D, 2-0
Consi of 8 #1	Jake Logan (Lehigh)	L-D, 3-2

174: Willie Scott (3-2)

Pigtail	Jared McGill (Pittsburgh)	W-SV1, 6-4
Round of 32	Dom Lampe (Chattanooga)	W-D, 4-3
Round of 16	No. 3 Spencer Carer (Navy)	L-D, 5-2
Consi of 16 #2	Gavin Stika (Oklahoma State)	W-D, 10-9
Consi of 8 #1	Cody Surratt (Air Force)	L-Fall (1:57)

125: Malcolm Robinson (1-2)

Round of 32	Logan Heil (Cleveland State)	W-D, 5-3
Round of 16	No. 1 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)	L-TF, 17-0
Consi of 16 #2	Aslan Kilic (Navy)	L-D, 9-4

141: Zach Firestone  (1-2)

Round of 32	Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State)	L-MD, 8-0
Consi of 32 #2	Sal Jones (Finger Lakes C.C.)	W-D, 2-0
Consi 16 #1	Angelo Martinoni (Cal State Bakersfield)	L-MD, 10-0

149: Gerard Angelo (2-2)

Pigtail	Nick Widman (Drexel)	W-Fall (0:38)
Round of 32	Jason Kraisser (Campbell)	L-D, 4-2
Consi of 32 #2	Dallas Bulsak (Pittsburgh)	W-D, 5-1
Consi 16 #1	Gino Furi (Rider)	L-SV1, 3-1

165: Jackson Turley (2-2)

Round of 32	Drew Nicholson (Chattanooga)	L-D, 3-0
Consi of 32 #2	Jacob Curling (Old Dominion)	W-TF, 19-4
Consi of 16 #1	Aiden Monteverdi (Binghamton)	W-MFF
Consi of 16 #2	Will Formato (Appalachian State)	L-D, 10-6

HWT: Alex Esposito (1-2)

Round of 32	Gabe Pickett (Gardner-Webb)	W-Fall (1:30)
Round of 16	No. 2 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State)	L-MD, 16-6
Consi of 16 #1	Chris Beck (VMI)	L-D, 4-0

184: Billy Janzer (DNP)

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