PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 19 Jordan Pagano (197) picked off No. 3 Patrick Brucki for his biggest individual win of the season, but No. 25 Rutgers wrestling (10-7, 4-5) dropped an 18-15 dual to No. 14 Princeton (9-4) on Sunday night at Jadwin Gymnasium. The Scarlet Knights worked a 5-5 match split against the Tigers, which included wins from Pagano, No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (133), Zach Firestone (141), Willie Scott (174) and Matthew Correnti (HWT).
 
The team result marked RU's first loss to Princeton since Dec. 8, 1990, as Rutgers had won the past 23 consecutive matchups with its in-state rival. Despite the loss, the Scarlet Knights finished 2019-20 with a winning dual record for the 14^th consecutive season and 13^th since head coach Scott Goodale took over the program in 2007.
 
In the final ranked-vs.-ranked individual matchup of the night, Pagano jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with a takedown in the first period. After he started period two on bottom and quickly worked an escape, Pagano added another takedown for a 6-5 lead after the second. In a back-and-forth final two minutes, Brucki took a late lead with his takedown in the final 15 seconds, but a Pagano escape coupled with riding time gave the South Brunswick, New Jersey, native his third Top 10 win of the season (No. 7 Christian Brunner, Jan. 26 vs. Purdue; No. 7 Ethan Laird, Feb. 9 at Rider).
 
"That was an awesome win for Jordan. He did what he needed to do, won a few scrambles and was able to secure the victory," Goodale said. "Overall, it's about bonus points. You cannot get pinned at this level. We thought we would get one at 165 or 184, but we didn't and that the difference in the match. It was still a five-five split and is still a great rivalry for this state."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• No. 23 Nicolas Aguilar (125) faced No. 3 Patrick Glory in a rematch from this year's Princeton Open, where Glory was able to secure a technical fall. Aguilar wrestled hard against the undefeated Glory, as he registered a reversal in the first period to trail just 5-3 after the first three minutes of action. However, Glory added takedowns in the next two periods for the 10-5 final result.
• Rutgers answered with back-to-back decisions from Alvarez and Firestone. Alvarez notched takedowns in each of his three periods against Sean Pierson, with his third in the final two minutes securing a 7-5 decision.
• After he failed to convert a deep shot against Marshall Keller early in the opening period, Firestone landed a single leg for a 2-0 lead after one. After he added another takedown in the second period and collected more than a minute of riding time in the process, Firestone used an escape point to seal a 5-2 decision, giving Rutgers an early 6-3 lead in the dual.
• Princeton responded with three consecutive victories from its three ranked wrestlers at 149 through 165 pounds. The effort included a first-period pin from three-time All-American and No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik over Gerard Angelo (149) and back-to-back decisions over Michael VanBrill (157) and Brett Donner (165) to give the Tigers a 15-6 lead.
• In the final dual match of his collegiate career, Scott faced Nate Dugan and landed consecutive takedowns in periods one and two for a 5-1 lead after the first five minutes. Scott tacked on the riding time point for the 6-1 final.
• No. 14 Billy Janzer (184) faced No. 25 Travis Stefanik in the second of three ranked-vs.-ranked matches of the night, and entered the third period tied 2-2. After Janzer cut Stefanik to begin the third period, both would fend off shots before Stefanik landed a takedown in the closing seconds for the win to give Princeton an 18-9 lead.
• Pagano's win over Brucki at 197 pounds would get RU to within six, but even if Rutgers locked up a fall at heavyweight, Princeton would secure the dual thanks to a 48-47 advantage in match points. Correnti got the nod against Aidan Conner, and dominated his opponent for a 6-3 decision to close the dual.
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers gets two weeks off before it hosts the 2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championships from March 7-8 at the RAC.
 
No. 14 Princeton (9-4) 18, No. 25 Rutgers (10-7, 4-5) 15
Match Start: 125 Pounds
 
125: 3/3/3 Patrick Glory (PU) over 20/23/24 Nicolas Aguilar (RU) by decision, 10-5
133: 10/9/8 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over Sean Pierson (PU) by decision, 7-5
141: Zach Firestone (RU) over Marshall Keller (PU) by decision, 5-2
149: 4/4/2 Matthew Kolodzik (PU) over Gerard Angelo (RU) by fall (2:06)
157: 4/4/5 Quincy Monday (PU) over Michael VanBrill (RU) by decision, 8-5
165: NR/21/26 Grant Cuomo (PU) over Brett Donner (RU) by decision, 8-7
174: Willie Scott (RU) over Nate Dugan (PU) by decision, 6-1
184: NR/25/26 Travis Stefanik (PU) over 13/14/17 Billy Janzer (RU) by decision, 5-2
197: 19/18/19 Jordan Pagano (RU) over 3/3/3 Patrick Brucki (PU) by decision, 10-9
285: Matthew Correnti (RU) over Aiden Conner (PU) by decision, 6-3
 
Rankings: Intermat/FloWrestling/TheOpenMat

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