No. 17 Wrestling Faces No. 11 Ohio State Sunday in Columbus

Sunday, January 24

Columbus, OH

12 PM

Rutgers University

Ohio State

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

No. 17 Wrestling Faces No. 11 Ohio State Sunday in Columbus

Jan 22 | Wrestling

Notes: at No. 11 Ohio State Season Results Scott Goodale Press Conference

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After a week hiatus, No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (0-1) continues its sprint to nationals against No. 11 Ohio State (1-1) on Sunday in Columbus. The dual is slated for a noon ET start on BTN Plus.

The No. 11 Buckeyes represent the second of six consecutive ranked foes on Rutgers' schedule, which includes No. 7 Nebraska, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 16 Purdue and No. 24 Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights are one of a record 12 teams from the Big Ten Conference ranked in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll.

Last Time Out

• Rutgers last competed on Jan. 8, when it dropped a 26-10 dual with then No. 3 Michigan at the RAC. Sebastian Rivera (141) majored in his highly anticipated RU debut while John Poznanski (184) and Billy Janzer (197) picked up decisions against UM.
• The Scarlet Knights' scheduled dual against No. 2 Penn State, slated for Jan. 16 at the RAC, was postponed due to COVID-19-related issues within the Nittany Lions' program. Both schools will look to reschedule later in the season.

What to Know

• Team Rankings: With its first dual of the 2021 season in the rear view, Rutgers appears as high as No. 12 in the latest round of national rankings. Off from competition this past weekend, the Scarlet Knights moved back two spots to No. 17 in Tuesday's NWCA Coaches Poll and are ranked No. 12 by TrackWrestling, No. 14 by FloWrestling, No. 18 by WIN Magazine and No. 19 by Intermat, respectively.
• Individual Rankings: Ten Scarlet Knights across nine weights are ranked in at least one national wrestling publication leading into Sunday's match with Ohio State. Rivera remained No. 1 at 141 pounds by FloWrestling after a dominate 8-0 major over Michigan's Drew Mattin in his Rutgers' debut. The Toms River, New Jersey, native, who transferred to the Scarlet Knights after a standout career at Northwestern, is also ranked No. 2 by Amateur Wrestling News, No. 3 by The Open Mat, TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine, and No. 4 by Intermat.
• Two Scarlet Knights – Rivera and Sammy Alvarez (133) – are ranked by Intermat, FloWrestling and The Open Mat. Alvarez, who burst onto the scene last season and finished his true freshman campaign with 26 wins, is the consensus No. 6 wrestler in his weight class. No. 14 Billy Janzer (197), No. 22 Nicolas Aguilar (125) and No. 24 Joseph Grello (174) are ranked by FloWrestling.
• Nick Suriano Shines for USA Wrestling: 2019 NCAA Champion Nick Suriano will continue to train freestyle after he secured the 57 kg freestyle individual title for USA Wrestling at the 2021 Henri Deglane Grand Prix last Saturday in Nice, France. Still enrolled, Suriano is regarded as one of the top lightweights in the country.

What's Different This Season?

• No Fans at the RAC: In accordance with the state of New Jersey's current restrictions on indoor gatherings, no fans will be permitted inside the RAC for Rutgers' three home dates. With a season-ticket base of more than 3,000, the Scarlet Knights have finished top-5 in national attendance since the 2015-16 season.
• Blanket Eligibility: With the NCAA granting a blanket waiver for 2020-21 winter sports, all wrestlers will be eligible to compete in varsity action this season without losing the ability to redshirt.
• Big Ten Regular Season Matches Only: The Big Ten Conference will only compete amongst itself until the NCAA Championships, slated for March 18-20 in St. Louis.
• Extra Matches: Due to only wrestling inside the conference, the Big Ten will permit schools to hold extra matches on competition dates. Though they will not count towards dual scoring, they will count towards an individual's varsity record for purposes of seeding for the conference and national tournament.

No. 17 Rutgers Projected Lineup

125: NR/22/18 Nicolas Aguilar (0-1) * OR Dylan Shawver (0-0)
133: 6/6/6 Sammy Alvarez (0-0) * OR Shane Metzler (0-0)
141: 4/1/3 Sebastian Rivera (1-0) ***
149: Michael VanBrill (0-1) * OR Gerard Angelo (1-0)
157: NR/NR/27 Robert Kanniard (0-1) OR Nick Santos (0-0)
165: Brett Donner (0-1)
174: NR/24/17 Joseph Grello (0-1) * OR Jackson Turley (0-1)
184: NR/NR/23 John Poznanski (1-0)
197: NR/14/23 Billy Janzer (1-0) *
HWT: Christian Colucci (0-1) OR Boone McDermott (0-0)

No. 11 Ohio State Projected Lineup

125: 14/16/15 Malik Heinselman **
133: NR/NR/23 Jordan Decatur
141: NR/NR/25 Dylan D'EMilio OR Anthony Echemendia
149: 2/1/2 Sammy Sasso *
157: NR/25/33 Elijah Cleary
165: 20/11/10 Ethan Smith **
174: 3/4/4 Kaleb Romero *
184: 11/8/13 Rocky Jordan *
197: NR/NR/30 Gavin Hoffman OR 17/NR/NR Chase Singletary *
HWT: 8/11/13 Tate Orndorff ** OR Gary Traub *

Rankings: Intermat/FloWrestling/TheOpenMat
* denotes past NCAA qualification

Scouting Ohio State

• The Buckeyes enter Sunday's match ranked No. 11 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll after they went 1-1 last weekend in their season opener. Ohio State defeated then-No. 21 Wisconsin, 25-9, before it dropped an 18-15 dual with then-No. 24 Illinois.
• Ohio State has at least one wrestler ranked in each weight class and three individuals ranked in the Top 8, according to Intermat - No. 2 Sammy Sasso (149), No. 3 Kaleb Jordan (174) and No. 8 Tate Orndorff (HWT), a transfer from Utah Valley.
• Romero and Sasso earned 2020 First-Team NWCA All-America laurels after the 2020 NCAA Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight OSU wrestlers qualified for nationals last season, including Hodge Trophy finalist Kollin Moore.
• Ohio State finished 10-4 in dual action last season, which included a 6-3 mark in Big Ten Conference competition. Ohio State is led by 15th-year head coach Tom Ryan.

Last Time Against the Buckeyes

• Then-No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (133), No. 17 Nicolas Aguilar (125) and Billy Janzer (184) all picked up victories over ranked foes as No. 24 Rutgers wrestling fell to No. 5 Ohio State last season at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Scarlet Knights closed the dual with wins in three of their final five bouts, but the Buckeyes used four major decisions to secure the Big Ten Conference matchup. Current wrestler Michael VanBrill (157) also picked up a win in the dual.

More About the Series

• Rutgers is 0-6-1 all-time against the Buckeyes, which includes a 0-4 mark in Big Ten action.
• The programs first met on Feb. 11, 1984, a 24-24 tie.

Up Next

Rutgers is slated to host No. 15 Minnesota and No. 16 Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 31 at the RAC. The tri-meet is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (/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. For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.