No. 20 Wrestling Hosts No. 15 Minnesota, No. 19 Purdue Sunday

Sunday, January 31

12 PM

Rutgers University

Purdue

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

No. 20 Wrestling Hosts No. 15 Minnesota, No. 19 Purdue Sunday

Jan 29 | Wrestling

Notes: vs. Minnesota & Purdue BTNPlus: Dual Feed BTNPlus: Extra Matches Feed Radio: WRSU (88.7 FM)Scott Goodale Weekly Press Conference

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 20 Rutgers wrestling returns home to host No. 15 Minnesota and No. 19 Purdue on Sunday at the RAC. The tri-meet begins at 10 a.m. ET and will stream via BTN Plus. In accordance with the state of New Jersey's current restrictions on indoor gatherings, no fans will be permitted inside. The tri-meet is presented by RWJBarnabas Health

Between Minnesota and Purdue, RU has the potential to face 16 ranked individuals during its two duals on Sunday, which includes the potential for 11 ranked-vs.-ranked matchups. The three duals will run consecutively beginning at 10 a.m. on Mat 1, while Mat 2 will simultaneously host varsity extra matches. The dual schedule is as follows.

10 a.m. - Purdue vs. Minnesota
12 p.m. - Purdue vs. Rutgers
2 p.m. - Minnesota vs. Rutgers

Last Time Out

• John Poznanski (184) delivered a top-10 win and Robert Kanniard (157) added a ranked victory, but the Scarlet Knights dropped a 19-14 dual with No. 11 Ohio State this past Sunday in Columbus. No. 6 Sammy Alvarez (133) and No. 1 Sebastian Rivera (141) picked up bonus points against the Buckeyes in the dual loss.

What to Know

• Team Rankings: Rutgers appears as high as No. 14 in the latest round of national rankings. After their tight 19-14 dual loss to No. 11 Ohio State on Sunday, the Scarlet Knights moved back three spots to No. 20 in Tuesday's NWCA Coaches Poll and are ranked No. 14 by FloWrestling, No. 17 by TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine and No. 18 by Intermat, respectively.
• Rutgers is one of a record 12 teams from the Big Ten Conference ranked in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll at No. 20 in the country.
• Individual Rankings: In total, nine Scarlet Knights are ranked across the various wrestling publications. A full rankings breakdown can be found below. Three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Champion Sebastian Rivera remained No. 1 at 141 pounds and the No. 7 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country by FloWrestling after his dominant 11-2 major decision over Dylan D'Emilio on Sunday in Columbus. Rivera, who is 2-0 with two majors to begin his RU career, is also No. 2 by Amateur Wrestling News, No. 3 by The Open Mat, TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine, and No. 4 by Intermat.
• Three Scarlet Knights - Rivera, Sammy Alvarez (133) and John Poznanski (184) - 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.
• Poznanski earns Consensus Ranking: John Poznanski solidified himself in the national rankings and appears as high as No. 12 in the country at 184 pounds by FloWrestling. The rookie, who has started his collegiate career 2-0, is also No. 14 by The Open Mat, No. 15 by TrackWrestling, No. 17 by Amateur Wrestling News, and No. 18 by Intermat. The movement comes after Poznanski defeated then-No. 8 Rocky Jordan, 9-6, on Sunday during RU's dual with No. 11 Ohio State.

No. 20 Rutgers Projected Lineup

125: NR/22/19 Nicolas Aguilar (0-2) * OR Dylan Shawver (1-0)
133: 6/6/6 Sammy Alvarez (1-0) * OR Shane Metzler (0-1)
141: 4/1/3 Sebastian Rivera (2-0) ***
149: Michael VanBrill (0-2) * OR Gerard Angelo (2-0)
157: NR/25/28 Robert Kanniard (1-1)
165: Brett Donner (0-2) OR Connor O'Neill (0-1)
174: NR/25/21 Joseph Grello (0-2) * OR Jackson Turley (1-1)
184: 18/12/14 John Poznanski (2-0)
197: NR/NR/29 Billy Janzer (1-1) *
HWT: Christian Colucci (0-2) OR Boone McDermott (1-0)

No. 15 Minnesota Projected Lineup

125: 12/9/18 Patrick McKee* (2-2)
133: NR/24/28 Boo Dryden (3-1)
141: Marcos Polanco (2-2)
149: NR/19/19 Michael Blockhus* (2-2) OR Jake Bergeland Jr. (4-0)
157: 6/7/9 Brayton Lee* (3-1)
165: 17/16/18 Andrew Sparks (3-1) OR Bailee O'Reilly* (0-1)
174: NR/13/22 Jake Allar (2-2)
184: NR/19/27 Owen Webster* (1-2) OR Isaiah Salazar (2-1)
197: Garrett Joles (1-3)
HWT: 1/1/1 Gable Steveson** (4-0)

No. 19 Purdue Projected Lineup

125: 6/6/4 Devin Schroder** (2-1) OR Kooper Loehr (0-0)
133: Jacob Rundell (0-0) OR Nate Cummings (0-3)
141: 20/19/20 Parker Filius* (1-1) OR Michael Leveille (0-0)
149: 17/9/NR Griffin Parriott** (0-0) OR Alec White (0-2)
157: 7/5/5 Kendall Coleman* (3-0) OR Cooper Noehre (2-1)
165: NR/NR/32 Gerrit Nijenhuis (2-0) OR Hayden Lohrey (0-0)
174: NR/NR/30 Emil Soehnlen (1-2)
184: 12/11/11 Max Lyon** (1-1) OR Macartney Parkinson (2-0) OR Mitch Hutmacher (1-0)
197: NR/21/20 Thomas Penola* (3-0)
285: Jamarcus Grant (0-2) OR Dorian Keys (1-1)

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

About the Golden Gophers

• In its last time out, Minnesota dropped a 35-4 dual to No. 1 Iowa on Jan. 22 in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers are 2-2 this season with wins over No. 23 Michigan State (28-5) and Maryland (48-0).
• Minnesota features four student-athletes ranked by FloWrestling, including the consensus No. 1 heavyweight in the country, Gable Steveson. The squad also feature top-10 individual No. 6 Brayton Lee at 157 pounds.
• Six returning Golden Gophers qualified for nationals last season, as Minnesota finished 9-8 in dual action during the 2019-20 season.

About the Series

• Rutgers is 0-4 all-time against Minnesota, with all four meeting coming within the Big Ten Conference.
• The schools last met on Jan. 6, 2019, a 22-15 loss for Rutgers in Minneapolis. Current Scarlet Knights Shane Metzler (125), Nick Suriano (133), Joseph Grello (174) and Christian Colucci (HWT) wrestled in the road dual.

About the Boilermakers

• In its last time out, Purdue dropped a 22-14 dual at No. 22 Wisconsin on Jan. 24 in Madison. The Boilermakers are 1-2 this season, which includes a 28-8 victory over No. 21 Northwestern in their season opener.
• Purdue features six student-athletes ranked by FloWrestling, including No. 5 Kendall Coleman (157, No. 6 Devin Schroder (125) and No. 11 Max Lyon.
• The Boilermakers qualified eight to nationals a year ago and produced five NWCA All-Americans during the 2019-20 season as they finished last year with a 12-5 dual record.

About the Series

• Rutgers is 4-1 all-time against Purdue, with its lone loss in the series coming last season at the RAC.
• The schools last met on Jan. 26, 2020 in Piscataway, a tight 20-18 loss. Current Scarlet Knights Sammy Alvarez (133), Jackson Turley (165) and Billy Janzer (184) all worked wins against the Boilermakers, with Turley pinning Tanner Webster in the second period for his first varsity win with the program.

Up Next

Rutgers is set to compete against No. 7 Nebraska, No. 22 Michigan State and Indiana on Saturday, Feb. 6 in Bloomington.

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.