MADISON, Wis. – No. 12 Rutgers wrestling (11-1, 1-1) suffered its first dual loss of the season as it dropped a 19-14 road matchup at Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0) on Sunday in Madison. True freshman Joseph Olivieri (133) registered a decision over a ranked opponent in his varsity debut, No. 4 Sebastian Rivera added a tech fall to continue his perfect bonus streak and No. 5 John Poznanski and No. 7 Greg Bulsak added decisions over ranked foes in the 6-4 match split with the Badgers.
 
The loss ended the Scarlet Knights' 11-match winning streak to open the season, its best start to a dual campaign since its first year of dual competition in 1930. It also halted a two-match winning streak to Wisconsin, as RU won the previous matchups in 2018 and 2019.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a tough loss from No. 30 Dylan Shawver to No. 4 Eric Burnett to open the dual, Olivieri took the mat for his varsity debut against No. 25 Kyle Burwick. The rookie registered four points in the second period on a reversal and a takedown. He then held Burwick to just an escape point in the third for the 4-3 final. Olivieri's win tied the dual at 3-3.
• Rivera faced No. 24 Joseph Zargo in a rematch from the Illinois Matmen Open a week prior. Rivera wasted no time with six points on two takedowns and two near-fall points, followed by eight points in the second. Rivera used a takedown in the third period for the 18-3 final. The tech fall made it 8-3 in favor of Rutgers through three matches.
• RU dropped its next four matches before Poznanski muscled a 12-5 decision over No. 33 Chris Weiler.
• Bulsak followed in a rematch with No. 24 Braxton Amos. Trailing 6-5 in the third period, Bulsak earned an escape point and followed with a takedown with 37 seconds to take an 8-6 lead and held on for the 8-7 final.
• Bulsak's decision made it just 16-14 in favor of Wisconsin with one match to go. Boone McDermott (HWT) faced No. 5 Trent Hillger and wrestled hard, but Hillger sealed the dual win for the Badgers with his 6-3 decision.

NOTEABLES

• Rivera is now one win away for 100 for his collegiate career.
• Rivera also kept his bonus streak alive with his tech fall on Zargo. In 14 matches, Rivera has produced seven tech falls, three major decisions, two pins and two forfeits for a team-high 51 team points.
• Bulsak, Poznanski and Rivera all remained undefeated and are a combined 40-0 this season.

UP NEXT

• Rutgers hosts No. 24 Illinois on Friday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m., Big Ten Plus) before it heads to State College to face No. 2 Penn State (5 p.m., ESPN).

BOX SCORE

No. 16 Wisconsin 19, No. 12 Rutgers 14
125: 4/12/6 Eric Barnett (WISC) over 30/HM/NR Dylan Shawver (RU) by decision, 8-4; WISC leads, 3-0
133: Joseph Olivieri (RU) over 25/NR/NR Kyle Burwick (WISC) by decision, 4-3; Dual tied, 3-3
141: 4/3/3 Sebastian Rivera (RU) over 24/NR/NR Joseph Zargo (WISC) by TF, 18-3; RU leads, 8-3
149: 11/14/11 Austin Gomez (WISC) over 19/HM/NR Michael VanBrill (RU) by MD, 11-1; RU leads, 8-7
157: 33/NR/NR Garret Model (WISC) over Robert Kanniard (RU) by decision, 13-8; WISC leads, 10-8
165: 8/12/9 Dean Hamiti (WISC) over Andrew Clark (RU) by decision, 10-4; WISC leads, 13-8
174: 17/22/16 Andrew McNally (WISC) over 26/22/20 Jackson Turley (RU) by decision, 6-1; WISC leads, 16-8
184: 5/5/5 John Poznanski (RU) over 33/NR/NR Chris Weiler (WISC) by decision, 12-5; WISC leads, 16-11
197: 7/11/10 Greg Bulsak (RU) over 24/HM/NR Braxton Amos (WISC) by decision, 8-7; WISC leads, 16-14
HWT: 5/6/7 Trent Hilger (WISC) over Boone McDermott (RU) by decision, 6-3; WISC wins, 19-14