PISCATAWAY – No. 21 Rutgers wrestling (2-1, 0-0) heads west this weekend for a pair of events in California. The Scarlet Knights face Stanford (0-0, 0-0) on Saturday in an outside dual at Taube Family Tennis Center in Palo Alto and close out the trip with the Roadrunner Open on Sunday in Bakersfield. This weekend marks the first trip to California for RU since the 2019-20 campaign.
Rutgers' dual against Stanford begins at 5 p.m. ET and will broadcast via a live stream provided by Stanford.
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling
| 125: 30/NR Nico Provo (7-1) |
| 133: 33/NR Jackson DiSario (7-2) |
| 141: Jason Miranda (8-1) |
| 149: 13/17 Jaden Abas (6-1) |
| 157: 22/21 Daniel Cardenas (9-0) |
| 165: 2/2 Shane Griffith (7-0) |
| 174: 27/15 Tyler Eischens (7-1) |
| 184: Brook Byers (7-1) |
| 197: Nick Stemmet (6-1) |
| HWT: Seamus O'Malley (6-1) |
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling
- Rutgers opened its season with a pair of victories over Clarion (29-4) last Friday at the College Ave. Gym and over Sacred Heart (50-0) last Saturday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Scarlet Knights also lost a tough dual to No. 6 Arizona State, 25-16, to close their opening weekend.
- RU's match against the Sun Devils is one of eight scheduled matchups against preseason ranked opponents. Rutgers is slated to face three opponents - No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 6 Michigan - this season.
- True freshman Brian Soldano (184) made an immediate impact for Rutgers during its opening weekend with two wins over ranked opponents. All three of Soldano's wins came by bonus, which included a 18-3 tech fall over No. 17 Anthony Montalvo (Arizona State) and a 15-5 major decision over No. 22 Will Feldkamp (Clarion).
- Soldano is one of eight individuals to appear in this week's set of individual rankings. Sammy Alvarez (141) is the highest ranked individual for Rutgers, according to Intermat, with a No. 10 designation in his weight class.
- RU has eight individuals who have qualified for at least one NCAA Championship and three who own All-America laurels - Sammy Alvarez (2020), John Poznanski (2021) and Jackson Turley (2021). Poznanski and Billy Janzer (197) are the only two-time NCAA qualifiers on the roster.
- Rookie Luke Gayer (165) is the lone native of California on the roster. The Anaheim native was a CIF state finalist this past March.
- This will be Stanford's first dual of the season. The Cardinal last wrestled at the Mountaineer Open last Saturday at Appalachian State.
- Stanford has two New Jersey natives on its roster - Nick Addison (Fair Haven) and Shane Griffith (Westwood). Griffith is a two-time All-American and 2021 NCAA Champion at 165 pounds.
- Stanford features six wrestlers ranked by Intermat - No. 2 Griffith, No. 13 Jaden Abas (149), No. 22 Daniel Cardenas (157), No. 27 Tyler Eischens (174), No. 30 Nico Provo (125) and No. 33 Jackson DiSario (133).
- The Cardinal is led by second year head coach Rob Koll.
- Rutgers is 2-0 all time against Stanford. The Scarlet Knights defeated Stanford 33-3 on Jan. 6, 2013 in their last meeting and also own a 18-13 win on Nov. 27, 2010.
- Rutgers competes in the second installment of the Garden State Grapple against No. 20 UPenn and Drexel on Saturday, December 4 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Wrestling begins at 2 p.m. ET.
