PISCATAWAY, N.J. – In front of a raucous 3,580 fans, No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (15-5) defeated No. 20 Princeton (6-5), 24-13, on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights worked a seven-three match split with their in-state rival, as No. 3
Sebastian Rivera (141) added his nation-leading 13th tech fall and No. 11
John Poznanski (184) picked up his fourth major decision of the season.
No. 11
Greg Bulsak (197) muscled a win over a top-20 opponent, while No. 15
Michael VanBrill (149), No. 16
Joseph Olivieri (133),
Connor O'Neill (174) and
Boone McDermott (HWT) added decisions in the victory. It was the 84th meeting between the two schools, as they first faced off back in 1931, RU's second varsity season.
- "No question about it, that was a really big win. We got some big wins at some key spots throughout the lineup where we knew we needed to win in order to win the dual. Any time you get your hand raised at this time a year is a good thing." - Head Coach Scott Goodale
- After Andrew Clark (165) opened the dual with a tough loss to Blaine Bergey, O'Neill followed against Nate Dugan. Tied 1-1 midway through the third period, O'Neill rolled through a scramble and landed the takedown. Dugan escaped late, but O'Neill held on for the 3-2 decision, sending Jersey Mike's Arena into a frenzy and tying the dual at 3-3.
- Rutgers added three more victories before the break, beginning with Poznanski. The All-American landed three takedowns in the first period against Michael Squires en route to a 15-6 major decision.
- In one of two ranked-vs.-ranked matchups of the night, Bulsak took on No. 20 Luke Stout. Bulsak finished a single-leg shot in the first minute of the bout, added another takedown off a scramble in the second and added three points in the third period for the 9-3 final.
- McDermott wrestled to another overtime match and secured the win in sudden victory with a takedown. His victory made it 13-3 at the break.
- No. 27 Dylan Shawver (125) faced No. 2 Patrick Glory out of intermission and reversed the top-ranked wrestler before he lost by 13-3 major.
- Olivieri and Rivera followed with back-to-back wins to put the dual out of reach. Rivera scored 20 points in his third consecutive match and sixth time overall in his 20-3 tech fall over Danny Coles, making it 21-7 Rutgers with two bouts to go.
- VanBrill faced Marshall Keller and avenged his loss to the Tiger from two seasons ago with an 8-7 decision.
- Rutgers hosts Columbia for Senior Day on Saturday. The regular-season finale is set for a 5 p.m. ET start and will stream via Big Ten Plus.
No. 14 Rutgers 24, No. 20 Princeton 13
165: Blaine Bergey (PRIN) dec.
Andrew Clark (RU), 8-5; Princeton leads, 3-0
174: Connor O'Neill (RU) dec. Nate Dugan (PRIN), 3-2; Dual tied, 3-3
184: 11/11/11
John Poznanski (RU) MD Michael Squires (PRIN), 15-6; RU leads, 7-3
197: 11/9/11
Greg Bulsak (RU) dec. 20/17/19 Luke Stout (PRIN), 9-3; RU leads, 10-3
HWT: Boone McDermott (RU) SV1 Matthew Cover (PRIN), 6-4; RU leads 13-3
125: 2/2/2 Patrick Glory (PRIN) MD 27/HM/NR
Dylan Shawver (RU), 13-3; RU leads, 13-7
133: 16/20/16
Joseph Olivieri (RU) dec. Nick Kayal (PRIN), 8-4; RU leads, 16-7
141: 3/3/3
Sebastian Rivera (RU) TF Danny Coles (PRIN), 20-3; RU leads, 21-7
149: 15/14/16
Michael VanBrill (RU) dec. Marshall Keller (PRIN), 8-7; RU leads, 24-7
157: 7/5/9 Quincy Monday (PRIN) inj. def. (0:49)
Robert Kanniard (RU), RU wins, 24-13
Extra Matches
157: Al DeSantis (RU) dec. Jack Lang (PRIN), 6-1
