No. 23 Wrestling Hosts No. 14 Northwestern Sunday on BTN

Sunday, January 29

Piscataway, N.J.

4 PM

Rutgers University

Northwestern

Photo by: Cos Lymperopoulos

No. 23 Wrestling Hosts No. 14 Northwestern Sunday on BTN

Jan 27 | Wrestling

Tickets TV: Big Ten Network Match Notes

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 23 Rutgers wrestling (9-4, 1-3) continues its three-match homestand against No. 14 Northwestern (3-2, 2-2) on Sunday at Jersey Mike's Arena. The dual is set for a 4 p.m. ET start and a national broadcast on Big Ten Network, with Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons on the call. The Wildcats will host No. 13 Wisconsin on Friday prior to Sunday's Big Ten Conference matchup.

The Scarlet Knights split their home matches last weekend, defeating then-No. 20 Michigan State 16-15 on Friday, Jan. 20 before losing to No. 3 Michigan, 24-9, on Sunday. Dean Peterson (125) and Joseph Olivieri (141) won both their matches against the Spartans and Wolverines, with Peterson earning back-to-back ranked victories.

This Sunday's matchup with No. 14 Northwestern continues a seven-match swing against ranked opponents to close the dual season. RU will have faced three top-10 opponents in that span - No. 1 Penn State, No. 3 Michigan, and No. 7 Ohio State.

Projected Lineup: No. 23 Rutgers (9-4, 1-3)

125: 11/12 Dean Peterson (19-4)
133: 16/14 Joe Heilmann (19-5)
141: 17/HM Joseph Olivieri (12-2)
149: NR/HM Tony White (11-7)
157: NR/HM Andrew Clark (16-10)
165: Connor O'Neill (9-13) -OR- Robert Kanniard (3-2) -OR- Al DeSantis (10-5)
174: Jackson Turley (7-6)
184: 15/16 Brian Soldano (16-6)
197: Billy Janzer (4-8)
HWT: 26/22 Boone McDermott (12-2) -OR- John O'Donnell (6-6) -OR- Kyle Epperly (5-3)
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling

Projected Lineup: No. 14 N'Western (3-2, 2-2)

125:6/6 Michael DeAugustino (2-3)
133: 13/11 Chris Cannon (11-5)
141: 11/13 Frankie Tal-Shahar (3-4)
149: 4/4 Yahya Thomas (15-1)
157: 12/15 Trevor Chumbley (18-4)
165: 18/17 Maxx Mayfield (19-6)
174: 19/19 Troy Fisher (13-4) -OR- Ankhaa Enkhmandakh (4-10)
184: Evan Bates (11-11) -OR- Jon Halvorsen (7-7)
197: 28/HM Andrew Davison (14-8)
HWT: 4/4 Lucas Davison (13-2)
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling

What to Know

RU's two duals last weekend marked the first time the program competed on campus in 70 days, as Rutgers wrestled in 10 duals and two tournaments on the road prior to the start of their homestand.
Rutgers has seven ranked wrestlers in this weekend's projected lineup, led by No. 11 Dean Peterson (125), No. 15 Brian Soldano (184). No. 16 Joe Heilmann (133) and No. 17 Joseph Olivieri (141). The quartet is a combined 32-7 in duals this season.
Peterson is the highest-ranked Scarlet Knight in the first NCAA Coaches' Ranking, coming in at No. 5 at 125 pounds. Peterson is 19-4 this season with a 9-1 mark in duals and a 4-0 record in Big Ten dual action.
Olivieri is also undefeated in Big Ten Conference dual action at 4-0 since his redshirt was pulled earlier this month.
Head coach Scott Goodale picked up his 200th career win as a head coach when RU defeated Clarion in its season opener. The program's all-time wins leader, Goodale owns 208 victories during his 16-year tenure "On the Banks."
Rutgers has produced 60 pins this season, including 14 in dual action. Devon Britton (133/141) leads the team with five falls this season, which includes a third period fall against Bloomsburg on Jan. 6 in RU's 45-0 dual victory.
The Scarlet Knights have generated 137 wins by bonus this season. In dual action, Rutgers has produced 16 wins by major, 14 by fall and three by tech fall.
Soldano leads the team with 11 bonus-point victories this season.

Series vs. N'Western

Sunday will be the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs. Rutgers is 4-0 all-time against the Wildcats, with all four meetings coming in Big Ten action.
The Scarlet Knights won the last meeting, 26-13, on February 14, 2020 in Piscataway. Current student-athlete Billy Janzer earned a 10-2 major decision wrestling at 184 pounds in the dual win.
Nine of Northwestern's projected starters are ranked, including three in the top 10 - No. 4 Yahya Thomas (149), No. 4 Lucas Davison (HWT) and No. 6 Michael DeAugustino (125).
Four Wildcats earned All-America finishes at last year's NCAA Championships, including an individual title from Ryan Deakin at 157 pounds.

Up Next

Rutgers wrestles at RV Maryland on Saturday, February 4 in College Park. The dual is set for a 2 p.m. start with a national broadcast on Big Ten Network.