PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 13 Rutgers wrestling (2-1, 0-0) lost to No. 8 Virginia Tech (2-1, 0-0), 19-12, Friday night in front of 5,145 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights picked up four individual wins against the Hokies, including ranked victories from No. 6
Dean Peterson (125), No. 8
John Poznanski (197) and No. 6
Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT).
RU was tied with Virginia Tech through the first four bouts of the night, which included a top-15 victory for Peterson against a 2023 All-American and a decision from No. 15
Mitch Moore (141) in his Jersey Mike's Arena debut. The Hokies used wins in their next five matches through 184 pounds to secure the road dual victory.
"It was a great crowd, great atmosphere and we were fired up about it," said head coach
Scott Goodale. "I truly believe we prepared really well and our guys were into it. There was excitement around campus. It was all good. The fan base was fired up. It is about scoring points, and we didn't do enough of it. So that is the frustrating part. It was a lost opportunity, that is a great way to characterize it."
- Peterson opened the dual against No. 15 Eddie Ventresca, with Peterson the first to score thanks to an early escape in the second period. Beginning the third on top, Peterson rode out the 2023 All-American for the duration of the final period to secure the 2-0 decision and give Rutgers an early 3-0 lead.
- No. 15 Dylan Shawver (133) wrestled tough against No. 6 Sam Latona, as he forced sudden victory with several scoring opportunities and scrambles. Latona, a two-time All-American, was able to hold on for the overtime win with a takedown, tying the team score at 3-3.
- Moore was in complete control in his matchup with Mac Church, riding out the Hokie for the duration of the third period for a 2-1 decision in his first match at Jersey Mike's Arena.
- No. 23 Jacob Butler (149) and Al DeSantis (157) both wrestled tough in losses to top-five opponents, as the Hokies took a 10-6 team lead into intermission.
- No. 22 Anthony White (165) opened with a back-and-forth match against Rafael Hipolito Jr., with both trading escapes in a 6-5 first period in favor of Hipolito Jr. Both would continue to trade shots before Hipolito Jr. left with a 17-7 decision.
- In a rematch from last year's NCAA Championships, No. 26 Jackson Turley (174) faced No. 3 Mekhi Lewis and trailed just 3-2 heading into the third period. However, the 2019 NCAA Champion and Somerset native tallied an escape, takedown and the riding time point in the final period for the 8-3 victory. Through seven bouts, the Hokies led Rutgers, 16-6.
- No. 9 Brian Soldano (184) faced No. 21 Sam Fisher in another back-and-forth ranked matchup, as Soldano trailed 6-3 in the second period before collecting four points to make it 8-8 with two minutes to go. With just seconds left in the match, Soldano look to have secured a match-winning takedown, but the call was upheld after review, securing the dual for the visitor.
- Poznanski wrestled tough against No. 16 Andy Smith, working a 4-2 decision in front of the home crowd.
- Slavikouski also faced a ranked foe in No. 18 Hunter Catka and used a takedown late for a 4-1 decision in his Jersey Mike's Arena debut.
- Rutgers sends a full squad to West Point, New York, on Sunday to compete in the Black Knight Invitational. The Scarlet Knights' next dual is Friday, December 1 at Edinboro.
No. 8 Virginia Tech 19, No. 13 Rutgers 12
125: 6/8
Dean Peterson (RU) over 15/18 Eddie Ventresca (VT) by decision, 2-0; RU leads, 3-0
133: 6/5 Sam Latona (VT) over 15/18
Dylan Shawver (RU) by SV1, 4-1; RU tied, 3-3
141: 15/18
Mitch Moore (RU) over Mac Church (VT) by decision, 2-1; RU leads, 6-3
149: 4/4 Caleb Henson (VT) over 23/33
Jacob Butler (RU) by decision, 5-1; RU tied, 6-6
157: 5/5 Bryce Andonian (VT) over
Al DeSantis (RU) by MD, 13-5; VT leads, 10-6
165: Rafael Hipolito Jr. (VT) over 22/27
Anthony White (RU) by decision, 13-7; VT leads, 13-6
174: 3/3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) over 26/26
Jackson Turley (RU) by decision, 8-3; VT leads, 16-6
184: 21/20 Sam Fisher (VT) over 9/7
Brian Soldano (RU) by decision, 10-9; VT leads, 19-6
197: 8/13
John Poznanski (RU) 16/18 Andy Smith (VT) by decision, 4-2; VT leads, 19-9
HWT: 6/7
Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) over 18/19 Hunter Catka (VT) by decision, 4-1, VT wins, 19-12
Head Coach Scott Goodale
Opening Statement: "Yeah, like I told the team, that's kind of the frustrating part. Great crowd, great atmosphere and fired up about it. I truly believe we prepared really well and our guys were into it. There was excitement around campus. It was all good. The fan base was fired up. We're not going to overreact right now it's November 17. You guys all know I want to win dual meets. Those are important to me and we wanted that one bad. We felt like we let one get away there for sure. But it's early and they were better than us tonight. They were better. It is about scoring points. We didn't do enough of it. So that's the frustrating part. The lost opportunity, that's a great way to characterize it."
On the importance of early season matches: "I think all these (are). That's the one thing I love about college, right, I love these matchups. We were fortunate enough to get this matchup, and we'll go back there next year. Yeah, it's great. It's a good measuring stick, but these matches matter. These matches down the road are going to matter. I think of (Brian) Soldano right off the bat. He's ranked maybe eighth in the country, that kid's (Sam Fisher) maybe 20th in the country. That's a huge win for that guy. Now, we have to make up some ground, we have to beat somebody. So, they matter. These matches are really, really important. Again, it's not the end of the world, but we do like to win, we like to get our hands raised, so that part's frustrating. They matter, they matter for seeding. If you're fortunate enough to pick off one of those All-Americans, next thing you know, you're a top-five guy. We weren't able to do that tonight. So, they're important, they matter. Again, like we told the team, it's not the end of the world. It's November 17, this is a great test for us. It's a well-coached team, they're a well-conditioned team. This will prepare us. It will prepared us for when we need to be prepared for the Big Ten."
On positives from the team tonight: "I thought we did a good job on mat wrestling. I don't know if we were really out toughed. I don't think we were out toughed at all. I think in some spots they were just a little bit better. I was encouraged by the way
Jackson Turley wrestled. I thought he wrestled Mekhi (Lewis) really, really hard. Again, it's early for him. I take that away from it. Seeing John up a weight. I feel really good about it that's big kid tall too. So a lot of positives to take. We're gonna go back to work. I say this all the time. I know. We'll go back to work. It's really early and we'll be back. We'll be exciting this year. I can tell you that."
John Poznanski (197)
On performance after few matches at 197: "I feel really good. I feel strong and fast. I feel like I got the leg attacks good today. I left a few of them out there. But overall I feel really really good at this weight"
