No. 17 Wrestling Tames Princeton, 32-7

Sunday, December 8

Princeton, N.J.

Noon

Rutgers

Princeton

Dec 08 | Wrestling

PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (5-2) delivered a 32-7 win over in-state rival Princeton (2-4) on Sunday at Jadwin Gymnasium.

The Scarlet Knights won eight out of 10 matches against the Tigers, as No. 9 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 20 Jackson Turley (174), No. 22 Brian Soldano (197) and Conner Harer (157) all delivered bonus-point victories.

Sunday marked the 87^th meeting all-time between the two programs – RU's longest-running series in school history. The win moved the all-time series to 48-34-5 in favor of Rutgers, who has won the last four meetings and 28 of the last 29 matchups dating back to 1993.

"I thought it was a good win," said head coach Scott Goodale. "I know they were banged up a bit, but it was a great atmosphere and great to see everyone come out for this one. It was a good weekend for us."

With a match start at 141 pounds, Olivieri faced Drew Heethuis and landed a takedown in the opening period en route to a 5-2 decision. Clark followed with a 5-0 decision over Chris Martino, using a takedown in the second period, 2:32 of riding time and plenty of mat returns to help Rutgers to a quick 6-0 lead through two bouts.

Harer wasted no time in his match with Cody Tavoso, landing a takedown early and collecting 2:42 of riding time in the opening period for a 3-0 lead. Harer added a takedown and reversal in the second and muscled a takedown in the third for the 13-4 major decision.

White faced Hudson Hightower at 165 pounds, earning a takedown in the first period with an escape in the second to secure an 8-4 decision. Turley was the last to go before the midpoint, landing four takedowns on Xavier Giles before sticking the Tiger later in the third period for the fall.

Turley's pin made it five wins in five matches for Rutgers before intermission, with the Scarlet Knights up 19-0 at the break.

A tough 3-0 loss from Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) to No. 27 Michael Squires gave Princeton its first win of the day before Soldano wrestled up for the second consecutive dual at 197 pounds. Soldano landed a quick takedown on Diego Costa before he caught Costa in a headlock for an eventual pin in the first period. The fall made it 25-3 Rutgers with three bouts left.

Slavikouski landed four takedowns in his bout with Sebastian Garibaldi to add a 16-3 major decision to his resume. Peterson scored a 5-1 decision over Ethan Rivera, while Brandan Chletsos (133) wrestled hard in a 9-1 loss to Dan Jones to close the dual.

Up Next
Rutgers is on the road once again next week with a dual at Clarion on Friday, December 13 at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights will then wrestle Kent State (2 p.m.) and Gardner-Webb (4 p.m.) on Saturday, December 14 in Kent, Ohio.

Box Score
No. 17 Rutgers 32, Princeton 7
141: 24/32 Joseph Olivieri (RU) over Drew Heethuis (PU) by dec., 5-2; RU leads, 3-0
149: 31/25 Andrew Clark (RU) over Chris Martino (PU) by dec., 5-0; RU leads, 6-0
157: Conner Harer (RU) over Cody Tavoso (PU) by MD, 13-4; RU leads, 10-0
165: 31/30 Anthony White (RU) over Hudson Hightower (PU) by dec., 8-4; RU leads, 13-0
174: 20/20 Jackson Turley (RU) over Xavier Giles (PU) by fall (6:18); RU leads, 19-0
184: 27/29 Michael Squires (PU) over Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) by dec., 3-0; RU leads, 19-3
197: 22/20 Brian Soldano (RU) over Diego Costa (PU) by fall (1:34); RU leads, 25-3
HWT: 9/6 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) over Sebastian Garibaldi (PU) by MD, 16-3; RU leads, 29-3
125: 19/13 Dean Peterson (RU) over Ethan Rivera (PU) by dec., 5-3; RU leads, 32-3
133: Dan Jones (PU) over Brandan Chletsos (RU) by MD, 9-1; RU wins, 32-7
Rankings Intermat/Flo