PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (10-4, 3-3) is set for its final road dual of the season when it faces No. 1 Penn State (9-0, 6-0) on Monday night in State College. The dual at the Bryce Jordan Center is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on Big Ten Network, with Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons on the call.
Monday's matchup with the top-ranked Nittany Lions marks the fourth consecutive top-12 opponent for the Scarlet Knights. RU has also wrestled No. 7 Ohio State, No. 9 Minnesota, and No. 11 Michigan during the stretch.
- Rutgers lost to the Buckeyes, 22-12, on Sunday in front of 5,769 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena in its last time out. Michael Cetta (149) defeated No. 9 Dylan D'Emilio in sudden victory, No. 21 Brian Soldano (184) pinned Ryder Rogotzke in a wild back-and-forth match and No. 13 Dylan Shawver (133) escaped at the buzzer for a decision over No. 12 Nic Bouzakis to highlight action for the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway.
No. 14 Rutgers (10-4, 3-3)
125: 19/18
Dean Peterson (9-4)
133: 10/9
Dylan Shawver (18-5)
141: 19/16
Mitch Moore (11-3)
149: 26/NR
Michael Cetta (12-5)
157: Al DeSantis (5-10) -OR-
Jacob Butler (7-3)
165: Anthony White (9-10) -OR-
Luke Gayer (9-9)
174: 13/16
Jackson Turley (9-3) -OR-
Shane Cartagena-Walsh (9-5)
184: 19/23
Brian Soldano (11-7)
197: 22/19
John Poznanski (12-2)
HWT: 8/10
Yaraslau Slavikouski (14-2)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
No. 1 Penn State (9-0, 6-0)
125: 2/2 Braeden Davis (14-1)
133: 6/5 Aaron Nagao (9-3)
141: 1/1 Beau Bartlett (15-0)
149: 10/12 Tyler Kasak (11-2)
157: 1/1 Levi Haines (12-0)
165: 7/7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (16-0)
174: 1/1 Carter Starocci (10-0)
184: 6/7 Bernie Truax (9-2)
197: 1/1 Aaron Brooks (11-0)
HWT: 1/1 Greg Kerkvliet (10-0)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
- Rutgers has wrestled in front of 5,000 or more fans three times at Jersey Mike's Arena this season - vs. Ohio State (5,769), vs. Princeton (5,049) and vs. Virginia Tech (5,145).
- With its 10 dual victories, Rutgers has produced 10 or more dual wins in a season for the 15th time under head coach Scott Goodale.
- The first NCAA coaches' ranking was released last week. Rutgers features nine wrestlers within the top 33 of their respective weight classes, including six in the top 16 – No. 5 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 7 Dylan Shawver (133), No. 8 John Poznanski (197), No. 11 Mitch Moore (141), No. 13 Jackson Turley (174) and No. 16 Dean Peterson (125).
- With his 12-2 record, Poznanski leads the team with 51 team points and six tech falls during the dual season. Shawver leads the team with 18 wins and 59 takedowns.
- After his huge win over No. 9 Dylan D'Emilio over the weekend, Cetta picked up his first national ranking of his career at No. 26 by Intermat.
- The Nittany Lions enter Monday as the consensus No. 1 team in the country after its 29-6 win over No. 2 Iowa on Friday night in Iowa City.
- All 10 starters for Penn State are ranked within the top 10 of their respective weight classes. PSU features five top-ranked undefeated individuals – No. 1 Beau Bartlett (141), No. 1 Levi Haines (157), No. 1 Carter Starocci (174), No. 1 Aaron Brooks (197) and No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (HWT).
- Penn State had eight All-Americans last season under head coach Cael Sanderson, including two individual national titles from Brooks and Starocci. PSU has won 10 of the last 12 NCAA team titles dating back to the 2011 season.
- Penn State leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 24-0. The Nittany Lions defeated the Scarlet Knights, 33-8, last season in front of a sold-out crowd at Jersey Mike's Arena. Peterson opened that dual with a win at 125 pounds.
- Rutgers closes the dual season with back-to-back home duals on Friday, February 16 against Maryland and Wednesday, February 21 against Bloomsburg. Both duals are set for 7 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena.
