Rutgers University
Minnesota
No. 17 Wrestling Hosts No. 6 Minnesota Friday
Feb 04 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (10-5, 3-3) hosts No. 6 Minnesota (9-4, 3-2) on Friday at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Big Ten Conference match, presented by RWJBarnabas Health, is set for a 7 p.m. start and will stream on Big Ten Plus, with Nick Kosko and Matt Howe on the call.
The Scarlet Knights enter Friday after back-to-back dual wins last weekend. RU downed Maryland, 30-9, on Jan. 30 in Piscataway before it delivered a 21-12 road win at Rider on Jan. 31 in Lawrenceville. The win over the Broncs was the 11th consecutive for Rutgers in the series and secured double-digit dual victories for the 17th season under head coach Scott Goodale.
Up to No. 6 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll after it defeated then-No. 4 Iowa for the first time since 2014 this past weekend, Minnesota represents the third top 10 program the Scarlet Knights will face this season, joining No. 1 Penn State and No. 10 NC State. The Golden Gophers feature nine ranked individuals, according to Intermat, including reining NCAA bronze medalist Max McEnelly (184).
| Projected Lineups |
No. 17 Rutgers (10-5, 3-3)
125: 28/28 Ayden Smith (12-6)
133: 27/31 Dylan Shawver (14-8)
141: Mason Gibson (12-9) -OR- Tahir Parkins (6-8)
149: 29/-- Andrew Clark (10-8) -OR- Devon Magro (7-5)
157: 29/32 Anthony White (11-6)
165: 20/25 Andrew Barbosa (13-4) -OR- Ryan Ford (14-3)
174: 16/20 Lenny Pinto (7-6)
184: 21/18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (18-5)
197: 16/13 Remy Cotton (11-4) -OR- PJ Casale (9-5)
HWT: 19/19 Hunter Catka (15-6)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
No. 6 Minnesota (9-4, 3-2)
125: 10/8 Jore Volk (17-3)
133: Brandon Morvari (1-8) -OR- Chris Cannon (3-8)
141: 9/9 Vance VomBaur (15-4) -OR- Jager Eisch (9-8)
149: 17/19 Drew Roberts (7-5)
157: 19/15 Charlie Millard (15-5)
165: 11/13 Andrew Sparks (14-4)
174: 24/22 Ethan Riddle (12-7) -OR- Clayton Whiting (13-7)
184: 4/4 Max McEnelly (14-1)
197: 25/25 Gavin Nelson (9-8) -OR- Gabe Nagel (4-4)
HWT: 10/12 Koy Hopke (16-7) -OR- Bennett Tabor (10-6)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
| Last Time Out |
• Rutgers opened last weekend with a 30-9 victory over Maryland last Friday in front of 3,375 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights used a 7-3 match split, including victories in their final six bouts, to secure their third Big Ten Conference win of the season.
• Five wrestlers contributed bonus points on the night, including a ranked major decision from No. 17 Remy Cotton (197) over No. 13 Branson John. No. 21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) pinned Sepanta Ahanj-Elias, while No. 20 Andrew Barbosa (165) and No. 29 Anthony White (157) added tech falls. Wrestling up a weight for the second consecutive dual, Ryan Ford (174) produced a 17-9 major decision over Seth Diby.
• RU followed with a 21-12 win over Rider last Saturday at Alumni Gymnasium. The Scarlet Knights won six bouts on the night, including five of the final six. No. 20 Andrew Barbosa (165) and No. 21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) each won with bonus points, while No. 27 Dylan Shawver (133), No. 29 Anthony White (157), Ryan Ford (174) and No. 19 Hunter Catka (HWT) all won by decision to help RU beat the Broncs for the 11th straight meeting and keep possession of the B1G-MAC Trophy.
| First Coaches' Rank |
• The NCAA announced the first coaches' ranking for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. All 10 starters from Rutgers appear in the initial coaches' ranking, including five within in the top 20 – No. 8 Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), No. 17 Lenny Pinto (174), No. 17 Remy Cotton (197) and No. 18 Hunter Catka (HWT).
| In the Rankings |
• Rutgers moved back one spot to No. 17 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. The program is ranked within the top 20 by Intermat (15), WIN Magazine (16) and The Open Mat (18).
• Ten Scarlet Knights are ranked in at least one national poll, with all 10 weights ranked by Intermat.
• Four Scarlet Knights – No. 6 Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 16 Lenny Pinto (174), No. 16 Remy Cotton (184) and No. 19 Hunter Catka (HWT) – are ranked within the top 20 of their respective weight classes, according to Intermat.
| Wrestler | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN |
| Ayden Smith (125) | 28 | 28 | --- | --- |
| Dylan Shawver (133) | 27 | 31 | --- | --- |
| Joseph Olivieri (141) | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Andrew Clark (149) | 29 | --- | --- | --- |
| Anthony White (157) | 29 | 32 | --- | --- |
| Andrew Barbosa (165) | 20 | 25 | 17 | --- |
| Lenny Pinto (174) | 16 | 20 | --- | --- |
| Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) | 21 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| Remy Cotton (197) | 16 | 16 | 15 | 19 |
| Hunter Catka (HWT) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| Series vs. Minnesota |
• Minnesota leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 7-0, with all seven matchups occurring in Big Ten action.
• The Golden Gophers won last year's matchup, 28-9, on Feb. 2, 2025 in Minneapolis. Dylan Shawver (133) and Andrew Clark (149) both delivered wins over ranked foes in the road dual.
| Up Next |
• Rutgers wrestles at Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 13 in East Lansing. The 6:30 p.m. match will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Players Mentioned
