Grapplers Open Cliff Keen Invite Friday
Dec 04 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The No. 23 Rutgers wrestling team makes the trip out west for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational for the second consecutive season and will compete against 38 of the nation's top programs in Las Vegas, Nev., from Dec. 5-6.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE | NOTES | WEBSITE | 2014 STATISTICS | ROSTER | FACT BOOK
33rd Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational - Friday, Dec. 5 - Saturday, Dec. 6
Live stream: FloWrestling (Subscription Required)
Live updates: Twitter - @RUWrestling
Wrestling begins at noon EST Friday and will run until after 9 p.m. The full tournament schedule is available here.
The Scarlet Knights posted a perfect 3-0 mark at the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals on Saturday, Nov. 29, to enter the open with momentum. RU beat its first ranked opponent since 2013 in No. 19 Oklahoma (20-18).
Rutgers cracked the NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll Tuesday, coming in at No. 23 for the team's first coaches poll dual ranking since the 2012-13 season. Along with the coaches poll, Rutgers also broke into the Intermat and WIN Magazine dual rankings. Intermat placed RU in the No. 24 spot following its upset win, while WIN tabbed the Scarlet Knights No. 19 in the nation.
In Intermat's Tournament Rankings, Rutgers maintained a top-25 tab at No. 23 with 20.5 points.
At last year's Cliff Keen Invite, redshirt junior Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) was the only Scarlet Knight to place as one of two wrestlers - former grappler Vinnie Dellefave - to advance to the second day of competition. He finished seventh at 285 pounds. As a team, the Scarlet Knights finished 22nd out of 32 schools with 24 points.
Knight Notes
- Five Scarlet Knights enter the weekend ranked by Intermat, The Open Mat or WIN Magazine: No. 8/11/11 Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) at 157 pounds, No. 8/7/10 Smith at 285 pounds, No. 16/12/15 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) at 141 pounds, No. 18/NR/17 Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.) at 149 pounds and No. NR/19/NR Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.) at 133 pounds.
- Rutgers is 7-0 to begin the dual season, the program's best start in its 82-year history. The team's previous best start to a season was in 2012-13, when the squad began the year 6-0.
- The last time RU was recognized in the coaches poll came in the final ranking of the 2012-13 season on Feb. 26, 2013. That year, No. 25 Rutgers finished the regular season 16-4.
- Ashanult, Smith and redshirt sophomore 174-pounder Phil Bakuckas(Hammonton, N.J.) are the last three dual starters for Rutgers with unbeaten records this season. Ashnault is currently 7-0, Bakuckas boasts a team-best 11-0 record and Smith is 3-0.
- Five wrestlers enter the weekend with one loss on the year, as the only defeat for four came against ranked opponents. Theobold's (9-1) lone blemish came against then-No. 17/NR/18 Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra), McCabe's (7-1) against then-No. 19/NR/NR Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), DelVecchio's (7-1) against then-No. 3/2/3 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) and Perrotti's (6-1) versus then-No. 13/11/12 Justin DeAngelis (Oklahoma). Junior 184-pounder Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.) also enters with just one loss at 7-1 on the year.
Scouting the Field
- Rutgers is one of 39 schools overall competing at the 33rd Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Along with Rutgers five other Big Ten schools will be competing at the event, including Ohio State, which has won the tournament in three of the past five seasons. Oklahoma took home the 32nd Cliff Keen Invitational last season with 154.5 points from three champions and two runner-ups. Ohio State finished third with 119.5 points. Of the 39 schools competing this weekend, nine were ranked in the most recent NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll. 2014-15 dual opponents are denoted by bold font.
| Air Force | American University | Army |
| Arizona State University | Boise State University | Brown University |
| Bucknell | Cal Poly | Cal State Bakersfield |
| California Baptist University | Citadel | Colorado State University Pueblo |
| Columbia | No. 3 Cornell University | Grand Canyon University |
| Harvard University | Hofstra | Indiana |
| No. 15 Iowa State | No. 16 University of Michigan | No. 2 Minnesota |
| Navy | NC State | No. 8 Nebraska |
| Nebraska-Kearney | Northern Colorado | Northern Iowa |
| North Dakota State | North Idaho College | No. 7 Ohio State University |
| No. 17 Oregon State | San Francisco State University | Utah Valley University |
| No. 12 Virginia | No. 6 Virginia Tech | Western State Colorado University |
| West Virginia | Western Wyoming | |
| Rutgers Projected Competitors | ||||
| Wt. | Name | Yr. | Hometown | 2014-15 Overall (Dual Record) |
| 125 | | R-So. | Ronkonkoma, N.Y. | 7-1 (4-1) |
| 133 | | So. | South Plainfield, N.J. | 7-1 (3-1) |
| 141 | | R-Fr. | South Plainfield, N.J. | 7-0 (7-0) |
| 149 | | Jr. | Toms River, N.J. | 9-1 (5-1) |
| 157 | Anthony Perrotti | R-Jr. | Roseland, N.J. | 6-1 (6-1) |
| 165 | Ethan Orr | R-Jr. | Branchville, N.J. | 5-2 (2-2) |
| -OR- | Nicholas Gravina | R-Fr. | Allendale, N.J. | 3-0 (3-0) |
| 174 | | R-So. | Hammonton, N.J. | 11-0 (7-0) |
| 184 | Hayden Hrymack | Jr. | Point Pleasant, N.J. | 7-1 (3-1) |
| 285 | Wesley Bernard | Fr. | Indianapolis, Ind. | 6-6 (1-3) |
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers wrestling, follow the program on Twitter (@RUWrestling) and Instagram (@RUWrestling). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com .
Players Mentioned
