Rutgers University
No. 2 Iowa
No. 2 Iowa Tops No. 11 WRES, 29-6
Dec 10 | Wrestling
IOWA CITY, Iowa. - No. 11 Rutgers wrestling could not overcome an early hole Thursday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where the Scarlet Knights (9-2, 0-1 Big Ten) fell to the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes (8-0, 2-0 Big Ten), 29-6. The loss was the first for Rutgers since Nov. 15 against then-No. 22 Oklahoma.
Iowa claimed eight bout victories on the evening to dispel any chance of a Rutgers upset. The lone wins for the Scarlet Knights came from No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) at 141 pounds and No. 12 Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) at 165 pounds.
"I just thought we got bullied all over the mat," said head coach Scott Goodale. "We got pushed all over the mat. We didn't compete at certain spots and gave up easy takedowns, and then they got the crowd into it and the coaches into it. It just snowballed and we never recovered."
The dual ended with an upset at heavyweight.
No. 6 Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) and Iowa's Sam Stoll entered sudden victory locked at 1-1 before Stoll circled for a takedown and the 3-1 win. The loss dropped Smith to 8-3 this season.
Senior Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.) had a two-match winning streak snapped with a 6-1 decision loss against No. 4 Nathan Burak. Hrymack falls to 7-4.
At 184 pounds, redshirt sophomore Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.) had No. 8 Sammy Brooks on his heels for the majority of the match.
Gravina shook free of Brooks' grip early in the third period to move ahead, 4-3, quickly succumbing to a takedown to swing the advantage back in the Iowa grappler's favor, 5-4, with 1:22 remaining.
Amid a scramble, Gravina repositioned and was able to press Brooks' shoulders to the mat, nearly ending the bout with a fall. But Brooks took charge with a strong finish for an 11-5 win. Gravina slips to 7-2 with the defeat.
Iowa took decisions at 174 and 157 pounds to put the dual out of reach.
Redshirt junior Phillip Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.) earned three escapes in an 8-3 loss to No. 3 Alex Meyer. No. 17 Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J.) had a comeback bid come up short against Edwin Cooper Jr. following a major riding time deficit.
The junior tied the match at 4-4 down the stretch, but another Cooper Jr. escape coupled with the riding time point made it a 6-4 final. The loss was Lewis' (7-1) first of the season.
Perrotti improved to 9-2 with a victory Thursday night. The redshirt senior got off to a 5-2 start against Patrick Rhoads but could not sustain it, as Rhoads roared back with a takedown in the second period and an escape in the third.
Perrotti iced the match with a takedown with 53 seconds left in the third period, despite another Rhoads escape and a stall call going against the Scarlet Knight.
Ashnault prevailed with an 8-4 decision against Topher Carton at 141 pounds. Ashnault (10-0) went to Carton's ankle early in the first period and turned the Hawkeye for a four-point near fall count and an early 6-0 lead.
Carton fought back with 1:59 of riding time in the second period and registered a takedown in the third, but Ashnault hung on for the win to begin the year 10- 0 for the second consecutive season.
On the front end of intermission, the Hawkeyes picked up a trio of bonus-point wins, including a 21-6 tech fall from No. 2 Thomas Gilman over No. 18 Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.), an 11-2 major decision from No. 3 Cory Clark over No. 17 Anthony Giraldo (Guttenberg, N.J.), and a 22-6 tech fall from No. 2 Brandon Sorensen over Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, Pa.).
Rutgers faces a quick turnaround with No. 4 Nebraska (6-0, 0-0 Big Ten) coming to Piscataway Saturday for a 1 p.m. dual at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The Cornhuskers wrestle Maryland (3-4, 0-1 Big Ten) Friday night.
"You've got to put it behind you," Goodale said. "That wasn't a good effort. Our fans don't deserve that effort, we have to be better. We have to wrestle a lot harder. We're wrestling the best teams in the country, we have to wrestle harder and we have to compete harder."
The Rutgers vs. Nebraska dual will stream live online on BTN Plus.
No. 2 Iowa 29, No. 11 Rutgers 6
Dual started at 125 pounds
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
125: No. 2/2/2 Thomas Gilman (IOWA) tech fall over No. 18/18/14 Sean McCabe (RU), 21-6; Iowa leads, 5-0
133: No. 3/3/2 Cory Clark (IOWA) major dec. over No. 17/NR/15 Anthony Giraldo (RU), 11-2; Iowa leads, 9-0
141: No. 3/4/3 Anthony Ashnault (RU) dec. over Topher Carton (IOWA), 8-4; Iowa leads, 9-3
149: No. 2/2/1 Brandon Sorensen (IOWA) tech fall over Tyson Dippery (RU), 22-6; Iowa leads, 14-3
157: Edwin Cooper Jr. (IOWA) dec. over No. 17/NR/NR Richie Lewis (RU), 6-4; Iowa leads, 17-3
165: No. 12/9/5 Anthony Perrotti (RU) dec. over Patrick Rhoads (IOWA), 8-7; Iowa leads, 17-6
174: No. 3/5/5 Alex Meyer (IOWA) dec. over Phil Bakuckas (RU), 8-3; Iowa leads, 20-6
184: No. 8/9/6 Sammy Brooks (IOWA) dec. over Nicholas Gravina (RU), 11-5; Iowa leads, 23-6
197: No. 4/4/4 Nathan Burak (IOWA) dec. over Hayden Hrymack (RU), 6-1; Iowa leads, 26-6
285: No. NR/NR/12 Sam Stoll (IOWA) dec. over No. 6/9/10 Billy Smith (RU), 3-1 (SV); Iowa wins, 29-6
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
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Players Mentioned
