Dec. 16, 2015
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - A monumental win over No. 4 Nebraska Saturday at the RAC pushed Rutgers wrestling up in the USA Today/ NWCA Coaches Poll. The Scarlet Knights are ranked No. 9 in the poll this week, the highest ranking for the program since holding the No. 9 spot on Feb. 23, 2011 to close the 2010-11 season.
Rutgers (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten) earned a 5-5 bout split with the Cornhuskers (6-1, 1-1 Big Ten) to end the match tied, 16-16, but won the criteria point based on total match points, 51-48. The Big Ten win was the Scarlet Knights' first at home since joining the league last year.
Intermat placed Rutgers at No. 14 in its Tournament Rankings and No. 9 in its Dual Rankings. According to WIN Magazine, RU is ranked No. 11 as a dual meet squad and No. 12 in its Tournament Power Index (TPI).
Highlighting the dual upset over Nebraska were wins by Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) over then-No. 4 Austin Wilson, a big major decision from Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) over then-No. 17 Anthony Abidin, and a thrilling, 3-2, victory from Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.) over then-No. 4 T.J. Dudley.
Also key to the win was the first ranked victory for Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J.) at 157 pounds over No. 10 Tyler Berger, and a convincing 8-2 decision from heavyweight Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) against No. 13 Collin Jensen to close out the dual.
Ashnault (11-0) is the last remaining unbeaten for Rutgers and is off to the best start of his career. He holds his No. 3 position at 141 pounds this week in the Intermat Top 20.
Perrotti (10-1) is ranked No. 10 at 165 pounds this week by Intermat and is the winner of his last eight matches. The West Essex HS product is 4-1 against ranked opponents this season.
Smith (9-3) earns the No. 11 spot in the polls this week after a 1-1 split last week. Lewis (8-1) also split his matches in RU's two duals last week and is ranked No. 17.
Gravina (8-3) enters the Intermat Top 20 for the first time in his career after his upset of Dudley. He secures the No. 20 spot at 184 pounds.
Sean McCabe (Ronkonkhoma, N.Y.) is No. 17 at 125 pounds despite dropping two matches last week. Maintaining his ranking at 133 pounds is Anthony Giraldo (Guttenberg, N.J.), who is No. 20 nationally.
Rutgers returns to the mat from Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill., at the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern.
USA Today/ NWCA Division I Coaches Poll |
| Preseason | 18 |
| Week One | 18 |
| Week Two | 17 |
| Week Three | 15 |
| Week Four | 14 |
| Week Five | 10 |
| Week Six | 11 |
| Week Seven | 9 |
R-Jr. Sean McCabe - 125 Pounds (6-5, 6-5 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Dec. 2 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 19 |
| Dec. 9 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 19 |
| Dec. 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 18 |
R-Fr. Anthony Giraldo - 133 Pounds (7-5, 7-5 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Preseason | NR | 19 | 15 | NR |
| Nov. 4 | 20 | 19 | 15 | * |
| Nov. 11 | 19 | 19 | 14 | NR |
| Nov. 18 | NR | 19 | 15 | 19 |
| Nov. 25 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 18 |
| Dec. 2 | 17 | NR | 16 | 19 |
| Dec. 9 | 17 | NR | 15 | 18 |
| Dec. 16 | 20 | NR | 18 | NR |
R-So. Anthony Ashnault - 141 Pounds (11-0, 11-0 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Preseason | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Nov. 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | * |
| Nov. 11 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Nov. 18 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Nov. 25 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Dec. 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Dec. 9 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Dec. 16 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Jr. Richie Lewis - 157 Pounds (8-1, 8-1 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Dec. 9 | 17 | NR | NR | NR |
| Dec. 16 | 17 | NR | 19 | 19 |
R-Sr. Anthony Perrotti - 165 Pounds (10-1, 10-1 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Preseason | 9 | 16 | 11 | 12 |
| Nov. 4 | 9 | 13 | 11 | * |
| Nov. 11 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 6 |
| Nov. 18 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 7 |
| Nov. 25 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Dec. 2 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Dec. 9 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| Dec. 16 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
R-So. Nicholas Gravina - 184 Pounds (8-3, 8-3 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Dec. 16 | 20 | 20 | NR | NR |
R-Sr. Billy Smith - 285 Pounds (9-3, 9-3 Duals) |
| | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | WIN Magazine |
| Preseason | 8 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
| Nov. 4 | 8 | 9 | 11 | * |
| Nov. 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 7 |
| Nov. 18 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Nov. 25 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Dec. 2 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Dec. 9 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 6 |
| Dec. 16 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
*No new poll released
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