Rutgers University
Columbia
No. 10 Wrestling Splits 'Grapple at the Garden'
Nov 27 | Wrestling
NEW YORK, N.Y. - No. 10 Rutgers wrestling split its dual matches Sunday at the fifth annual "Grapple at the Garden," defeating Columbia, 39-3, before falling to No. 8 Cornell, 28-10.
"We got beat at 125 at 133, and I'm not blaming those guys, but that was the biggest part of the match right there," said head coach Scott Goodale of the Cornell dual. "Trying to play catchup against one of the best teams in the country is a really, really hard thing to do."
Cornell jumped out to a 6-0 lead with narrow decisions at 125 and 133 pounds. Noah Baughman took down Sean McCabe with time winding down to top the 2016 NCAA qualifier, 3-1, and was followed by a 6-4 win from Mark Grey over No. 13 Tyson Dippery at 133 pounds.
Dippery racked up more than two minutes of riding time and was strong all match in the top position, but could not get any counts despite multiple turns.
The Scarlet Knights roared back with three consecutive wins from 141 to 157 pounds, sparked by a 6-4 decision from No. 5 Anthony Ashnault. With the match tied, 3-3, entering the third period, Ashnault escaped and closed the bout out with a takedown. He is now 5-1 on the season.
No. 10 Ken Theobold rode out No. 19 Joey Galasso in the final two periods for an even four minutes of riding time and a 6-0 blanking at 149 pounds. The win was Theobold's second in a row over a ranked opponent and bumps his record to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in dual competition.
157-pounder John Van Brill, who won two matches Sunday, captured the final Rutgers win against the Big Red with a convincing 8-0 major decision against Taylor Simaz. Van Brill improved to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in dual matches.
RU took losses from 165 pounds to heavyweight to close out the dual, beginning and ending the stretch with defeats by fall. 174-pounder Phillip Bakuckas surrendered a late takedown in the third period against No. 5-ranked and two-time All-American Brian Realbuto to drop a close, 4-2, decision.
No. 13 184-pounder Nicholas Gravina had two-time NCAA champ and top-ranked Gabe Dean in a 3-3 match early in the third period, but Dean pounced with a takedown followed by three near falls to earn a major decision. Also falling short in a close match was 197-pounder Anthony Messner, who lost a 4-0 decision against Ben Honis.
RU started the day with a 39-3 rout of EIWA opponent Columbia. Including a forfeit, five bouts went the way of bonus points for the Scarlet Knights, as 165-pounder Willie Scott earned the biggest win with an 8-6 sudden victory decision against No. 15-ranked (FloWrestling) two-time NCAA qualifier, Tyrel White.
NCAA qualifier Scott DelVecchio captured his second dual win of the year with a fall of Alec Kelly at 133 pounds, joined later in the match by Gravina who pinned Donny Donnelly in 57 seconds. 149-pounder Anthony Giraldo captured a major decision in dominant 13-1 win over Matt Reed. Ashnault earned the final bonus-point win, topping Jacob Macalolooy by an 18-3 tech fall. Sean McCabe won by forfeit at 125 pounds.
Also earning wins Sunday were freshman Matthew Correnti at 197 pounds and redshirt sophomore Jordan Pagano at 174 pounds.
The Scarlet Knights are back in action on Sunday, Dec. 4 at the Hofstra Invitational.
No. 10 Rutgers (5-0) 39, Columbia (0-1) 3
Dual started at 125 pounds
Location: Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
125: Sean McCabe (RU) wins by forfeit; Rutgers leads, 6-0
133: Scott DelVecchio (RU) wins by fall over Alec Kelly (CU), 5:46; Rutgers leads, 12-0
141: No. 5/5/6 Anthony Ashnault (RU) tech fall over Jacob Macalolooy (CU), 18-3; Rutgers leads, 17-0
149: Anthony Giraldo (RU) major dec. over Dan Reed (CU), 13-1; Rutgers leads, 21-0
157: John Van Brill (RU) dec. over Tyler Ponte (CU), 4-0; Rutgers leads, 24-0
165: Willie Scott (RU) dec. over No. NR/15/14 Tyrel White (CU), 8-6 (SV); Rutgers leads, 27-0
174: Jordan Pagano (RU) dec. over Austin Coniker (CU), 6-0; Rutgers leads, 30-0
184: No. 13/13/11 Nicholas Gravina (RU) wins by fall over Donny Donnelly (CU), 0:57; Rutgers leads, 36-0
197: Matthew Correnti (RU) dec. over over Matt Doggett (CU), 6-1; Rutgers leads, 39-0
HWT: No. NR/NR/19 Garrett Ryan (CU) dec. over Razohnn Gross (RU), 9-2; Rutgers wins, 39-3
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
No. 8 Cornell (3-0) 28, No. 10 Rutgers (5-1) 10
Dual started at 125 pounds
Location: Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
125: Noah Baughman (CU) dec. over Sean McCabe (RU), 3-1; Cornell leads, 3-0
133: No. NR/17/NR Mark Grey (CU) dec. over No. 13/14/18 Tyson Dippery (RU), 6-4; Cornell leads, 6-0
141: No. 5/5/6 Anthony Ashnault (RU) dec. over Will Koll (CU), 6-4; Cornell leads, 6-3
149: No. 10/9/12 Ken Theobold (RU) dec. over No. 19/NR/7 Joey Galasso (CU), 6-0; Dual tied, 6-6
157: John Van Brill (RU) major dec. over Taylor Simaz (CU), 8-0; Rutgers leads, 10-6
165: No. 20/NR/NR Brandon Womack (CU) wins by fall over Willie Scott (RU), 4:24; Cornell leads, 12-10
174: No. 5/5/6 Brian Realbuto (CU) dec. over Phillip Bakuckas (RU), 4-2; Cornell leads, 15-10
184: No. 1/1/1 Gabe Dean (CU) major dec. over No. 13/13/11 Nicholas Gravina (RU), 16-3; Cornell leads, 19-10
197: Ben Honis (CU) dec. over Anthony Messner (RU), 4-0; Cornell leads, 22-10
HWT: No. 19/NR/NR Jeramy Sweany (CU) wins by fall over Razohnn Gross (RU), 4:32; Cornell wins, 28-10
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
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