No. 18 Wrestling Hosts Michigan State Friday at RAC

Friday, January 25

7 PM

Rutgers University

Michigan State University

Photo by: John Munson

No. 18 Wrestling Hosts Michigan State Friday at RAC

Jan 24 | Wrestling

Match Notes Projected Lineups BTNPlus Radio: WRSU Tickets

Scarlet Knights, Spartans square off at 7 p.m. in Piscataway

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 18 Rutgers wrestling returns home to host Michigan State on Friday for a 7 p.m. dual at the RAC. Friday's match will stream live on BTNPlus with Lou Brogno (play-by-play) and Nick Kosko (analyst) on the call. Matt Howe, Garret Gotthelf and Jake Schmied will have the radio broadcast on WRSU (88.7 FM).

RANKED SCARLET KNIGHTS (INTERMAT/FLOWRESTLING/THE OPEN MAT)
133: 5/5/5 Nick Suriano (14-2)
149: 2/2/2 Anthony Ashnault (16-0)
157: 14/15/13 John Van Brill (13-8)
184: 17/18/16 Nicholas Gravina (2-1)

WHAT TO KNOW
• Friday will be the first of three consecutive home matches for the Scarlet Knights, as they also face No. 9 Nebraska (Feb. 1) and No. 21 Princeton (Feb. 3) in Piscataway.
• In RU's last time out, No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (149) picked up his fifth ranked win of the season and Joseph Grello (174) earned a victory over a 2018 NCAA qualifier as Rutgers fell to No. 4 Iowa, 30-6, last Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The match was broadcasted in prime time on BTN.
• In front of 8,500 fans, Ashnault moved to 16-0 on the season with an unblemished 11-0 mark in dual action. For Grello, the win was his second conference dual victory of 2018-19, as the redshirt sophomore is now 10-5 on the year.
• RU moved up two spots to No. 18 in the latest NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday.
• Five Scarlet Knights appear in the national rankings. Ashnault is the consensus No. 2 wrestler at 149 pounds, while Nick Suriano (133) is ranked No. 5 by Intermat, FloWrestling and The Open Mat.
• John Van Brill (157) is as high as No. 13 (The Open Mat), Nicholas Gravina (184) is as high as No. 16 (The Open Mat) and Willie Scott (174) appears at No. 21 in the latest rankings by TrackWrestling.

TRACKING MR. ASHNAULT
• The No. 2 149-pounder in the country, Ashnault is 16-0 this season with wins over five ranked foes.
• Through his first 16 matches of 2018-19, Ashnault leads the program with 54 dual points. The graduate student has won 11 of his matches by bonus, including seven falls, two tech falls and two major decisions.
• With his 3-1 decision over No. 12 Pat Lugo (Iowa) last Friday, Ashnault is now seventh in program history with 107 career wins. Ashnault needs 11 more wins to become the program's all-time leader in individual victories.

THE SURIANO FACTOR
• Suriano has faced a tough slate at 133 pounds, which includes matches against the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 wrestlers in the country, according to Intermat. Suriano is 3-2 against ranked foes this season, highlighted by an 11-3 major decision over now No. 2 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) at the Cliff Keen Invite.
• Through his first 16 matches, Suriano is 14-2 and has accounted for 45 dual points. The junior has won 12 of his bouts by bonus, including six major decisions, three pins, two tech falls and a forfeit.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans enter Friday's match with a 4-5 mark in dual action and a 1-3 Big Ten Conference record.
• In its last time out, Michigan State fell to No. 6 Michigan, 30-10, last Friday in East Lansing. Rayvon Foley (125) and Cameron Caffey (184) both had individual wins against the Wolverines.
• Foley is ranked as high as No. 7 at 125 pounds with a 22-1 record, while Caffey appears as high as No. 15 at 184 pounds. Four Spartans - Foley, Anthony Tutolo (133), Austin Eicher (141) and Drew Hughes (174) - have past NCAA Championships experience. Tutolo is a former two-time national qualifier with Kent State, while Eicher qualified for Northern Illinois in 2016 and MSU in 2017.
• Michigan State finished 6-11 last season and placed 14th at the 2018 Big Ten Championships in East Lansing. Foley was the lone representative for MSU at nationals last year, competing at 125 pounds as a true freshman.
• The Spartans are coached by Roger Chandler, who is in his 22nd year on staff and third as head coach.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS
• Then No .11 Rutgers rallied with wins in the final four weight classes to defeat Michigan State, 24-12, on Jan. 29, 2017 in East Lansing.
• Ashnault, Gravina, Van Brill Matthew Correnti, and Jordan Pagano all had wins against the Spartans in the dual victory.
• RU outscored MSU by a combined 27-3 over the final four matches to secure the dual win.

SERIES VS. MICHIGAN STATE
• Friday's matchup will be the fifth meeting all-time between the programs.
• Rutgers is 3-0-1 all-time against Michigan State. In their first ever meeting, Rutgers and Michigan State tied, 16-16, on Jan. 16, 2010 at the Spartan Duals at Jenison Field House.

UP NEXT
Rutgers hosts a pair of ranked foes next weekend, as it entertains No. 9 Nebraska on Friday (7 p.m.) and No. 21 Princeton on Sunday (noon). Both matches will stream on BTN2Go.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (/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. For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.