No. 18 Wrestling Readies for Home Matches with No. 9 Nebraska, No. 20 Princeton

Friday, February 1

7 PM

Rutgers University

University of Nebraska

Photo by: Rich Schultz

No. 18 Wrestling Readies for Home Matches with No. 9 Nebraska, No. 20 Princeton

Jan 31 | Wrestling

Match Notes Projected Lineups BTNPlus: Nebraska Tickets: Nebraska BTNPlus: Princeton Tickets: Princeton Radio: WRSU

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 18 Rutgers wrestling continues its homestand at the RAC with matches against No. 9 Nebraska on Friday, Feb. 1 (7 p.m.) and No. 20 Princeton on Sunday, Feb. 3 (noon). Both duals will stream live on BTNPlus with Lou Brogno (play-by-play) and Nick Kosko (analyst) on the call. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also have both radio broadcasts.

The Scarlet Knights are scheduled to face 11 ranked individuals between the two schools, highlighted by a potential matchup from No. 2 Anthony Ashnault against No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik at 149 pounds on Sunday.

RANKED SCARLET KNIGHTS (INTERMAT/FLOWRESTLING/THE OPEN MAT)
133: 4/4/4 Nick Suriano (15-2)
149: 2/2/2 Anthony Ashnault (17-0)
157: 14/17/14 John Van Brill (14-8)
184: 17/NR/16 Nicholas Gravina (2-1)

WHAT TO KNOW
• In its last time out, RU won six out of 10 bouts to defeat Michigan State, 22-20, last Friday at the RAC. Ashnault and No. 5 Nick Suriano (133) both won by tech fall, while Peter Lipari (141), Stephan Glasgow (165) and Christian Colucci (HWT) all secured their first career Big Ten Conference dual wins.
• Rutgers remained No. 18 in the latest NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday. As a team, Rutgers is also ranked No. 13 by TrackWrestling, No. 13/14 by Open Mat, No. 14/13 by Intermat and No. 15 by FloWrestling.
• Five Scarlet Knights appear in the national rankings. Ashnault is the consensus No. 2 wrestler at 149 pounds, while Suriano appears as high as No. 4 at 133 pounds.
• John Van Brill (157) is as high as No. 13 (TrackWrestling), Nicholas Gravina (184) is as high as No. 16 (The Open Mat) and Willie Scott (174) remained at No. 21 in the latest rankings by TrackWrestling.

TRACKING MR. ASHNAULT
• The No. 2 149-pounder in the country, Ashnault is 17-0 this season with wins over five ranked foes. Ashnault is one of just 17 wrestlers nationally this season with an unblemished varsity record with a minimum of 10 matches wrestled.
• Through his first 17 matches of 2018-19, Ashnault leads the program with 59 dual points. The graduate student has won 12 of his matches by bonus, including seven falls, three tech falls and two major decisions.
• Ashnault's five ranked victories this season are the most for a Scarlet Knight, as he has defeated No. 2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), No. 6 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), No. 7 Mitch Finesilver (Duke), No. 12 Pat Lugo (Iowa) and No. 20 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota).
• With his 19-4 tech fall over Jaden Enriquez of Michigan State last Friday, Ashnault is now seventh in program history with 108 career wins. Ashnault needs 10 more wins to become the program's all-time leader in individual victories.

ASHNAULT VS. KOLODZIK: WHAT TO KNOW
• Sunday's match against Princeton at 149 pounds is scheduled to feature consensus No. 1 Kolodzik vs. consensus No. 2 Ashnault. Both wrestlers are undefeated this season.
• Sunday's expected showdown will be the fifth collegiate meeting between the two, as the series sits at 2-2 with all four matchups at 141 pounds.
• In their last meeting, Ashnault secured a 6-2 decision over Kolodzik on March 16, 2017 at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis to advance to the quarterfinals and lock up All-America status. Earlier that season, Kolodzik used a last-second takedown for a 4-3 decision on Nov. 19, 2016 at HighPoint.com Stadium during the "Battle at the Birthplace".
• In 2015, Ashnault and Kolodzik faced each other twice at the Midlands Championships. Ashnault dropped a 11-4 decision to Kolodzik before he defeated the Tiger, 3-2, en route to a fourth-place finish at the historic tournament. Kolodzik wrestled unattached at that tournament.

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. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) at the Cliff Keen Invite.
• Through his first 17 matches, Suriano is 15-2 and has accounted for 50 dual points. The junior has won 13 of his bouts by bonus to lead the team in that category, including six major decisions, three pins, three tech falls and a forfeit.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
• The Cornhuskers enter Friday's match ranked No. 9 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll with a 9-3 dual record and 3-2 mark in Big Ten Conference action.
• In its last time out, Nebraska won seven out of 10 bouts against then-No. 13 Illinois en route to a 30-9 victory Sunday in Lincoln.
• The Cornhuskers feature eight ranked wrestlers according to Intermat - No. 2 Tyler Berger (157), No. 4 Taylor Venz (184), No. 6 Isaiah White (165), No. 9 Mikey Labriola (174), No. 11 Eric Schultz (197), No. 14 David Jensen (HWT), No. 16 Zeke Moisey (125) and No. 19 Chad Red Jr. (141).
• Last season, Nebraska finished 10-4 in dual action, placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships and secured a ninth-place finish at NCAAs courtesy of three All-Americans - Berger, Red Jr. and Venz. Zeke Moisey (125) also secured All-America accolades last season at West Virginia.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska captured a 19-13 win over Rutgers last season in Lincoln, with the dual decided in the final bout. With match points tied, 47-47, and Nebraska leading Rutgers 16-13, then-No. 18 John Van Brill faced then-No. 8 Tyler Berger. Trailing 4-2 in the final period, Van Brill rode Berger for the duration of period and forced a stall call to make it 4-4 at the end of regulation. Berger would hold on in sudden victory courtesy of a takedown.
• In that match, then-No. 12 Richie Lewis secured a 2-1 decision in TB2 over No. 11 White, while then-No. 14 Gravina worked a 9-3 decision over then-No. 7 Venz. Suriano and Joseph Grello (174) also produced wins against the Cornhuskers in that match.

SERIES VS. NEBRASKA
• Nebraska leads the all-time series, 4-1, and is 2-1 against Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten Conference.
• RU upset the Cornhuskers the last time they visited the RAC, as it earned a 17-16 victory over then-No. 4 Nebraska on Dec. 12, 2015 courtesy of criteria. The Scarlet Knights scored five individual wins over ranked foes, highlighted by a 3-2 upset from Gravina over No. 4 T.J. Dudley.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
• The Tigers enter Sunday's match ranked No. 20 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll with a 4-4 dual record.
• In its last time out, Princeton collected four individual wins in a 27-12 dual loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State last Saturday in Jadwin Gym.
• The Tigers feature three ranked wrestlers according to Intermat - No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik (149), No. 3 Patrick Brucki (197) and No. 10 Patrick Glory (125).
• Last season, Princeton finished with a 4-9 record in dual action and inished third at the EIWA Championships. At the 2018 NCAA Championships, Kolodzik placed third to earn All-America accolades for the second consecutive season.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE TIGERS
• Last season, Rutgers claimed eight out of 10 bouts against the Tigers, including a pin from Gravina and a ranked win from John Van Brill, en route to a 28-7 dual victory over Princeton on Feb. 18, 2018 inside Jadwin Gym.
• The win secured the 12th consecutive winning dual season for Rutgers and head coach Scott Goodale and also proved to be the 22nd consecutive win over the Tigers.

SERIES VS. PRINCETON
• The longest-running series in program history, The Scarlet Knights lead the Tigers, 43-33-5, including wins in the last 22 meetings dating back to 1993. The 43 wins over Princeton are also the most for RU against one opponent in program history.
• This will be the 82nd meeting all-time between the two schools, with the series dating back to 1931.

UP NEXT
Rutgers heads west for back-to-back road matches at Indiana on Friday, Feb. 8 (7 p.m.) and No. 19 Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 10 (1 p.m.).

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.