No. 18 Wrestling Closes Home Dual Schedule Sunday with No. 4 Michigan

Sunday, February 17

Noon

Rutgers University

University of Michigan

Photo by: John Munson

No. 18 Wrestling Closes Home Dual Schedule Sunday with No. 4 Michigan

Feb 15 | Wrestling

MATCH NOTES PROJECTED LINEUPS BTNPLUS ($)RADIO: WRSU (88.7 FM)TICKETS

Scarlet Knights host Wolverines for Senior Day on BTN

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Winners of three consecutive duals, No. 18 Rutgers wrestling closes out its 2018-19 home schedule on Sunday against No. 4 Michigan at the RAC. The match will broadcast live on BTN at 12:03 p.m., with Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons on the call. Matt Howe and Justin Sontupe will have the radio broadcast on WRSU (88.7 FM).

Sunday is Senior Day, as the program will honor Anthony Ashnault, Nicholas Gravina, Ralph Normandia and John Van Brill prior to the start of the dual. The quartet has combined for 279 career victories and eight NCAA appearances.

RANKED SCARLET KNIGHTS (INTERMAT/FLOWRESTLING/THE OPEN MAT/AWN/TRACKWRESTLING)
133: 4/4/4/4/4 Nick Suriano (19-2)
149: 1/1/1/1/1 Anthony Ashnault (21-0)
157: 14/17/14/NR/11 John Van Brill (16-10)
174: NR/NR/NR/NR/20 Willie Scott (13-6)

WHAT TO KNOW
• Last time out, Rutgers swept a pair of Big Ten Conference road duals against No. 20 Purdue (22-15) on Feb. 10 and Indiana (24-11) on Feb. 8. The win over the Boilermakers was the third for the Scarlet Knights over a ranked foe this season, as RU also owns victories against No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 20 Princeton.
• In total, the Scarlet Knights claimed 13 out of 20 individual matchups with the Boilermakers and Hoosiers.
• Rutgers enters this weekend ranked No. 18 in the latest NWCA Coaches' Poll. As a team, Rutgers is also ranked No. 11 by TrackWrestling, No. 11/16 by Open Mat, No. 12 by FloWrestling and No. 13/16 by Intermat.
• Four Scarlet Knights appear in the national rankings. Ashnault is the consensus No. 1 wrestler at 149 pounds, while Nick Suriano is the consensus No. 4 wrestler at 133 pounds with a 19-2 record.
• Van Brill is No. 11 at 157 pounds by TrackWrestling and No. 14 by Intermat and The Open Mat. Willie Scott (174) has moved up to No. 20 by TrackWrestling with a 13-6 record.

ASHNAULT APPROACHING ALL-TIME MILESTONE
• Ashnault owns 112 career victories, good for fourth all-time in program history. With a win Sunday against Michigan, Ashnault will tie Rod Van Ness (1994-98 and Dominic Cerreto (1986-89) for second on the RU wins leaderboard.
• Ashnault needs just six wins to surpass Mike McHugh (1986-89) for the most wins in program history at 118.

ASHNAULT & SURIANO'S DOMINANCE
• Ashnault and Suriano have been dominant for the Scarlet Knights, as the duo has combined for a 40-2 record with 32 of those wins by bonus. In dual action, Ashnault and Suriano are a combined 30-2 and have accounted for 144 team points in RU's 16 duals this season.
• Ashnault owns an unblemished 21-0 record with 15 wins by bonus, including a team-high eight falls, four tech falls and three major decisions.
• Ashnault is also 6-0 against ranked individuals, according to Intermat, and has outscored those opponents, 63-28, with three major decisions and three decisions.
• Suriano leads the program with 17 wins by bonus, which includes a team-high nine major decisions, four tech falls, three pins and a forfeit. Suriano also owns four wins against ranked individuals and has accounted for 67 dual points in 16 matches.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
• The Wolverines enter Sunday's match ranked No. 4 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll. UM also wrestled at Maryland on Friday night in College Park.
• Michigan features eight ranked wrestlers according to Intermat - No. 1 Stevan Micic (133), No. 4 Myles Amine (174), No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (157), No. 6 Kanen Storr (141), No. 7 Logan Massa (165), No. 7 Mason Parris (HWT), No. 13 Drew Mattin (125) and No. 20 Jelani Embree (184).
• Last season, the Wolverines finished with an 11-3 dual record and 7-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference. UM placed third with 118 points at the 2018 Big Ten Championships and fourth at NCAAs, as five Wolverines earned All-America accolades.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE WOLVERINES & SERIES HISTORY
• In their last meeting, the Scarlet Knights dropped a tight 19-13 dual to the Wolverines on Jan. 27, 2017 in Ann Arbor at Cliff Keen Arena. Ashnault and Gravina each had wins in that dual against UM, as RU also saw wins from 2017 All-American Ken Theobold (149) and former heavyweight Razohnn Gross in the dual.
• Michigan leads the all-time series against Rutgers, 3-0, which includes back-to-back wins over the Scarlet Knights in 2016 and 2017.
• Rutgers also faced Michigan back on Dec. 13, 1958, a 17-11 loss to the Wolverines.

MICHIGAN-RUTGERS CONNECTIONS
• Current Rutgers volunteer assistant coach Brian Murphy was a four-time NCAA qualifier and 2015 All-American at Michigan from 2013-17.
• Murphy, then ranked No. 12 in the country at 157 pounds, faced current Scarlet Knight and then-No. 17 John Van Brill in a ranked-vs.-ranked matchup the last time these programs met in a dual setting. Murphy prevailed, 6-1.
• Current Associate Head Coach Donny Pritzlaff spent three seasons (2011-14) as an assistant coach at Michigan, where he helped two Wolverine grapplers reach the national podium in 2014.

UP NEXT
Rutgers closes out its dual season at Maryland on Friday, Feb. 22 in College Park at 7 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.