Rutgers University
Northwestern
No. 17 Wrestling Set for Weekend Matches at No. 12 Illinois, Northwestern
Jan 22 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (7-4, 1-2) readies for a Big Ten Conference road trip, with weekend matches at Northwestern (3-3, 1-2) on Friday in Evanston, Illinois and at No. 12 Illinois (8-4, 1-2) on Saturday in Champaign, Illinois. Both duals will stream on Big Ten Plus.
| Projected Lineups |
Projected Lineup
No. 17 Rutgers (7-4, 1-2)
125: 27/28 Ayden Smith (11-3)
133: 27/32 Dylan Shawver (12-6) -OR- Billy Townson (8-4)
141: Tahir Parkins (5-7) -OR- Mason Gibson (12-7)
149: 31/NR Andrew Clark (8-6) -OR- Devon Magro (7-5)
157: 31/32 Anthony White (8-5)
165: 20/25 Andrew Barbosa (10-3) -OR- Ryan Ford (11-3)
174: 12/15 Lenny Pinto (7-5)
184: 14/15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (15-4)
197: 16/13 Remy Cotton (8-3) -OR- PJ Casale (9-5)
HWT: 19/19 Hunter Catka (12-6)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Northwestern (3-3, 1-2)
125: 25/25 Dedrick Navarro (12-9)
133: 24/24 Sean Spidle (11-6) -OR- Luis Bazan (2-2)
141: 32/33 Billy Dekraker (10-5) -OR- Giosue Hickman (4-5)
149: Sam Cartella (11-7) -OR- August Hibler (6-7)
157: Gunnar Myers (8-8)
165: Jacob Bostelman (8-8)
174: 30/NR Eddie Enright (18-6)
184: J.D. Perez (5-8)
197: Alex Smith (6-9)
HWT: Gabe Christenson (5-7) -OR- Dirk Morley (8-6)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
No. 12 Illinois (8-4, 1-2)
125: 20/14 Spencer Moore (9-6)
133: 1/1 Lucas Byrd (12-0)
141: Kole Brower (4-8)
149: 27/29 Michael Gioffre (10-5)
157: 9/9 Kannon Webster (12-2)
165: 8/8 Braeden Scoles (11-4)
174: 25/26 Colin Kelly (12-4)
184: 28/18 Chris Moore (10-7)
197: NR/31 Dylan Connell (6-7) -OR- Cade Lautt (4-5)
HWT: Ryan Boersma (2-9)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
| Last Time Out |
• Rutgers split its matches this past weekend in Piscataway, losing to No. 13 Michigan last Friday before a 24-9 victory over Purdue on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights delivered seven wins against the Boilermakers, including ranked victories from No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), No. 18 Remy Cotton (197), No. 30 Andrew Clark (149) and No. 33 Anthony White (157).
• Cotton, No. 21 Andrew Barbosa (165) and No. 27 Ayden Smith (125) all went 2-0 in weekend action, with Cotton delivering back-to-back wins over ranked foes. Smith delivered a 3-1 decision over Michigan's No. 19 Diego Sotelo.
| In the Rankings |
• Rutgers remained No. 17 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. The program is ranked within the top 20 by Intermat (15), WIN Magazine (17) and The Open Mat (18).
• Ten Scarlet Knights are ranked in at least one national poll, with all 10 weights ranked by Intermat. Six starters are ranked within the top 20 of their respective weight classes.
• Joseph Olivieri (141) is the highest ranked wrestler this week, checking in at No. 6 in the country according to Intermat.
• Cotton was the biggest mover for Rutgers ahead of weekend action, checking in as high as No. 13 (FloWrestling) nationally.
| Wrestler | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | AWN | WIN |
| Ayden Smith (125) | 27 | 28 | --- | --- | --- |
| Dylan Shawver (133) | 27 | 32 | --- | --- | --- |
| Joseph Olivieri (141) | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Andrew Clark (149) | 31 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Anthony White (157) | 31 | 32 | --- | --- | --- |
| Andrew Barbosa (165) | 20 | 25 | 17 | 19 | --- |
| Lenny Pinto (174) | 12 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 18 |
| Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) | 14 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 15 |
| Remy Cotton (197) | 16 | 13 | 14 | --- | 16 |
| Hunter Catka (HWT) | 19 | 19 | 19 | --- | 18 |
| Series vs. Northwestern |
• Rutgers has won four of the five meetings all-time with the Wildcats, but Northwestern owns the most recent meeting - a 28-6 victory in Piscataway. RU leads the all-time series, 4-1.
| Series vs. Illinois |
• Rutgers has won the past two meetings between the two schools, including a 16-15 victory over the No. 10 Fighting Illini last season at Jersey Mike's Arena. The win was the program's first over a top-10 opponent since the 2018-19 campaign. The all-time series is tied, 3-3.
| Up Next |
• Rutgers returns home to host Maryland on Friday, January 30 at Jersey Mike's Arena. The dual is set for a 7 p.m. start and will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Players Mentioned
