Rutgers University
Hofstra
No. 11 Wrestling Closes Regular Season Wednesday Night at Hofstra
Feb 17 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 11 Rutgers wrestling (13-5) closes its regular season at Hofstra (3-14) on Wednesday in Hempstead, New York. The out-of-conference matchup at David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Center is set for a 6 p.m. start and will stream on FloWrestling.
With a win, the Scarlet Knights will secure 14 or more dual wins in a season for the ninth time under head coach Scott Goodale. RU has posted double-digit dual victories 17 out of the 19 years with Goodale as head coach
Rutgers is currently on a five-match winning streak after it downed Princeton, 28-9, on Monday night in its last time out. The Scarlet Knights worked a 7-3 match split with the Tigers, highlighted by a top-10 victory from No. 29 Andrew Clark (149) over No. 10 Eligh Rivera and a ranked decision from No. 19 Andrew Barbosa (165) over No. 17 Ty Whalen.
| Projected Lineups |
Projected Lineups
No. 11 Rutgers (13-5, 5-3)
125: 24/22 Ayden Smith (14-7)
133: 24/32 Dylan Shawver (16-9)
141: 6/8 Joseph Olivieri (14-0) -OR- Mason Gibson (12-11)
149: 29/-- Andrew Clark (13-8) -OR- Devon Magro (7-5)
157: 26/27 Anthony White (14-6)
165: 19/24 Andrew Barbosa (15-5) -OR- Ryan Ford (14-3)
174: 17/20 Lenny Pinto (9-7)
184: 20/18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (20-6)
197: 16/16 Remy Cotton (14-4) -OR- PJ Casale (9-5)
HWT: 19/19 Hunter Catka (16-7)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Hofstra (3-14, 3-5)
125: Teague Strobel (11-17)
133: Gauge Shipp (19-13)
141: Chase Liardi (6-12)
149: Jackson Slotnick (5-4)
157: Eric Shindel (2-8) -OR- Zach Reilley (4-6)
165: Jake Slotnick (18-12) -OR- Matt Rogers (2-5)
174: Matt Waddell (12-13)
184: Josh Jorgge (4-14)
197: Will Conlon (16-11)
HWT: Adrian Sans (6-16)
| Last Time Out |
• RU defeated Princeton for the fifth consecutive season on Monday night in front of 3,820 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. Rutgers has won 29 of the last 30 matchups between the two schools dating back to 1993.
• Along with the ranked wins from Barbosa and Clark, the Scarlet Knights picked up bonus points from No. 6 Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 16 Remy Cotton (165), No. 19 Hunter Catka (HWT) and No. 20 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184). No. 26 Anthony White (165) added a decision to help the Scarlet Knights retain the B1G-IVY Trophy.
• Monday also served as Senior Night, as Catka, Clark, Olivieri, White, Patrick Adams, Brandan Chletsos, Eric Freeman, Sebastiano Nini, Lenny Pinto and Dylan Shawver were all recognized prior to the dual.
| In the Rankings |
• The NCAA announced the second coaches ranking and first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. All 10 starters from Rutgers wrestling appear in the latest coaches' rankings, while eight own an RPI.
Rutgers in the Second NCAA Coaches Ranking (2/12/2026)
125: No. 21 Ayden Smith
133: No. 27 Dylan Shawver
141: No. 8 Joseph Olivieri
149: No. 27 Andrew Clark
157: No. 22 Anthony White
165: No. 22 Andrew Barbosa
174: No. 16 Lenny Pinto
184: No. 14 Shane Cartagena-Walsh
197: No. 16 Remy Cotton
HWT: No. 20 Hunter Catka
Rutgers in the First RPI (2/12/2026)
125: No. 11 Ayden Smith
133: No. 14 Dylan Shawver
149: No. 27 Andrew Clark
157: No. 21 Anthony White
165: No. 11 Andrew Barbosa
184: No. 17 Shane Cartagena-Walsh
197: No. 5 Remy Cotton
HWT: No. 19 Hunter Catka
• Rutgers jumped up three spots to No. 11 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll – its highest rank of the season. The Scarlet Knights are also ranked No. 11 by Intermat heading into the final week of the regular season.
• All 10 of RU's starters are ranked by Intermat this week. Rutgers is one of just six programs nationally with all 10 of its starters in the top 33, joining No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 6 Virginia Tech.
• Olivieri is the program's highest-ranked individual, appearing as high as No. 6 (Intermat) in the country.
| Wrestler | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | AWN |
| Ayden Smith (125) | 24 | 23 | --- | 18 |
| Dylan Shawver (133) | 25 | 31 | --- | --- |
| Joseph Olivieri (141) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Andrew Clark (149) | 28 | --- | --- | --- |
| Anthony White (157) | 25 | 28 | --- | --- |
| Andrew Barbosa (165) | 18 | 20 | 17 | 15 |
| Lenny Pinto (174) | 20 | 23 | --- | 19 |
| Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) | 19 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
| Remy Cotton (197) | 15 | 17 | 14 | 18 |
| Hunter Catka (HWT) | 19 | 19 | 19 | --- |
| Series vs. Hofstra |
• Rutgers leads the all-time series, 16-9-1. Rutgers has won the past five meetings between the two schools dating back to 2013 and 12 of the last 13 dating back to 1990.
• RU defeated Hofstra, 35-6, on Nov. 27, 2021 in the last meeting, which took place at the Prudential Center in Newark. Clark and Shawver both wrestled in the dual, with Shawver delivering an 8-1 decision against the Pride.
| Up Next |
• Rutgers gets a few weeks off before it competes at the 2026 Big Ten Championships March 7-8 in State College, Pennsylvania.
Players Mentioned
