No. 24 Rutgers Wrestling Travels to No. 5 Ohio State, Michigan State

[TomM]

No. 24 Rutgers Wrestling Travels to No. 5 Ohio State, Michigan State

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Jan. 9, 2020) – No. 24 Rutgers wrestling (6-0, 1-0) gets into the thick of Big Ten Conference action with a road swing at No. 5 Ohio State (4-1, 0-0) on Friday in Columbus at 7 p.m., followed by a Sunday bout at Michigan State (4-2, 0-0) in East Lansing at 1 p.m. Both matches will stream live via BTNPlus.

What to Know

• The Scarlet Knights enter the polls for the first time in 2019-20, checking in at No. 24 in Tuesday's NWCA Coaches Poll. RU is 6-0 to begin dual action for the first time since 2014-15.

• RU last competed at the 2020 Southern Scuffle, as freshman Sammy Alvarez picked off two Top-10 foes en route to a 133-pound title during the New Year's Day tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Rutgers finished seventh in the field with five placewinners and 84 team points.

• Four Scarlet Knights enter the weekend ranked by FloWrestling - No. 11 Alvarez, No. 14 Nicolas Aguilar (125), No. 17 Jordan Pagano (197) and No. 19 Joseph Grello (174).

• Head coach Scott Goodale is looking for the 180th dual victory of his career since taking over the program in 2007. The all-time wins leader at Rutgers has produced a winning dual record in each of his first 12 seasons at the helm.

• Seven of the Scarlet Knights' final 11 dual matches of the season take place against teams in the latest NWCA poll, including four within the Top-15 – No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 12 Princeton and No. 13 Northwestern.

Projected Matchups: No. 5 Ohio State

125: 17/14/14 Nicolas Aguilar (14-4) OR Malcolm Robinson (4-4) vs. NR/NR/18 Malik Heinselman (9-8)
133: 9/11/9 Sammy Alvarez (15-4) vs. 16/NR/15 Jordan Decatur (9-1) OR Dylan Koontz (8-8)
141: JoJo Aragona (8-3) OR Zach Firestone (5-6) vs. 1/1/1 Luke Pletcher (15-1)
149: Gerard Angelo (10-6) OR Nick Santos (6-1) vs. 6/6/8 Sammy Sasso (13-2)
157: Michael Van Brill (13-8) vs. Elijah Cleary (11-6)
165: Brett Donner (13-7) vs. 13/13/13 Ethan Smith (11-6)
174: NR/19/18 Joseph Grello (5-2) OR Willie Scott (6-4) vs. 9/9/8 Kaleb Romero (10-2)
184: Billy Janzer (11-4) vs. NR/NR/26 Rocky Jordan (20-3)
197: 19/17/20 Jordan Pagano (14-4) OR Matthew Correnti (10-3) vs. 1/1/1 Kollin Moore (15-0)
HWT: Alex Esposito (13-9) vs. 19/NR/21 Gary Traub (15-2)

Rankings: Intermat/FloWrestling/TheOpenMat

Scouting the Buckeyes

• The Buckeyes enter Friday night's matchup with a 4-1 record, which includes a 17-16 victory over No. 7 Arizona State on Monday night inside the Covelli Center. Friday marks the 2019-20 Big Ten season opener for Ohio State.

• Eight of OSU's 10 projected starters appear in national rankings, including consensus No. 1 wrestlers Luke Pletcher (141) and Kollin Moore (197). Moore is a three-time All-American while Pletcher has appeared on the podium at NCAA's in each of the past two seasons.

• The Buckeyes totaled 96.5 points en route to a runner-up finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships, their fifth consecutive top-3 placement under head coach Tom Ryan.

• Five OSU grapplers were national finalists a year ago, including Moore at 197 pounds. Moore and Pletcher are returning All-Americans for the Buckeyes.

• Ohio State leads the all-time series against Rutgers, 5-0-1, which includes three consecutive victories since RU joined the conference in 2014-15. The teams tied, 24-24, in their first-ever meeting on Feb. 11, 1984.

• In their last dual matchup, Rutgers picked up three individual victories against the Buckeyes in a 29-11 dual loss on Jan. 7, 2018 at the RAC, which included ranked wins from Eleazar DeLuca (149) and Richie Lewis (165).

Projected Matchups: Michigan State

125: 17/14/14 Nicolas Aguilar (14-4) OR Malcolm Robinson (4-4) vs. Logan Griffin (13-6) OR Julian Saldana (5-6)
133: 9/11/9 Sammy Alvarez (15-4) vs. NR/25/31 Garrett Pepple (11-7)
141: JoJo Aragona (8-3) OR Zach Firestone (5-6) vs. Matt Santos (10-8) OR Jaden Enriquez (3-2) OR Jake Spiess (4-7)
149: Gerard Angelo (10-6) OR Nick Santos (6-1) vs. Alex Hrisopoulos (9-5) OR Nathan Atienza (5-6)
157: Michael Van Brill (13-8) vs. 18/21/15 Jake Tucker (17-3)
165: Brett Donner (13-7) vs. NR/NR/28 Drew Hughes (9-5) OR Austin Hiles (7-7)
174: NR/19/18 Joseph Grello (5-2) OR Willie Scott (6-4) vs. Layne Malczewski (14-7)
184: Billy Janzer (11-4) vs. NR/18/20 Cam Caffey (15-5)
197: 19/17/20 Jordan Pagano (14-4) OR Matthew Correnti (10-3) vs. Nick May (9-9) OR Brad Wilton (0-2)
HWT: Alex Esposito (13-9) vs. NR/NR/33 Christian Rebottaro (13-6)

Rankings: Intermat/FloWrestling/TheOpenMat

Scouting the Spartans

• Michigan State owns a 4-2 dual record in 2019-20 and will visit No. 25 Michigan on Friday prior to Sunday's matchup with the Scarlet Knights.

• The Spartans feature three wrestlers ranked by FloWrestling - No. 18 Cam Caffey (184), No. 21 Jake Tucker (157) and No. 25 Garrett Pepple (133).

• MSU finished 10-8 last season and sent three competitors to the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships, including All-American Rayvon Foley at 125 pounds.

• Rutgers leads the all-time series against the Spartans, 40-1, which includes a 22-20 win at the RAC last season.

Up Next

Rutgers returns to the RAC to host No. 19 Cornell on Friday, Jan. 17 before heading to University Park, Pennsylvania to face No. 3 Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 19.

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.