Indiana Wrestling to Host No. 16 Rutgers on Friday

[TomM]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
January 11, 2023
   
Indiana Wrestling 
Contact: Jackson Yeary   
(C): 317-370-6557   
jbyeary@iu.edu 

Indiana Wrestling to Host No. 16 Rutgers on Friday
 
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Fresh off a dramatic, 17-16, win at No. 16 Maryland, No.17-ranked Indiana (5-1, 1-1) heads into the weekend with another tough task ahead.
 
The Hoosiers host No. 16 Rutgers (8-1, 0-0) on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. in Wilkinson Hall.
 
BACK IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT:
-For the first time since Feb. 2016, Indiana is back in the national rankings. 
 
-FloWrestling put Indiana at No. 17 in this week's poll, following the team's 17-16 win over No. 16 Maryland.
 
-In addition to the team ranking, IU has five grapplers who are ranked in national polls.
 
-There is a bit of variance depending on the ranking site you look at, but Henry Porter (133), Graham Rooks (149), Derek Gilcher (157), DJ Washington (174) and Jacob Bullock (285) are all currently ranked. 
 
-The group are each ranked as the following (listed with their highest mark): Porter: No. 31, Rooks: No. 33, Gilcher: No. 18, Washington: No. 18, Bullock: No. 17.
 
ROLLING WITH RUTGERS:
-Indiana's next dual features a home contest against No. 16 Rutgers on Friday, Jan. 13.
 
-The matchup includes two teams that are pretty even amongst each other as both are nationally ranked and only one spot in the polls separates them. Additionally, Indiana has five ranked wrestlers compared to Rutgers' six.
 
-Indiana is 5-1 on the year with a 1-1 conference mark while Rutgers is 8-1 and has not faced a Big Ten opponent yet.
 
-Despite not facing a conference team yet, Rutgers has a plethora of impressive wins, including victories over No. 21 Penn, Stanford and Princeton. The one loss came to No. 12 Arizona State.
 
-The Scarlet Knights' top wrestlers include their starters at the 125, 133 and 184-lbs. weight classes. 
 
-They open duals against opponents with No. 13 Dean Peterson (125) and No. 14 Joe Heilmann (133). At 184, they have No. 14-ranked Brian Soldano. The trio have a combined 47-11 record.
 
-Indiana has yet to defeat Rutgers since it has joined the Big Ten, holding a 1-6 record against the Scarlet Knights. The one win was 29-9 victory on Nov. 29, 2008.
 
MARYLAND MADNESS:
-Indiana's most recent match came down to tie-breaking criteria for IU to secure its one-point win over No. 16 Maryland, 17-16.
 
-Redshirt senior and No. 33-ranked Graham Rooks (149) secured a massive victory over No. 22 Ethen Miller in a 5-3 decision in the dual's final bout to tie the match at 16-16.
 
-Indiana and Maryland each had won five bouts in the dual.
 
-Due to Indiana having more total match points by a 57-46 margin, that was enough for IU to earn the tie-breaking point and come out victorious.
 
-It was Indiana's first conference win of the season and helped improve their program record to 7-0 against the Terrapins.
 
OHIO STATE REWIND:
-Indiana fell short in its Big Ten opener to No. 7 Ohio State last Friday, 26-13.
 
-The Buckeyes won the overall dual, but the Hoosiers were able to pick off four matches from them.
 
-Two of the wins were major resume boosters to Indiana's Derek Gilcher and Jacob Bullock.
 
-No. 17 Gilcher (157) defeated No. 18 Paddy Gallagher by decision, 5-4. Then, No. 31-ranked Bullock won over No. 15 Tate Orndorff in a 7-2 decision.
 
MIDDLEWEIGHTS BATTLING:
-Two of Indiana's middleweight wrestlers - Graham Rooks (149) and Derek Gilcher (157) - are leading the way.
 
-The duo are the first grapplers on the team this year to reach 20-plus wins. Rooks owns a 20-4 season record while Gilcher is 20-5.
 
-Both are coming off of impressive performances, too. Rooks' decisive, 5-3, victory over No. 22 Ethen Miller in the Maryland dual was his best win of the season and put Indiana in position to win the dual.
 
-Gilcher has defeated back-to-back ranked opponents in No. 18 Paddy Gallagher (OSU) and No. 33 Michael North (Maryland). 
 
-Additionally, he has won six consecutive bouts, and has won ten of his last 11 bouts.
 
-Gilcher will likely face No. 23 Andrew Clark on Friday. He previously defeated him in a 6-2 decision at Midlands.
 
STARTING STRONG:
-IU Wrestling is off to its best start to a season in the Angel Escobedo era. 
 
-The 5-1 start paces with the 2015-16 team that also began the year 5-1.
 
-Indiana's two ranked victories this year also match the best mark since 2018-19 when the team also had two ranked wins. 
 
-This season's win total of five already surpasses last year's total of three.