No. 17 Rutgers wrestling season review through first seven matches
The Rutgers wrestling team has had a strong start to its season, winning 6 of its first 7 matches. The No. 17 Scarlet Knights (6-1, 0-0) secured a 17-16 victory over rival Princeton last weekend and were able to keep the B1G-Ivy rivalry trophy in Piscataway.
Rutgers started off the season with two dominating victories over Clarion and Sacred Heart. The Knights were able to beat these opponents by a combined score of 79-4. In the third match, though, Rutgers fell to then-No. 12 Arizona State by a score of 25-16 for its first loss of the season. From then on, the team has yet to lose a dual and even picked up a win against ranked UPenn by a score of 19-12.
The Knights’ wrestlers have fared well in tournaments so far with multiple wins in the Garden State Grapple. They have also scored the most individual points out of any team in the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunner open.
Several of the wrestlers have made strong contributions to Rutgers’ hot start. Junior 141-pounder Sammy Alvarez started off the season with six straight wins before losing his last match. Alvarez currently sits in the No. 14 spot of his ranked weight class. He has already put up 24 dual points this year and is only 15 points removed from his career best of 39.
Sophomore 149-pounder Tony White has earned himself a rank in his sophomore year after being the top-ranked freshman last year. He currently sits as the No. 28 rank of his weight class with a record of 8-3 overall.
Another Knights wrestler that has been fairly impressive is freshman 184-pounder Brian Soldano. Soldano currently sits at No. 14 for his weight class in just his first year and has a record of 9-1 with 31 total dual points.
Heavyweight junior 285-pounder Boone McDermott has been a strong force on the mat for Rutgers this season. He is currently ranked at No. 23 with a perfect 9-0 record on the season and is the only Knights wrestler yet to lose a match.
Despite these performances, a couple of Rutgers’ weight classes have struggled. The 174-pounders for the Knights have been a slight area for concern as both junior Jackson Turley and freshman Eric Freeman have not been able to put up a winning record. The pair currently sits at 5-6 for the weight class.
Junior 197-pounder Billy Janzer and sophomore 165-pounder Connor O’Neill have struggled early on with the Rutgers team, having a combined dual record of 4-9.
If the Knights want to truly compete in the Big Ten Conference, they will need all weight classes to start performing at a higher level.
The Rutgers wrestling team's next matches will be at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championship in Evanston, Illinois. The events will take place on December 29 and December 30 and last all day.
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