Rutgers wrestling looks to extend winning streak in Sunday match against Princeton
After winning both matches in the Garden State Grapple tournament and winning the first ranked dual of the year, the No. 17 Rutgers wrestling team looks for another win this weekend against Princeton. This match will be the latest installment of the B1G-IVY rivalry this season.
The Scarlet Knights (5-1, 0-0) look to stay on their hot streak as they have won three duals in a row and have outscored their opponents 65-40 during that span. The Tigers (0-3, 0-0) will be coming into this matchup looking to get their first win of the season. Rutgers will be coming in as favorites against Princeton due to its big 19-12 win against UPenn this past Sunday.
157-pound sophomore Andrew Clark will have a tough matchup on Sunday because he is the projected starter to wrestle Quincy Monday. Monday is ranked the number one wrestler in his weight class and will be the highest-ranked wrestler that Clark has seen all season.
This won't be the first time some of the wrestlers have wrestled each other this season. Either 125-pound sophomores Dylan Shawver or Dean Peterson will look to get revenge on the Tigers' No. 2 Patrick Glory, who bested both of them in the Princeton Open earlier this year.
In addition, many other wrestlers on both sides have seen each other before. The Knights are returning five starting wrestlers from their previous matchup with Princeton while the Tigers are returning seven starters. Rutgers was victorious in the previous meeting defeating Princeton 24-13. The Knights lead the all-time wrestling series 44-36-5.
Wrestlers like junior 285-pounder Boone McDermott and junior 141-pounder Sammy Alvarez will look to keep their undefeated streaks alive on Sunday, as they both are yet to lose a match this season. McDermott is 8-0 while Alvarez is 6-0.
Rutgers has its sights set on a good performance this Sunday since this is the Knights' first match on a large broadcast. While this dual is in New Jersey and plenty of Rutgers fans are expected to show up, it is yet another dual in an unusually long road trip for the Knights who will not be returning to Piscataway until January for a match against Michigan State.
The Tigers ended a 30-year losing drought over the Knights when they defeated them 18-15 in 2020.
The dual will start at 2 p.m. at Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton and will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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