Nick Suriano picked up a technical fall in his Rutgers debut (Photo/Juan Garcia)PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- No. 12 Rutgers wrestling produced a statement victory to start the 2017-18 season, as it defeated Maryland, 27-9, in Big Ten Conference action at High Point Solutions Stadium. The Scarlet Knights secured seven individual victories in the match win, including two major decisions from redshirt senior 157-pounder Richie Lewis and redshirt freshman 197-pounder Kevin Mulligan and tech falls from redshirt junior 165-pounder John Van Brill and sophomore 125-pounder Nick Suriano.
It marked the second consecutive season the Scarlet Knights registered a dual win at HPSS, as RU defeated Princeton last season, 19-16, in front of the second largest crowd in NCAA history.
"Obviously, I felt we wrestled really well in some spots and struggled in others, but it's early and we have time to get there," said head coach Scott Goodale. "It's a good win and a good start to the Big Ten season. We just need to keep getting better moving forward and that's what we're going to do."
No. 3 Suriano shined in his Scarlet Knight debut, as the Paramus, New Jersey native registered eight takedowns, with his final one midway through the final period securing a 24-7 tech fall over Maryland's Brandon Cray. It marked Suriano's first win at Rutgers, as the highly touted sophomore competed for the first time since he transferred from Penn State in September.
"It felt really good," Suriano said. "I'm happy and lucky I'm here. I'm just happy I'm here standing in New Jersey performing the way I do."
From there, Rutgers captured two of its next three bouts, with redshirt senior No. 12 133-pounder Scott DelVecchio and redshirt senior 149-pounder Eleazar DeLuca posting decisions in their respective duals. DelVecchio defeated Michael Doetsch, 11-5, while Deluca bested Adam Whitesell, 10-4.
In his first collegiate action since he faced Princeton at High Point Solutions Stadium, No. 8 Lewis earned a major decision over Kyle Cochran, 13-4, thanks to six takedowns. Van Brill cruised to a 15-0 tech fall over Brendan Burnham in the following match, with his near fall at the 1:03 mark in the third period sealing the win.
From there, No. 10 redshirt senior Nicholas Gravina stole the show thanks to his display of toughness and determination. Gravina's shoulder popped after a takedown from opponent Jaron Smith, putting Gravina down 2-0 in the opening period. With the help of athletic trainer John Taggart, Gravina popped the shoulder back in and proceeded to outscore Smith, 10-2, in the next two periods for the win.
"The initial reaction is to try and get this thing back in," Gravina said. "The next thought was to relax, get back in this match and give it all we got."
Maryland's Josh Ugalde earned an upset win over No. 16 redshirt junior 174-pounder Jordan Pagano, 8-3, but Mulligan responded in the following match. In his dual debut, Mulligan made a statement with his 11-2 major decision over Nick Cappello. Mulligan had five takedowns in his Scarlet Knight dual debut to put Rutgers up, 27-6, with one match to wrestle.
Rutgers returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 11, when the Scarlet Knights compete in the Journymen Duals in Clifton Park, New York, against No. 19 Oklahoma and Virginia.
Results:
125: No. 3/3/4 Nick Suriano (RU) tech fall over Brandon Cray (UMD), 24-7; Rutgers leads, 5-0
133: No. 12/11/11 Scott DelVecchio (RU) dec. over Michael Doetsch (UMD), 11-5; Rutgers leads, 8-0
141: No. 14/10/14 Ryan Diehl (UMD) dec. over Michael Van Brill (RU), 10-9; Rutgers leads, 8-3
149: Eleazar DeLuca (RU) dec. over Adam Whitesell (UMD), 10-4: Rutgers leads, 11-3
157: No. 8/7/14/ Richie Lewis (RU) major dec. over Kyle Cochran (UMD), 13-4; Rutgers leads, 15-3
165: John Van Brill (RU) tech fall over Brendan Burnham (UMD), 15-0; Rutgers leads, 20-3
174: Josh Ugalde (UMD) dec. over No. 16/16/17 Jordan Pagano (RU), 8-3: Rutgers leads, 20-6
184: No. 10/10/7 Nicholas Gravina (RU) dec. over Jaron Smith (UMD), 10-4; Rutgers leads, 23-6
197: Kevin Mulligan (RU) major dec. over Nick Capello (UMD), 11-2; Rutgers leads, 27-6
HWT: No. 13/17/11Yousiff Hemida (UMD) dec. over Razohnn Gross (RU), 7-1; Rutgers wins the dual, 27-9
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
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