“It was a good win for us in our Big Ten opener,†said head coach Scott Goodale. “We lost a couple of nationally-ranked matches which kind of doesn't sit great right now, but that's the sport. We'll take it. We're not going to apologize for a Big Ten win and we just have to move on to Midlands now and have a good second semester.â€
Paetzell got RU off to a fast start with a 12-4 major decision over UMD's Alex Vargas. Paetzell had four takedowns against Vargas, including two in the third period to earn the win against Vargas and put Rutgers up, 4-0.
DelVecchio defeated Maryland's Michael Beck, 14-6, in the following bout at 133 pounds. The South Plainfield, New Jersey, native went to work early with three takedowns in the opening period to contribute to his major decision while increasing the Scarlet Knights' lead, 8-0.
No. 6 141 pounder Anthony Ashnault extended RU's advantage to 11-0 with a 5-1 decision over UMD's Billy Rappo. Ashnault had takedowns in both the first and second periods to hold on to the win.
In the only ranked versus ranked match of the afternoon, No. 15 Ken Theobold fell to No. 12 Alfred Bannister, 3-2, as Bannister remained undefeated on the season. After a scoreless first period, Bannister recorded an escape in the second period to go up on Theobold, 1-0. Theobold added two escapes of his own, but Bannister's takedown in the third stanza proved to be the deciding factor in the 3-2 decision.
Competing for the first time as a ranked grappler, No. 20 John Van Brill was upset by Justin Alexander at 157 pounds, which made it just 11-6 Rutgers after five bouts. Alexander produced a six-point combo with his takedown and near fall in the first period, and Van Brill was unable to recover in the 7-4 loss.
After intermission, the Scarlet Knights collected three-straight victories to put the dual out of reach. Redshirt freshman 165-pounder Willie Scott defeated Danny Boychuck by decision, 5-1, and senior 174-pounder Phillip Bakuckas just missed a major decision with his 8-2 win over Sam Rowell. Gravina's 11-3 major decision against Maryland's Idris White extended RU's lead to 21-6.
Rutgers dropped its final two bouts of the afternoon, as freshman Matthew Correnti was shutout by David-Brian Whisler, 8-0, and heavyweight Marc McDonald suffered a 9-3 defeat by Youssif Hemida.
The Scarlet Knights are back in action Dec. 29-30 at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois.
Results:
125: Brandon Paetzell (RU) major decision over Alex Vargas (MD), 12-4 (0-4)
133: Scott DelVecchio (RU) major decision over Michael Beck (MD), 14-6 (0-8)
141: (6/6/6) Anthony Ashnault (RU) decision over Billy Rappo (MD), 5-1 (0-11)
149: #12 Alfred Bannister (MD) decision over (15/12/12) Ken Theobold (RU), 3-2 (3-11)
157: Justin Alexander (MD) decision over (20/NR/11) John Van Brill (RU), 7-4 (6-11)
165: Willie Scott (RU) decision over Danny Boychuck (MD), 5-1 (6-14)
174: Phillip Bakuckas (RU) decision over Sam Rowell (MD), 8-2 (6-17)
184: (12/12/10) Nicholas Gravina (RU) major decision over Idris White (MD), 11-3 (6-21)
197: David-Brian Whisler (MD) major decision over Matthew Correnti (RU), 8-0 (10-21)
285: Youssif Hemida (MD) decision over Marc McDonald (RU), 9-3 (13-21)
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
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