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    Rutgers downs Michigan State

    EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Using wins in seven out of 10 bouts, No. 24 Rutgers wrestling (7-1, 2-1) defeated Michigan State (4-4, 0-2), 25-12, on Sunday afternoon at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan. The Scarlet Knights won the first seven matches against the Spartans, including ranked decisions from Sammy Alvarez (133) and Billy Janzer (184) for the first Big Ten Conference road victory of the season.

    Gerard Angelo (149) earned his second win by bonus in Big Ten action with his major decision, JoJo Aragona (141) added six team points after an injury default in the third period of his match while No. 17 Nicolas Aguilar, No. 19 Jordan Pagano (197), Alex Esposito (HWT) all added decisions to help RU to its fifth win over the Spartans in program history.

    The match of the dual may have occurred in the opening seven minutes on Sunday, as Janzer faced No. 18 Cameron Caffey in a rematch from the 2019 Navy Classic, a match Janzer lost, 6-4. Janzer landed two takedowns in the second period, and after a Caffey escape, held on with an escape at the buzzer for the 6-4 decision. The win was Janzer's second win over a ranked opponent during the weekend road swing, as he also took out No. 26 (The Open Mat) Rocky Jordan in Rutgers' dual loss to No. 5 Ohio State on Friday in Columbus.

    Alvarez also avenged an early-season loss in his rematch, as he took on No. 25 Garrett Pepple. Trailing 3-0 in the third period but with more than a minute of riding time, Alvarez worked a takedown after a scramble to force sudden victory. Pepple then missed on a single leg, allowing Alvarez to sweep over for the 5-3 final.

    Several other Scarlet Knights also impressed against the Spartans, as Esposito was thrust into action against No. 33 (The Open Mat) Christain Rebottaro. After conceding the first takedown, Esposito responded with a takedown at the 30 second mark in the first period for a 3-2 lead. Esposito nearly caught Rebottaro on his back on several occasions and collected more than two minutes of riding time in his 5-2 victory.

    Aguilar and Pagano added decisions to give RU a 15-0 lead at intermission. Aragona followed the break against Jaden Enriquez and landed a takedown in the second period for a 3-1 lead before his opponent withdrew due to injury. Angelo followed with a dominant 16-5 major decision over Alex Hrisopoulos – which included back-to-back four-point near falls – to make it 25-0 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. MSU responded with three consecutive wins to close out the dual, but the team score was already out of reach.

    UP NEXT
    Rutgers returns home to host No. 19 Cornell Friday night at the RAC. The match begins at 7 p.m. and will stream live via BTNPlus.

    Results:
    184: Billy Janzer (RU) over NR/18/20 Cameron Caffey (MSU) by decision, 6-4; Rutgers leads, 3-0
    197: 19/17/20 Jordan Pagano (RU) over Nick May (MSU) by decision, 3-1; Rutgers leads, 6-0
    285: Alex Esposito (RU) over NR/NR/33 Christian Rebottaro (MSU) by decision, 5-2; Rutgers leads, 9-0
    125: 17/14/14 Nicolas Aguilar (RU) over Julian Saldana (MSU) by decision, 7-1; Rutgers leads, 12-0
    133: 9/11/9 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over NR/25/31 Garrett Pepple (MSU) by decision (SV1), 5-3; Rutgers leads, 15-0
    141: JoJo Aragona (RU) over Jaden Enriquez (MSU) by injury default (6:19); Rutgers leads, 21-0
    149: Gerard Angelo (RU) over Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) by major decision, 16-5; Rutgers leads, 25-0
    157: 18/21/15 Jake Tucker (MSU) over Michael VanBrill (RU) by fall (4:04); Rutgers leads, 25-6
    165: Brett Donner (RU) NR/NR/28 Drew Hughes (MSU) over Brett Donner (RU) by decision, 10-6; Rutgers leads, 25-9
    174: Layne Malczewski (MSU) over NR/19/18 Joseph Grello (RU) by decision, 11-10; Rutgers wins, 25-12

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