RU (10-4, 1-4 Big Ten) won seven of 10 matches to pick up its first road win since Dec. 14, 2013 at Princeton and made it nine-straight seasons of double-digit victories for the program. The 24 points and seven bout victories were the most for the program in Big Ten competition.
“We took a nice step today winning our first Big Ten dual,” said eighth-year head coach Scott Goodale. “It’s nice to get back on the winning track and I’m really proud of our guys for fighting through a heck of a stretch. They continued to stay positive and they really wanted this match.”
125-pounder Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) set the tone for the match with a 3-1 decision against Josh Polacek, finishing the match with a takedown at 0:46 to seal the win. The redshirt sophomore is now 13-5 overall and 9-3 in dual competition.
Sophomore 133-pounder Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.) earned a huge win a bout later, taking a 10-4 decision against No. 14/10/13 Geoffrey Alexander for his first ranked win of the 2014-15 campaign. DelVecchio was the aggressor for the full seven minutes, never surrendering a takedown and scoring the final two with time winding down.
No. 7/8/9 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) scored the only takedown of his match with No. NR/17/NR Shyheim Brown in a 3-1 win. Ashnault (17-3) is tied for the team-best wins mark, has won three-straight and owns a team-high 13-1 dual record.
Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.) continued his hot streak with a 15-0 tech fall against Ben Dorsay – his first this season. Theobold (17-4), who registered 11 near fall points in the win, has won four consecutive matches and, along with Ashnault, has a 4-1 Big Ten record.
Maryland (5-10, 0-4) won its first match of the day by tech fall at 157 pounds, cutting the RU lead to 14-5. But Rutgers responded with three-straight wins at 165, 174 and 184 to end the day on top.
Redshirt senior 165-pounder Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, N.J.) earned his first dual win of 2014-15, which was also his first since an 8-4 decision against Drexel’s Jason Fugiel on Feb. 21, 2014.
The match was tied, 1-1, with Visicaro starting down in the third, but an escape 21 seconds into the period followed by a takedown 30 seconds later made it a 4-1 final score.
174-pounder Phil Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.) ended a three-match losing streak with a 4-3 decision against Josh Snook. Snook was the first opponent for Bakuckas ranked outside the top five in nearly a month, as he improved to 16-7 overall.
The Scarlet Knights’ final win of the afternoon also sealed the dual victory. After Maryland’s Tony Gardner escaped to start the second period and make it a 2-2 match, Pafumi put his foot on the throttle.
A takedown with 38 seconds left in the second stanza gave Pafumi some cushion, but another takedown and three back points as time expired allowed the 184-pounder to earn a major decision.
197-pounder Andrew Campolattno (Bound Brook, N.J.) suffered a difficult loss, 6-4, getting taken down with 12 seconds remaining in the third period.
Heavyweight Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) also dropped a tough one, 5-3, in sudden victory two after being whistled for a pair of stalls, both coming in the third period.
The Scarlet Knights will hit the road again next weekend, when the team travels to take on No. 12 Nebraska at the Devaney Center.
Results:
125: Sean McCabe (RU) dec. over Josh Polacek (UMD), 3-1; Rutgers leads, 3-0
133: No. NR/17/NR Scott DelVecchio (RU) dec. over No. 14/10/13 Geoffrey Alexander (UMD), 10-4; Rutgers leads, 6-0
141: No. 7/8/9 Anthony Ashnault (RU) dec. over No. NR/17/NR Shyheim Brown (UMD), 3-1; Rutgers leads, 9-0
149: No. NR/NR/17 Ken Theobold (RU) tech fall over Ben Dorsay (UMD), 15-0; Rutgers leads, 14-0
157: Lou Mascola (UMD) tech fall over Dylan Painton (RU), 16-1; Rutgers leads, 14-5
165: Nick Visicaro (RU) dec. over Tyler Manion (UMD), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 17-5
174: No. 20/15/18 Phil Bakuckas (RU) dec. over Josh Snook (UMD), 4-3; Rutgers leads, 20-5
184: Anthony Pafumi (RU) major dec. over Tony Gardner (UMD), 11-2; Rutgers leads, 24-5
197: Rob Fitzgerald (UMD) dec. over No. NR/18/NR Andrew Campolattano (RU), 6-4; Rutgers leads, 24-8
285: No. 10/11/NR Spencer Myers (UMD) dec. over No. 13/13/14 Billy Smith (RU), 5-3 (SV2); Rutgers wins, 24-11
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