The Scarlet Knights produced wins in six bouts during their dual with the Wildcats, as No. 20 Scott DelVecchio (133), Michael Van Brill (141) and No. 12 Nicholas Gravina (184) also contributed individual victories. The win marked the second in Big Ten Conference action during 2017-18 and was the third ranked dual victory for RU this season.
"Anytime you get a win in the Big Ten on the road against a nationally-ranked program, it's big," said head coach Scott Goodale. "I thought we wrestled hard again. We backed up our Penn State effort with another really good effort and we won a lot of close matches, which is important."
Suriano faced No. 10 Sebastian Rivera.to start the dual, a rematch from when they both squared off at the Midlands Championships back in December. Suriano collected a takedown in the first period, escaped in the third and added the riding time point for the 4-1 decision over Rivera.
The win moved Suriano to 20-0 on the season, as the Bergen Catholic product now owns a perfect 11-0 mark in dual action with victories over five ranked opponents. Suriano defeated Rivera, 7-6, in the semifinal bout at Midlands in their first meeting.
Decisions from DelVecchio and Michael Van Brill followed, as Rutgers sprinted out to a 9-0 lead on the Wildcats.
DelVecchio trailed Colin Valdiviez, 4-3, after two periods, but landed a takedown with 1:40 left in the match to regain a 5-4 lead. Another takedown followed in the closing seconds of the match, as DelVecchio left Patten Gym with an 8-4 decision.
Michael Van Brill also muscled a win for the Scarlet Knights, courtesy of his 5-1 decision over Alec McKenna. Van Brill earned a takedown in the first period, rode McKenna out in period two and added an escape and takedown in the final two minutes for the result.
After a 9-3 loss from No. 12 Eleazar DeLuca (149) to No. 5 Ryan Deakin put Northwestern on the team scoreboard, John Van Brill followed with an exclamation mark. The Mullica Hill, New Jersey, native got Shayne Oster on his back for the fall at 2:43, his fourth pin of the season and second in dual action.
After five bouts, Rutgers led Northwestern, 15-3.
Lewis continued the momentum for the Scarlet Knights, outworking Michael Sepke for the 10-2 major decision. Up 7-2 with 17 seconds left in the match, Lewis delivered his fourth takedown of the night by almost driving Sepke into the scorer's table. The riding time point gave Lewis his fifth major of the season and put Rutgers ahead, 19-3
A close loss by Joseph Grello (174) to No. 17 Johnny Sebastian made it 19-6. Gravina followed with another gritty performance, this time against former NCAA qualifier Mitch Sliga. An escape by Gravina was the only difference after two periods, but Gravina earned the riding time point while Sliga was hit with a caution. Gravina would win the bout, 3-0, and secure the dual match for Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights return to action on Sunday (Feb. 4), when they compete at No. 14 Illinois for a 2 p.m. dual on BTN2Go.
Knight Notes
• The win marked the third over a ranked foe this season. Rutgers has defeated No. 17 Northwestern, then-No. 19 Oklahoma (Nov. 11), then-No. 24 North Carolina (Jan. 12) in 2017-18.
• Rutgers moved to 3-0 all-time against the Wildcats.
• Goodale now owns 159 wins for his career, passing Deane Oliver for second most in program history. Goodale needs just eight more victories to surpass John Sacchi for the all-time mark at Rutgers. Sacchi owns 166 career wins.
• Surinao is now 5-0 against ranked Intermat foes this season, outscoring them 27-9 in those matches.
• Lewis has now captured victories in seven of his last eight outings, which includes ranked victories over then-No. 11 Isaiah White (Nebraska), then-No. 11 Te'shan Campbell (Ohio State) and then-no. 13 Anthony Valenica (Arizona State).
• This was the third dual that both John and Michael Van Brill delivered wins. They also both had victories in duals against Oklahoma and Hofstra this season.
• Willie Scott made his 2017-18 dual debut, competing at 197 pounds.
Results:
125: No. 1/1/2 Nick Suriano (RU) dec. No. 10/10/7 Sebastian Rivera (NU), 4-1 | RU 3, NU 0
133: No. 20/16/15 Scott DelVecchio (RU) dec. Colin Valdiviez (NU), 8-5 | RU 6, NU 0
141: Michael Van Brill (RU) dec. Alec McKenna (NU), 5-1 | RU 9, NU 0
149: No. 5/9/4 Ryan Deakin (NU) dec. No. 12/12/10 Eleazar DeLuca (RU), 9-3 | RU 9, NU 3
157: No. 17/15/16 John Van Brill (RU) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 2:43 | RU 15, NU 3
165: No. 11/11/11 Richie Lewis (NU) maj. dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 10-2 | RU 19, NU 3
174: No. 17/17/17 Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Joe Grello (RU), 5-2 | RU 19, NU 6
184: No. 12/13/11 Nicholas Gravina (RU) dec. Mitch Sliga (NU), 3-0 | RU 22, NU 6
197: Zack Chakonis (NU) maj. dec. Willie Scott (RU), 8-0 | RU 22, NU 10
285: Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Razohnn Gross (RU), 3-0 | RU 22, NU 13
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