“They've got some really, really talented kids. Let me tell you, this one kept me up at night, no doubt about it,†said head coach Scott Goodale. “I thought they matched up really well with us and we needed to beat some nationally ranked guys to get this done at 28-6.â€
The dual began at 184 pounds, where Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.) came out firing in a convincing 7-1 win against No. 19 Abram Ayala. Gravina moves 15-6 with the win.
Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.) fought back to within one point of No. 11 Brett Harner a match later at 197 pounds, but could not recover from an early hole in an 8-4 loss.
The decision tied the dual, 3-3, but that was as close as Princeton (4-6, 3-3) would come to the Scarlet Knights (13-3, 3-2).
Rutgers won from heavyweight to 165 pounds, mixing in bonus points, tight wins, and dominance.
No. 13 Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) eased his way to a 10-4 decision at heavyweight before No. 20 Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) survived a 4-1 decision against Pat D'Arcy at 125 pounds.
Both wrestlers maintained their recent winning ways. Smith (19-5) has won five consecutive matches, with McCabe taking his fourth in a row.
No. 18 Anthony Giraldo (Guttenberg, N.J.) scored the first win by fall of his young RU career in 3:55 against Trey Aslanian. Giraldo's win got him back in the win column at 14-8 overall.
“It was good for him to get out there and score points and get a fall. We needed a fall somewhere,†Goodale said.
At 141 pounds, No. 6 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) got back to bonus points in a 10-2 major decision against Jordan Laster. A four-point near fall to close the first period helped the Scarlet Knight to the major, which was his team-leading eighth this season. Ashnault is the first Scarlet Knight to reach 20 wins this season at 20-2.
Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, Pa.) battled through a wild match at 149 pounds, ultimately escaping for a 6-5 victory as time winded down.
Chris Perez took Dippery (13-8) down with 1:26 remaining in the match to cut Dippery's lead to 5-4. Perez then controlled Dippery to secure riding time, but needed to hold Dippery on the mat until the period ended to force sudden victory.
Dippery, battling from bottom with the clock dwindling, flipped to his feet for an escape and fought Perez off until the final horn.
“Dippery needed one of those,†Goodale said. “He's got to get himself in that top-20 so he can qualify the weight for the Big Ten Tournament. That match was huge.â€
No. 17 Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J.) won his third consecutive match by defeating a tough NCAA qualifying opponent in Adam Krop. Lewis (17-3) was in control from start to finish and got himself a 7-4 win.
The final Rutgers win of the day went to No. 8 Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) at 165 pounds. With his 9-5 decision against Judd Ziegler, the 2014 All-American improved to 16-2 overall and 14-1 in duals. He's won four-straight.
Princeton ended the dual with a 6-3 win from No. 14 Jonathan Schleifer at 174 pounds. Bakuckas (12-9) brought the match to within one but could not get to Schleifer for a takedown before the match ended.
With the win Rutgers improved to 41-35-5 against Princeton all-time.
The Scarlet Knights return to Big Ten competition next weekend at the Rutgers Athletic Center in a critical stretch. RU hosts Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m., followed by No. 8 Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. Both matches will stream live on BTN Plus.
Results:
184: Nicholas Gravina (RU) dec. over No. 19/18/20 Abram Ayala (PU), 7-1; Rutgers leads, 3-0
197: No. 11/8/8 Brett Harner (PU) dec. over Hayden Hrymack (RU), 8-4; Dual tied, 3-3
285: No. 13/15/12 Billy Smith (RU) dec. over Ray O'Donnell (PU), 10-4; Rutgers leads, 6-3
125: No. 20/NR/NR Sean McCabe (RU) dec. over Pat D'Arcy (PU), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 9-3
133: No. 18/19/18 Anthony Giraldo (RU) wins by fall over Trey Aslanian (PU), 3:55; Rutgers leads, 15-3
141: No. 6/4/6 Anthony Ashnault (RU) major dec. over Jordan Laster (PU), 10-2; Rutgers leads, 19-3
149: Tyson Dippery (RU) dec. over No. NR/NR/19 Chris Perez (PU), 6-5; Rutgers leads, 22-3
157: No. 17/19/13 Richie Lewis (RU) dec. over Adam Krop (PU), 7-4; Rutgers leads, 25-3
165: No. 8/5/4 Anthony Perrotti (RU) dec. over Judd Ziegler (PU), 9-5; Rutgers leads, 28-3
174: No. 14/15/11 Jonathan Schleifer (PU) dec. over No. NR/19/NR Phillip Bakuckas (RU), 6-3; Rutgers wins, 28-6
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / FloWrestling/The Open Mat
NR denotes not ranked
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