The victory concluded “Greek/Embrace Kids Day,” as the Rutgers wrestling program garnered a contribution for the Embrace Kids Foundation due to the packed crowd, courtesy of a generous RU donor. Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Julie Hermann was on hand for the festivities, as former Rutgers football standouts and current NFL stars Jason and Devin McCourty also made an appearance at the College Ave. Gym.
In all, 1,295 fans packed into “The Barn” to lead to the Embrace Kids contribution despite the snowy conditions. After the second bout of the match, head coach Scott Goodale presented a check for $5,000 to executive director of the Embrace Kids Foundation, Glenn Jenkins.
The win was the Scarlet Knights’ first since defeating American, 31-6, on Jan. 10 at the College Ave. Gym and improved the team’s record to 10-5 overall.
Lock Haven (3-10, 1-4 EWL) took its first lead of the match after earning a decision at 149 pounds. Mac Maldarelli narrowly edged sophomore Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.), scoring a takedown 41 seconds into sudden victory to win, 5-3. The win was the Bald Eagles’ third in a row after redshirt freshman 125-pounder Sean McCabe (Connetquot, N.Y.) won by a major decision, 11-1, over Kaleb LeMaire to give RU a 15-6 lead.
However, Perrotti won convincingly to seal the win, topping Elias Biddle 8-1 with 2:05 of riding time. No. 19/15/18 redshirt sophomore heavyweight Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) won his ninth consecutive match, 10-0, over Lock Haven’s Brad Emerick in his bout, while redshirt junior 165-pounder Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, N.J.) returned to the win column in the opening bout with a hard-fought, 5-4 decision.
Sophomore Ethan Orr (Branchville, N.J.) made his Scarlet Knight debut at 184 pounds, but fell, 7-3, to Lock Haven’s Fred Garcia.
The Scarlet Knights wrap up the regular season on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. against Drexel at the RAC. Former UFC Champion Frankie Edgar will be on hand to sign autographs for an hour prior to the match, as RU will send off its two seniors – 133-pounder Vinnie Dellefave (Toms River, N.J.) and 184-pounder Dan Seidenberg (Red Bank, N.J.).
Results:
165: Nick Visicaro (RU) dec. over Jacob Kemerer (LHU), 5-4; Rutgers leads, 3-0.
174: Phil Bakuckas (RU) major dec. over Travis Moyer (LHU), 13-2; Rutgers leads, 7-0.
184: Fred Garcia (LHU) dec. over Ethan Orr (RU), 10-7; Rutgers leads, 7-3.
197: Phil Sprenkle (LHU) dec. over Hayden Hrymack (RU), 5-2; Rutgers leads, 7-6.
HWT: No. 19/15/18 Billy Smith (RU) major dec. over Brad Emerick (LHU), 10-0; Rutgers leads, 11-6.
125: Sean McCabe (RU) major dec. over Kaleb LeMaire (LHU), 11-1; Rutgers leads, 15-6.
133: Cody Wheeler (LHU) dec. over Vinnie Dellefave (RU), 3-2; Rutgers leads, 15-9.
141: Dan Neff (LHU) major dec. over Tyson Dippery (RU), 10-2; Rutgers leads, 15-13.
149: Mac Maldarelli (LHU) dec. over Ken Theobold (RU), 5-3; Lock Haven leads, 16-15.
157: Anthony Perrotti (RU) dec. over Elias Biddle (LHU), 8-1; Rutgers wins, 18-16.
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