"We were aggressive," said head coach Scott Goodale. "We got on their legs right away, which was really our theme all week long, even leading into Sunday. For us to win this match, we have to get on these guys' legs. It needs to be seven minutes worth of pressure, so we did a good job of that tonight."
Suriano started the dual off fast for Rutgers against Jacob Martin, racing to a 14-2 lead after the first period with three takedowns and two four-point near falls. His fifth takedown of the match in the second period secured the 19-3 tech fall over Martin, Suriano's seventh of the season and fourth in dual action.
DelVecchio also started strong in his bout with Vinny Vespa, as the South Plainfield, New Jersey, native had a four-point near fall at the end of the first period for an early 8-1 lead. DelVecchio outscored Vespa, 7-2, in the final two periods for a 15-3 major decision to give Rutgers a 9-0 lead after two bouts.
Michael Van Brill started his match with two near falls, which contributed to an 8-0 lead on Charlie Kane after period one. Van Brill continued to score on Kane until he got him on his back for his first pin in dual action at the 4:17 mark in the match. The six-point victory extended the Scarlet Knights' lead, 15-0.
"Every match you try to look for the best position in each situation," Van Brill said. "I saw the position and got the fall and it worked out fine for me."
After back-to-back appearances against top-five opponents, DeLuca used six takedowns over the course of three periods to keep his distance against Conor Muli. DeLuca's final takedown of the match, along with the riding time point, gave him a 14-5 final, his first major decision during the dual season.
John Van Brill sent the fans into a frenzy heading into the intermission. Leading 7-4 after the first period, Van Brill started on bottom in period two. At the 1:36 mark in the second period, Van Brill flung Chris Mauriello for a reversal, quickly securing the pin at the 3:28 mark in the match. It was Van Brill's first pin of the dual season.
"Any time you see a fall at this level, it's pretty exciting," Goodale said. "It helps the pin pool, and it's good to put someone on their back, get them off the mat and finish it and move on. Good for these guys."
After a 2-0 score at the end of the first period, Lewis took control of his match with Ricky Stamm with three takedowns and a two-point near fall for a 10-4 lead with one period left. Lewis kept scoring on Stamm, and his takedown at the 18-second mark of the final period led to a 22-6 tech fall. Lewis has now won five consecutive bouts at 165 pounds and is 9-2 this season.
Joseph Grello (174) added an 11-4 major decision, while Gravina muscled a 12-1 major decision courtesy of four takedowns to give Rutgers a 37-0 lead on the Pride. Hofstra would close out the dual with wins at 197 pounds and heavyweight.
It will be a quick turnaround for Rutgers, who faces No. 18 Nebraska this Sunday (Jan. 21) at 2 p.m. in Lincoln. The match will be streamed on BTN Plus.
"We've normally done a really good job of locking in on the task at hand, and that's what we need to do," Goodale said. "There's adversity right now. We have to wake up early, get on a plain, get out to Lincoln, train and get our weight off. That's Big Ten wrestling, and you have to face it and embrace that adversity."
Knight Notes
• Rutgers improved its all-time record against Hofstra to 14-9-1, which includes wins in 10 of the programs' last 11 matchups.
• Nick Suriano collected his seventh tech fall of the season and fourth in dual action. Suriano has now outscored his opponents, 124-34, in eight dual matches this season and 235-57 overall in 2017-18.
• Scott DelVecchio now has 76 career varsity wins, which puts him tied for 38th all-time in program history.
• Michael Van Brill owns five dual wins this season, and recorded his first pin of the dual campaign against the Pride.
• John Van Brill added his third pin of the 2017-18 season and first in dual action
• Richie Lewis has now won five consecutive bouts at 165 pounds, which includes two ranked wins (5-2 decision over No. 13 Anthony Valencia and a 5-2 decision over No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell).
• Scott Goodale now needs two more victories for 160 in his career at Rutgers.
• Rutgers now closes out its dual season with ranked opponents in six of its last seven matches, including six consecutive ranked dual bouts.
Sunday, January 21 at No. 18 Nebraska
Sunday, January 28 vs. No. 1 Penn State
Friday, February 4 at No. 20 Northwestern
Sunday, February 4 at No. 14 Illinois
Friday, February 9 vs. No. 13 Minnesota
Friday, 16 at No. 21 Wisconsin
Results:
125: No. 2/2/2 Nick Suriano (RU) tech fall over Jacob Martin (HOF), 19-3: RU leads, 5-0
133: No. 17/14/12 Scott DelVecchio (RU) major decision over Vinny Vespa (HOF), 15-3; RU leads, 9-0
141: Michael Van Brill (RU) fall (4:17) over Charlie Kane (HOF); RU leads, 15-0
149: No. 13/13/10 Eleazar DeLuca (RU) major decision over Connor Muli (HOF), 14-5; RU leads, 19-0
157: No. 18/17/14 John Van Brill (RU) fall (3:28) over Chris Mauriello (HOF); RU leads, 25-0
165: No. 12/12/11 Richie Lewis (RU) tech fall over Ricky Stamm (HOF), 22-6; RU leads, 30-0
174: Joseph Grello (RU) decision over Sage Heller (HOF), 11-4; RU leads, 33-0
184: No. 14/18/15 Nicholas Gravina (RU) major decision over Michael Oxley (HOF), 12-1; RU leads, 37-0
197: Nezar Haddad (HOF) decision over Kevin Mulligan (RU), 6-1; RU leads, 37-3
HWT: No. 9/9/8 Michael Hayes (HOF) fall (5:43) over Ralph Normandia (RU); RU wins dual, 37-9
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers wrestling, follow the program on Twitter (@RUWrestling) and Instagram (@RUWrestling). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now