MATCH THREAD #10 RU Wrestlers vs #3 Penn St (Intermat rankings), Friday 7pm BTN

[Abro1975]

Very tough match up against #3 Penn St this Friday night 7pm on regular BTN TV.

Ashnault may be the only favorite to win a match, although Penn St's 133 pounder Cortez missed last Sunday's match w an injury or illness so Del Vecchio may be a favorite against the sub.. Penn St has an excellent chance of being National Champions again, will probably have 2-3 champs and 6-7 All Americans.

With Intermat rankings :

Weight rank RU Wrestler vs rank Penn St Wrestler

125 UR, Brandon Paetzel vs #3 Nick Suriano

133 UR Scott Del Vecchio vs #13 Jererd Cortez or UR George Carpenter

141 #6 Anthony Ashnaut vs #12 Jimmy Gulibon

149 #14 Ken Theobold vs #1 Zain Retherford

157 #16 John Van Brill vs #1 Jason Nolf

165 UR Willie Scott vs #4 Vincenzo Joseph

174 UR Phil Bakuckas vs #14 Geno Morelli

184 #14 Nick Gravina vs #2 Bo Nickal

197 UR Matt Correnti vs # 11 Matt McCutcheon

285 UR Razohnn Gross vs # 4 Nick Nevills

 

[KidDagger]

Very tough match up against #3 Penn St this Friday night 7pm on regular BTN TV.

Ashnault may be the only favorite to win a match, although Penn St's 133 pounder Cortez missed last Sunday's match w an injury or illness so Del Vecchio may be a favorite against the sub.. Penn St has an excellent chance of being National Champions again, will probably have 2-3 champs and 6-7 All Americans.

With Internet rankings :

Weight rank RU Wrestler vs rank Penn St Wrestler

125 UR, Brandon Paetzel vs #3 Nick Suriano

133 UR Scott Del Vecchio vs #13 Jererd Cortez or UR George Carpenter

141 #6 Anthony Ashnaut vs #12 Jimmy Gulibon

149 #14 Ken Theobold vs #1 Zain Retherford

157 #16 John Van Brill vs #1 Jason Nolf

165 UR Willie Scott vs #4 Vincenzo Joseph

174 UR Phil Bakuckas vs #14 Geno Morelli

184 #14 Nick Gravina vs #2 Bo Nickal

197 UR Matt Correnti vs # 11 Matt McCutcheon

285 UR Razohnn Gross vs # 4 Nick Nevills

This is going to be one really tough matchup.. I'll be happy if we pull at least one upset somewhere..

 

[RU93]

wow...psu is loaded. so we have a shot at 133 and 141. hope ashnault is okay from the flu he had.

 

[RUMatFan]

This could be the match where Bakuckas puts it all together and gets the upset. I believe he can win this one.

 

[RUTrack94]

Wow is right ... On paper looks like single digits ... As long as we don't get shit out ... Sometimes people win the lottery, so hey you never know!

 

[Passe24]

Bak?????????? No chance. We should focus on wins we should hope to keep as little bonuss points losses as possible. Will be ugly. But most teams feel the pain against them

 

[KidDagger]

Bak?????????? No chance. We should focus on wins we should hope to keep as little bonuss points losses as possible. Will be ugly. But most teams feel the pain against them

Bak has one of the few winnable matches.. PSU is too loaded.. Like they have a legit blue chip(top 10 in overall class) recruit at every damn weight class..

 

[bigmatt718]

Agreed...PSU is just on another universe above RU right now. Hoping for 2 match wins (Ash and 1 upset), no injuries and to come back home and sweep Oregon State/Purdue at the RAC 2 weekends from now.

 

[RUTrack94]

Looking at the conference, can RU match or exceed last years 5th place finish?

 

[Jaroslav Hasek]

Looking at the conference, can RU match or exceed last years 5th place finish?

not likely. there are 8 B1G teams ranked ahead of them in both Flo and Intermat's tournament rankings. They're unranked with Flo (only ranks top 20) and 21st with Intermat.

Last year's team had a great conference tournament. They finished ahead of Michigan and Illinois at the B1Gs but were 20 points behind both of them at the NCAAs.

the team could have another could conference showing, but finishing higher than 5 would be extremely unlikely.

 

[RU in IM]

Wow is right ... On paper looks like single digits ... As long as we don't get shit out ... Sometimes people win the lottery, so hey you never know!

We got shit out when the shitliner didn't come through and transfer to RU.

 

[Ole Cabbagehead]

You give and you get. This is how some of our early season teams feel going up against us.

You guys think there is any chance we don't see Bak? The way Goodale has been switching up the lineup, I wonder if we see Pagano.

 

[Abro1975]

Here are team scores and places from last years Big10 Wrestling tourny:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/2016teamscores.pdf

We had a first (Ashnault), 2 fourths, 1 Fifth, 4 sixths, 1 seventh and 1 eight.. So in total everyone placed (14 teams).
This year we may have difficulty placing at 285, possibly 197 and 165. So I'm thinking, without putting a lot of thought into it, We are going to slip a spot or 2. Not too bad considering we lost Perrotti, an AA, and Smith , a near AA, and Lewis out injured .

 

[GOLDBANGER]

Here are team scores and places from last years Big10 Wrestling tourny:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/2016teamscores.pdf

We had a first (Ashnault), 2 fourths, 1 Fifth, 4 sixths, 1 seventh and 1 eight.. So in total everyone placed (14 teams).
This year we may have difficulty placing at 285, possibly 197 and 165. So I'm thinking, without putting a lot of thought into it, We are going to slip a spot or 2. Not too bad considering we lost Perrotti, an AA, and Smith , a near AA, and Lewis out injured .

Abro, you guys had a great B1G tournament last year and took the whole team to nationals. Great accomplishment. Ran into some RU fans at an Irish bar in NYC last year at nationals, bunch of good guys. Good luck this week and the rest of the season.

 

[HeyHuey]

Holy $#!t. Where is the break pint between first tier and second tier in wrestling? We're at 11 and wrestling Penn State at #2 is like going to another universe. Where is the line drawn?
1Oklahoma State (11) 5-0 395
2Penn State (5) 6-0 388
3Iowa 7-0 368
4Ohio State 6-0 353
5Virginia Tech 7-1 329
6Nebraska 7-1 317
7Cornell 4-1 298
8Lehigh 5-1 283
9Missouri 5-2 268
10NC State 4-1 258
11Rutgers 7-1 243

 

[Abro1975]

Holy $#!t. Where is the break pint between first tier and second tier in wrestling? We're at 11 and wrestling Penn State at #2 is like going to another universe. Where is the line drawn?
1Oklahoma State (11) 5-0 395
2Penn State (5) 6-0 388
3Iowa 7-0 368
4Ohio State 6-0 353
5Virginia Tech 7-1 329
6Nebraska 7-1 317
7Cornell 4-1 298
8Lehigh 5-1 283
9Missouri 5-2 268
10NC State 4-1 258
11Rutgers 7-1 243

IMO, there is a huge drop off after the top 3 of (IMO) Penn St, Iowa, and Ok St. The fun thing is Iowa wrestles Penn St and Ok St back to back on Jan 15 & 20. I think they lose to Penn St and beat Ok St. Then they face Ohio St after Ok St.
IMO, Ohio St are closer to Nebraska and Va Tech than the first 3 who are head and shoulders above anyone else in D1 wrestling both tourny and dual scoring. And after them there is a slighter drop off to Mizzou, Cornell and Mizzou rounding out the top 10 w probably Minn. I think RU matches up fairly close with Minn.

At the end of year in St Louis, only 4 teams make the podium (and 8 individual wrestlers per weight class) at the NCAA tourny, the top 3 you can almost write in now w Penn St, Iowa and Ok St, that 4th team fight will be very close w Va Tech , Nebraska, Ohio St and Cornell.

 

[ScarletGrapfan]

IMO, there is a huge drop off after the top 3 of (IMO) Penn St, Iowa, and Ok St. The fun thing is Iowa wrestles Penn St and Ok St back to back on Jan 15 & 20. I think they lose to Penn St and beat Ok St. Then they face Ohio St after Ok St.
IMO, Ohio St are closer to Nebraska and Va Tech than the first 3 who are head and shoulders above anyone else in D1 wrestling both tourny and dual scoring. And after them there is a slighter drop off to Mizzou, Cornell and Mizzou rounding out the top 10 w probably Minn. I think RU matches up fairly close with Minn.

At the end of year in St Louis, only 4 teams make the podium (and 8 individual wrestlers per weight class) at the NCAA tourny, the top 3 you can almost write in now w Penn St, Iowa and Ok St, that 4th team fight will be very close w Va Tech , Nebraska, Ohio St and Cornell.

I am picking Ohio State for 3rd this year. Iowa is still Iowa, but this is not one of their stronger teams(and yet they are ranked 3rd, must be nice!!).

 

[demauroj]

Holy $#!t. Where is the break pint between first tier and second tier in wrestling? We're at 11 and wrestling Penn State at #2 is like going to another universe. Where is the line drawn?
1Oklahoma State (11) 5-0 395
2Penn State (5) 6-0 388
3Iowa 7-0 368
4Ohio State 6-0 353
5Virginia Tech 7-1 329
6Nebraska 7-1 317
7Cornell 4-1 298
8Lehigh 5-1 283
9Missouri 5-2 268
10NC State 4-1 258
11Rutgers 7-1 243

IMO, there is a huge drop off after the top 3 of (IMO) Penn St, Iowa, and Ok St. The fun thing is Iowa wrestles Penn St and Ok St back to back on Jan 15 & 20. I think they lose to Penn St and beat Ok St. Then they face Ohio St after Ok St.
IMO, Ohio St are closer to Nebraska and Va Tech than the first 3 who are head and shoulders above anyone else in D1 wrestling both tourny and dual scoring. And after them there is a slighter drop off to Mizzou, Cornell and Mizzou rounding out the top 10 w probably Minn. I think RU matches up fairly close with Minn.

At the end of year in St Louis, only 4 teams make the podium (and 8 individual wrestlers per weight class) at the NCAA tourny, the top 3 you can almost write in now w Penn St, Iowa and Ok St, that 4th team fight will be very close w Va Tech , Nebraska, Ohio St and Cornell.

I was going to say top 4.

those 4 test all have a shot at a nation te title if things swing their way

 

[RU93]

I think next year we will be a top 5 team with AA, Lewis, Gravina dominating their weight class, not to mention the others all competing in top 20 (maybe not the heavy).

 

[bigmatt718]

IMO, there is a huge drop off after the top 3 of (IMO) Penn St, Iowa, and Ok St. The fun thing is Iowa wrestles Penn St and Ok St back to back on Jan 15 & 20. I think they lose to Penn St and beat Ok St. Then they face Ohio St after Ok St.
IMO, Ohio St are closer to Nebraska and Va Tech than the first 3 who are head and shoulders above anyone else in D1 wrestling both tourny and dual scoring. And after them there is a slighter drop off to Mizzou, Cornell and Mizzou rounding out the top 10 w probably Minn. I think RU matches up fairly close with Minn.

At the end of year in St Louis, only 4 teams make the podium (and 8 individual wrestlers per weight class) at the NCAA tourny, the top 3 you can almost write in now w Penn St, Iowa and Ok St, that 4th team fight will be very close w Va Tech , Nebraska, Ohio St and Cornell.

I'm wondering once the practice facilities are built, if RU can firmly vault into that 2nd tier with Nebraska, VT, OSU and ahead of Cornell, Lehigh, Mizzou and NC State on a regular basis. We have shown we can beat schools in those tiers, but are still a little behind them.

 

[bigmatt718]

I think next year we will be a top 5 team with AA, Lewis, Gravina dominating their weight class, not to mention the others all competing in top 20 (maybe not the heavy).

I think a year of S&C could have JVB as an AA dark horse as well.

 

[Jaroslav Hasek]

I'm wondering once the practice facilities are built, if RU can firmly vault into that 2nd tier with Nebraska, VT, OSU and ahead of Cornell, Lehigh, Mizzou and NC State on a regular basis. We have shown we can beat schools in those tiers, but are still a little behind them.

going by resources and history, Lehigh & Cornell are in the 2nd tier you mention, and VT would be in the one below.

Rutgers is currently below that 3rd tier. The new facilities are needed just to keep pace where they are now. the facilities plus full out of state scholarships and continued improvement could elevate the program to the next level, and maybe even the one above, but they have a long way to go.

 

[RU93]

I think a year of S&C could have JVB as an AA dark horse as well.

I agree. Also Giraldo if he continues to work hard. Deluca may be a force next year too in 149. DelVec and Paetzell too. We'll be loaded, and it'll be Rutgers' best wrestling team ever.

 

[Passe24]

Our team will be much better next year as far as dual record. This year we can hang tough and and take what we can. Illinois was a pleasant surprise especially how we got those late wins.

 

[HeyHuey]

Our team will be much better next year as far as dual record. This year we can hang tough and and take what we can. Illinois was a pleasant surprise especially how we got those late wins.

I recall the Michigan match last year at the RAC. We were up at the break and high-5ing and then the roof caved in. The point is that you need a 1927 Murder's Row...top to bottom... to compete at the higher level. Let's identify the facilities, scholarships and whatever else to get to the top because Wrestling is in our wheelhouse right now. Let's get there and then worry about FB, BB and the other sports that seem to require an entire culture change to attain.

 

[RU23]

Glasgow is another kid we're adding to the fold next year. He'll almost certainly be redshirting, but just another tough kid to add to the practice room to make us even more competitive.

 

[KidDagger]

I think a year of S&C could have JVB as an AA dark horse as well.

I beleive JVB could AA THIS YEAR

 

[bigmatt718]

I beleive JVB could AA THIS YEAR

He's certainly dangerous enough to be. I hope he makes Nolf sweat and can't wait for him to wrestle Murphy from Michigan.

 

[KidDagger]

I think next year we will be a top 5 team with AA, Lewis, Gravina dominating their weight class, not to mention the others all competing in top 20 (maybe not the heavy).

I think we are 1 or 2 pieces away from competing for a team trophy(top 4). Next year may be our best team ever but let's not forget all the usual powerhouses will be back too.. For example,
PSU may have SEVEN ncaa finalist next year (suriano, zain, nolf, nickal, Joseph, Mark hall, nevills).

 

[KidDagger]

He's certainly dangerous enough to be. I hope he makes Nolf sweat and can't wait for him to wrestle Murphy from Michigan.

Nolf has a 100% bonus rate this year and is just on another level. I beleive, JVB can beat Murphy though and JVB is having a lot of a better reg season then Perotti did when he first got AA.

 

[Jaroslav Hasek]

not trying to be a party pooper but there is no way Rutgers is a top 5 team next year. last year Iowa had 6 AAs and scored 81 points at the NCAAs and still finished 5th.

141 returns 4 guys ranked ahead of Ashnault. 157 returns the top 6 ranked guys. 165 will have Imar and Massa returning. 184 clears out but there will still be Bo Nickal and Myles Martin. I love watching Gravina but he just lost to Emory Parker.

a top 10 finish next year would be phenomenal, though very unlikely.

 

[KidDagger]

not trying to be a party pooper but there is no way Rutgers is a top 5 team next year. last year Iowa had 6 AAs and scored 81 points at the NCAAs and still finished 5th.

141 returns 4 guys ranked ahead of Ashnault. 157 returns the top 6 ranked guys. 165 will have Imar and Massa returning. 184 clears out but there will still be Bo Nickal and Myles Martin. I love watching Gravina but he just lost to Emory Parker.

a top 10 finish next year would be phenomenal, though very unlikely.

For the most part I would have to agree with u. Like I said, I think we are 1 or 2 additional elite wrestler that can Contend for AA status from making that jump to a Cornell, VT, Nebraska tier(they have solid guys at every weight with some serious aa contenders).

 

[Racpack]

Jaroslav - You are absolutely right. We are no where near a top five team. Lehigh, Vt. Tech, Michigan, Iowa, PSU, OSU,TOSU, and others are way ahead of Rutgers. We are moving forward. It seems that we have a lot of fans who are new to wrestling and don't completely understand the landscape. I do like everyone's enthusiasm which will help us become a top program. The coaches do a great job with the kids they have. To be top 5,recruiting must really improve. We need to recruit the top 3 kids in the respective weight classes.

 

[jerzey devil]

I recall the Michigan match last year at the RAC. We were up at the break and high-5ing and then the roof caved in. The point is that you need a 1927 Murder's Row...top to bottom... to compete at the higher level. Let's identify the facilities, scholarships and whatever else to get to the top because Wrestling is in our wheelhouse right now. Let's get there and then worry about FB, BB and the other sports that seem to require an entire culture change to attain.

If u were high-5ving anyone at the break, then u must not have known much about Michigan's team...Anyone with any knowledge of B1G wrestling knew that we had to be ahead by 19 going into 184..

You do realize that Football and BB drive the bus as far as revenue right? Football is the main reason we are in B1G... The money will be there in a few years to be able to do more...Until then, lets get the facility built and keep getting the casual fans to attend a RAC match...

 

[bigmatt718]

If u were high-5ving anyone at the break, then u must not have known much about Michigan's team...Anyone with any knowledge of B1G wrestling knew that we had to be ahead by 19 going into 184..

You do realize that Football and BB drive the bus as far as revenue right? Football is the main reason we are in B1G... The money will be there in a few years to be able to do more...Until then, lets get the facility built and keep getting the casual fans to attend a RAC match...

Michigan was absolutely loaded at the upper weights last year. Thankfully their best wrestlers are all RSing as a sure loss going into the season I think is close to a toss up now for RU. I see it playing out very similarly to the Illinois match, very close and will come down to bonus pts.

 

[Jaroslav Hasek]

all that party pooping aside - I am bullish on Rutgers long term chances. it just that it gets harder to get ahead of the competition as you go up the ladder. going from top 50 to top 25 is much easier than going from top 25 to top 10. not that any of it is "easy".

 

[HeyHuey]

If u were high-5ving anyone at the break, then u must not have known much about Michigan's team...Anyone with any knowledge of B1G wrestling knew that we had to be ahead by 19 going into 184..

You do realize that Football and BB drive the bus as far as revenue right? Football is the main reason we are in B1G... The money will be there in a few years to be able to do more...Until then, lets get the facility built and keep getting the casual fans to attend a RAC match...

We knew what Michigan was capable of. Right to the point when Billy Smith was pinned in like the first period. And I don't dispute that FB and BB are revenue sports....but for a small percentage of the investment in FB and BB the Wrestling Team can have champions and Rutgers can stop being the laughing stock of the B1G. My argument is that we have a program ready to move forward. You can disagree but when that first kid hits the National Champion podium and the best kids start opting to come here the culture changes. Winners like winners. I'm sick of 5 year programs in FB and 3 year programs in BB. Mike Rice and Kevin Bannon national humiliations. The Wrestlers are already knocking on the door. btw - The NY Media is the reason RU is in the B1G. Hobbs is driving the bus. And Rutgers really needs some respect.

 

[IroniaHorse]

I think we are 1 or 2 pieces away from competing for a team trophy(top 4). Next year may be our best team ever but let's not forget all the usual powerhouses will be back too.. For example,
PSU may have SEVEN ncaa finalist next year (suriano, zain, nolf, nickal, Joseph, Mark hall, nevills).

if those two pieces are Ruth and Taylor..

 

[IroniaHorse]

not trying to be a party pooper but there is no way Rutgers is a top 5 team next year. last year Iowa had 6 AAs and scored 81 points at the NCAAs and still finished 5th.

141 returns 4 guys ranked ahead of Ashnault. 157 returns the top 6 ranked guys. 165 will have Imar and Massa returning. 184 clears out but there will still be Bo Nickal and Myles Martin. I love watching Gravina but he just lost to Emory Parker.

a top 10 finish next year would be phenomenal, though very unlikely.

Doubt this(and next yrs) roster is Top 10.They need a stud lead off and a good closer,plus there is a few more spots in that line up that need shoring up.There will be some UGLY dual scores...

 

[GOLDBANGER]

We knew what Michigan was capable of. Right to the point when Billy Smith was pinned in like the first period. And I don't dispute that FB and BB are revenue sports....but for a small percentage of the investment in FB and BB the Wrestling Team can have champions and Rutgers can stop being the laughing stock of the B1G. My argument is that we have a program ready to move forward. You can disagree but when that first kid hits the National Champion podium and the best kids start opting to come here the culture changes. Winners like winners. I'm sick of 5 year programs in FB and 3 year programs in BB. Mike Rice and Kevin Bannon national humiliations. The Wrestlers are already knocking on the door. btw - The NY Media is the reason RU is in the B1G. Hobbs is driving the bus. And Rutgers really needs some respect.

As far as Penn State wrestling is concerned, Rutgers has earned our respect. Again, you don't take ten to the NCAA tournament and not earn respect in the B1G. So at least in D1 wrestling circles, people are taking notice.