RU Wrestlers beat Lehigh 18-15 in NWCA matchup

[Abro1975]

Goes to 285 where RU's Billy Smith beats Lehigh's Wessel in OT 3-1

At 141 Anthony Ashnault beat Randy Cruz 9-2 (same matchup as last year's Round of 12 at NCAAs)

 

[Tango Two]

More on the WIN here:

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/t...ng-vs-lehigh-updates-and-results-thread.76975

 

[AreYouNUTS]

We were down 8-0 to start and even are biggest wrestling guys predicted an ugly final score prior to the match.

IMHO the back-to-back home losses to Wiscy and Michigan may have proved to be the "jolt" this squad needed heading towards the post-season. We shall see but you gotta LOVE WHAT they did tonight!

Can't wait for MSG!!!

 

[DJ Spanky]

Nice to see the grapplers take down Lehigh.

 

[KingHigh]

Lehigh supposed to be any good?

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Lehigh supposed to be any good?

#7 and, as I said, everyone thought a "bad matchup" for us going into tonight.

 

[ClassOf02]

Lehigh supposed to be any good?

#7 in the country. Not bad.

 

[RUwoz]

Any chance of us finishing top 5 in nationals? I know PSU or Iowa is pretty much a lock for championship, but top 5 would be great

 

[knights1212]

This is great to hear. I hope we finish in the Top 10 of the nation.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Any chance of us finishing top 5 in nationals? I know PSU or Iowa is pretty much a lock for championship, but top 5 would be great

One step at a time. I'm hoping top 15 and would be pumped. Nationals are a different beast, we placed 31st last year behind seems like Rider and Princeton, FY, .BUT this program FINALLY looks like it's ready.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Watched it here with some great Bethlehem locals. Fun night and Major kudos to RU.

 

[RAA-1]

What a great night, especially that final match. Can't wait for BB to once again generate that kind of energy at the RAC.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Any chance of us finishing top 5 in nationals? I know PSU or Iowa is pretty much a lock for championship, but top 5 would be great

Very unlikely. Rutgers has a history of underperforming at nationals. The Tournament rankings based individual wrestler rankings has Rutgers finishing 15th. They would need to over perform in a huge way to come even close. That would mean putting at least one guy in the finals and another in at least the consi finals. I see Rutgers finishing around the 20-25 range.

 

[Abro1975]

To finish in top 5 at Nationals probably need 4 AA's, while a very long shot, not out of the realm of possibility w Ashnault, Perrotti, and Lewis all realistic contenders and Smith a dark horse. Getting 3 AAs should get RU a top 8-10 ranking, and 2 AAs a top 12-15.

PS- need to finish in top 8 to be an All American. The higher a wrestler places, the more points toward the ranking a team gets.

Nationals at Madison Sq Garden March 17-19. Big 10 tourney March 5 & 6 in Iowa.

 

[kjb32812]

Any chance of us finishing top 5 in nationals? I know PSU or Iowa is pretty much a lock for championship, but top 5 would be great

No. You all need to place several AAs and hopefully Ash is healthy and ready to go. Can't wait for the B1G tourney - one of my favorite events in all of sports and ESPN coverage is fantastic.

 

[rufeelinit]

3 AA's would be fantastic IMHO.

 

[Zak57]

Perotti is a monster.

 

[PSU_Nut]

To finish in top 5 at Nationals probably need 4 AA's, while a very long shot, not out of the realm of possibility w Ashnault, Perrotti, and Lewis all realistic contenders and Smith a dark horse. Getting 3 AAs should get RU a top 8-10 ranking, and 2 AAs a top 12-15.

PS- need to finish in top 8 to be an All American. The higher a wrestler places, the more points toward the ranking a team gets.

Nationals at Madison Sq Garden March 17-19. Big 10 tourney March 5 & 6 in Iowa.

Even four all American will not get you into the top 5. Penn State had 5 all Americans and 1 national champion along with a third place finish and they still finished outside the top 5.

 

[Bleed_Scarlet]

I have to tell you guys... if you have never attended a wrestling match at Rutgers, you are missing out.

I use my 9 year old, who isn't terribly interested in sports, as the barometer and he was screaming his head off.. The same one, who when we dropped the first two weight classes asked me "Are we ever going to see Rutgers win in any sport, daddy?"

That last match was as exciting as anything I have ever seen watching Rutgers football and the place was rocking.- I didn't think we had a chance in the last match (the Lehigh wrestler was as solid of a 285 you have ever seen and was tossing Billy around like a rag doll as it started)

The only frustration to me was how many Lehigh fans were there - we were literally surrounded (we were sitting right behind the Lehigh bench)..- The team deserves a packed RAC

Next year -go to a match - its worth it

 

[RUBand]

The program will continue to improve, exiting to follow

 

[Jersey Boys]

Perotti is a monster.

Shows what he can do when wrestling at a more natural weight. While he was a little off yesterday, still took a tough kid and wrestled his first complete season in 3 years. He's been zoned in all year and knows the importance of this last season and how important being a 2 time AA would be for this program.

Edit: when I say complete I mean no real mid season swoon. He's had a tendency to go into little funks during his career.

 

[Reppin_Jerz]

If I didn't go to the basketball game with a buddy who wanted to beat the traffic out of the RAC Would have stayed in the area for the wrestling match...this is a big win for the season for RU wrestling, could be a big recruiting win too for local kids in the area and in eastern PA...RU will likely finish in the top 15-20 in the NCAA tourney which isn't bad, but I'd like to see multiple AAs this time, wasn't Ash the first RU AA ever last season? Or do I have the wrong wrestler? In any case I think the goal should be three AAs this yea, which I would deem a successful season and building for the future.

 

[R U Crazy]

Most impressive to me was the performance at 184 by N. Gravina
Lost to the NCAA All American and 2nd place finisher last year 3-2.
Gravina Controlled the 3rd period and Brown was obviously gassed and could have been hit with stalling.
If Gravina can stay healthy and with the incoming recruits, Rutgers seems to be filling in the gaps in their lineup.

IMO,
A top 25 performance and at least 1 AA is an ok performance (RU has to keep churning out AA every year)
A top 20 with Multiple AA's and 3 or 4 wrestlers make it to the Blood round is a good showing.

Giraldo, Ashnault, Gravina have to stay healthy for this.
Giraldo probably wont have the gas tank this year to AA, but needs to finish strong for momentum next year when he probably bumps up 2 weight classes (Assuming AA stays at 141)

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Epic win over one of our oldest rivals.

Just awesome!

 

[Abro1975]

Even four all American will not get you into the top 5. Penn State had 5 all Americans and 1 national champion along with a third place finish and they still finished outside the top 5.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...te-list-of-2015-ncaa-wrestling-all-americans/
Right you are !
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...te-list-of-2015-ncaa-wrestling-all-americans/

FINAL 2015 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM SCORES
(N.J. and Big Ten schools in bold)1. Ohio St. 102.0 ---- 5 All Americans , 2 Champs
2. Iowa 84.03. -----6 All Americans , 0 Champs
3.Edinboro 75.5--- 4 All Americans, 0 Champs
4. Missouri 73.5 -- 5 All Americans, 1 Champ
5. Cornell 71.5----- 4 All Americans, 1 Champ
6. Penn St. 67.57.----5 All Americans, 1 Champ
7. Oklahoma St. 65.0-----4 All Americans , 1 Champ
8. Minnesota 59.5------ 4 All Americans , 0 Champs
9. Nebraska 59.010.--------3 All Americans, 0 Champs
10. Virginia Tech 56.0-------3 All Americans, 0 Champs
11. Michigan 54.0
12. Illinois 51.013. Lehigh 39.5
14. Iowa St. 39.0
15. Northwestern 34.516.-------2 All Americans , 0 champs
16.. North Carolina St. 34.0
17. Wisconsin 32.518. Oklahoma 29.5
19. Virginia 26.5
20. West Virginia 23.5---- 1 All American, 0 Champs (1 2nd place)

 

[Scarlet Jerry]

Amazing win against a great rival from yesteryear when we were considered the "middle three" (with Lehigh and Lafayette). Would love to play Lehigh in football instead of Howard or Norfolk State. Definitely would bring a bigger crowd, as well as some old timers.

This is a statement win for the program, much like the Michigan football win (except that Lehig is at the top of their game).

Scarlet Jerry


Scarlet Jerry

 

[mikefla]

Incredible! WE ARE officially a wrestling school!
We beat 10 ranked teams during the year
no other RU sport even comes close !

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Most impressive to me was the performance at 184 by N. Gravina
Lost to the NCAA All American and 2nd place finisher last year 3-2.
Gravina Controlled the 3rd period and Brown was obviously gassed and could have been hit with stalling.
If Gravina can stay healthy and with the incoming recruits, Rutgers seems to be filling in the gaps in their lineup.

Agree about Gravina. He was ultra-impressive against a top-notch wrestler.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Very unlikely. Rutgers has a history of underperforming at nationals. The Tournament rankings based individual wrestler rankings has Rutgers finishing 15th. They would need to over perform in a huge way to come even close. That would mean putting at least one guy in the finals and another in at least the consi finals. I see Rutgers finishing around the 20-25 range.

I think this group is going to be the one that gets over that hump, however, and we finish right around 15th.

 

[PSU_Nut]

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...te-list-of-2015-ncaa-wrestling-all-americans/
Right you are !
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...te-list-of-2015-ncaa-wrestling-all-americans/

FINAL 2015 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM SCORES
(N.J. and Big Ten schools in bold)1. Ohio St. 102.0 ---- 5 All Americans , 2 Champs
2. Iowa 84.03. -----6 All Americans , 0 Champs
3.Edinboro 75.5--- 4 All Americans, 0 Champs
4. Missouri 73.5 -- 5 All Americans, 1 Champ
5. Cornell 71.5----- 4 All Americans, 1 Champ
6. Penn St. 67.57.----5 All Americans, 1 Champ
7. Oklahoma St. 65.0-----4 All Americans , 1 Champ
8. Minnesota 59.5------ 4 All Americans , 0 Champs
9. Nebraska 59.010.--------3 All Americans, 0 Champs
10. Virginia Tech 56.0-------3 All Americans, 0 Champs
11. Michigan 54.0
12. Illinois 51.013. Lehigh 39.5
14. Iowa St. 39.0
15. Northwestern 34.516.-------2 All Americans , 0 champs
16.. North Carolina St. 34.0
17. Wisconsin 32.518. Oklahoma 29.5
19. Virginia 26.5
20. West Virginia 23.5---- 1 All American, 0 Champs (1 2nd place)

Do you see Rutgers having 2 guys in the finals along with two third place finishers like Edinboro or one champion and one runner up like Cornell? A top 5 finish for Rutgers would be an all time great upset.

 

[32prosper]

Top 15 at nationals would be a good showing.

 

[Abro1975]

Do you see Rutgers having 2 guys in the finals along with two third place finishers like Edinboro or one champion and one runner up like Cornell? A top 5 finish for Rutgers would be an all time great upset.

No , I do not see RU getting 2 to the finals. Honestly, I don't see 1 getting to the finals. But I do see a good chance of 2 becoming All Americans (most likely Ash and Perrotti) and Lewis has real chance of being a 3rd AA.
Smith seems to be at the 10-15 level, which is pretty damn good, but just missing AA status. Damn, getting 4 would be awesome.

 

[Ole Cabbagehead]

No , I do not see RU getting 2 to the finals. Honestly, I don't see 1 getting to the finals. But I do see a good chance of 2 becoming All Americans (most likely Ash and Perrotti) and Lewis has real chance of being a 3rd AA.
Smith seems to be at the 10-15 level, which is pretty damn good, but just missing AA status. Damn, getting 4 would be awesome.

Agree. Let's not set unrealistic expectations for the NCAA. We will be very happy with 2 AA's this year. 1 AA would be slightly disappointing, 3AA would be great. It would be equally awesome if Ash or Perrotti makes a deep run into the tournament, getting to the final or consi finals regardless of how others perform.

This team is improving. Just need to avoid letdowns, and keep showing recruits we can get them all the way to the top. Once you do it, you prove it can be done.

 

[Jersey Boys]

If I didn't go to the basketball game with a buddy who wanted to beat the traffic out of the RAC Would have stayed in the area for the wrestling match...this is a big win for the season for RU wrestling, could be a big recruiting win too for local kids in the area and in eastern PA...RU will likely finish in the top 15-20 in the NCAA tourney which isn't bad, but I'd like to see multiple AAs this time, wasn't Ash the first RU AA ever last season? Or do I have the wrong wrestler? In any case I think the goal should be three AAs this yea, which I would deem a successful season and building for the future.

We had 9 prior to Ash including Tanis who took 4th in 2002. You can see Mike Leta who coached with Sacci mat side by WNG each week. Leta took 3rd back in the stone ages :)

Also, people need to relax with the expectations for the Nationals. 15 -20 would be an enormous achievement for the program and would require multiple AA's. I'm cautiously optimistic and feel this is the strongest tourney ready squad Goody has had to date, but our history isn't the best. A good sign is that we had our best Midlands to date which is a good barometer for what to expect in March.

 

[e5fdny]

What a great night, especially that final match. Can't wait for BB to once again generate that kind of energy at the RAC.

I have to tell you guys... if you have never attended a wrestling match at Rutgers, you are missing out.

That last match was as exciting as anything I have ever seen watching Rutgers football and the place was rocking.

Next year -go to a match - its worth it

It is really like this?

I keep hearing what a match is like....the energy.

 

[Reppin_Jerz]

We had 9 prior to Ash including Tanis who took 4th in 2002. You can see Mike Leta who coached with Sacci mat side by WNG each week. Leta took 3rd back in the stone ages :)

Also, people need to relax with the expectations for the Nationals. 15 -20 would be an enormous achievement for the program and would require multiple AA's. I'm cautiously optimistic and feel this is the strongest tourney ready squad Goody has had to date, but our history isn't the best. A good sign is that we had our best Midlands to date which is a good barometer for what to expect in March.

Thank you for the clarification, I looked it up after I posted and see there have been three in the last 30 years, like you said, so it would be quite an accomplishment to get three alone this season

 

[BUDMAN4RU]

It's like any other sporting event. What happens during the match determines how exciting it will be. Wrestling has a cult following and fans are very passionate. Last night we wrestled a number 6 team in the nation team that is a long time rival. Most non wrestling fans wouldn't know Lehigh is a rival. But, everybody in the RAC last night new they were. They also brought a decent amount of fans that were loud at times that made the environment even better. But ultimately it came down to our wrestlers, who wrestled their asses off last night. The match was decided in the bottom of the 12th with a walk off homer. It was awesome.

 

[Loyal-Son]

Incredible! WE ARE officially a wrestling school!
We beat 10 ranked teams during the year
no other RU sport even comes close !

Womens' soccer? I admit to being a huge wrestling fan also, but the girls finished 4th nationally this year.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Incredible! WE ARE officially a wrestling school!
We beat 10 ranked teams during the year
no other RU sport even comes close !

How about the women's soccer team that finished 4th in the nation after making it to the Final 4?

(apologies to Loyal didn't see his post...)