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Every point. Every bout.
That's what it's all about as you wrestle at the highest level. Rutgers took two of three matches against ranked opponents at the Northeast Duals, but came within a point of making it a sweep.
| Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals | |||
| 11/15/15 | vs. No. 22 Oklahoma | Troy, N.Y. | L, 19-18 |
| vs. No. 13 North Carolina | Troy, N.Y. | W, 19-13 | |
| vs. No. 25 Northern Iowa | Troy, N.Y. | W, 28-10 | |
Even if now-No. 9 Billy Smith had scored a major decision at Heavyweight against Oklahoma, the Knights still would have lost on criteria to the Sooners. Every point. Every match.
The Knights opened the day against the Sooners, splitting the ten bouts. A pin by Oklahoma's Cody Brewer, the No. 1 133-pounder in the nation, was the difference maker.
The Knights turned things around in the second match against North Carolina, taking seven of the bouts. Rutgers flexed some muscle at 141 and 165 in pairings of ranked opponents. At 141, No. 8 Anthony Ashnault topped No. 5 Evan Henderson, 7-4 and Anthony Perrotti, the No. 9 at 165, took a hard fought 3-2 win over No. 3 Ethan Ramos.
In its strongest showing of the day, the finale was a 28-10 win over No. 25 Northern Iowa, as RU took seven of the ten bouts. Both Perrotti and 149-pounder Tyler Dippery won by fall.
Ashnault and Richie Lewis (157) were 3-0 on the day.
Complete match results are here.
National Rankings and accolades
The strong showing at the Northeast Duals made a statement for the team and for Anthony Ashnault. For Ashnault, the three wins moved him into the top three in the nation.
TOP THREE! Redshirt sophomore Anthony Ashnault is the No. 3 wrestler in the nation at 141 pounds, per @InterMat. #d1wrestle
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) November 17, 2015
For his efforts, Ashnault also was named Flowrestling's Wrestler of the Week.
141-pounder Anthony Ashnault named @FloWrestling Wrestler of the Week! https://t.co/nIOAbC8TBn #RUWR #d1wrestle
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) November 16, 2015
It also helped the team as it moved up to No. 17.
#RUWR jumps to No. 17 in @InterMat Tournament Rankings & No. 18 in @InterMat Dual Rankings after two ranked wins at the NE Duals #d1wrestle
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) November 17, 2015
|
Intermat Dual ranking as of Nov. 17 |
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| RANK | SCHOOL | CONFERENCE | PREV | |
| 1 | Penn State | Big Ten | 1 | |
| 2 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 2 | |
| 3 | Iowa | Big Ten | 4 | |
| T-4 | Cornell | EIWA | 3 | |
|
Michigan | Big Ten | 4 | |
| 6 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 6 | |
| 7 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 7 | |
| 8 | North Carolina State | ACC | 8 | |
|
Nebraska | Big Ten | 9 | |
| 10 | Missouri | MAC | 10 | |
| 12 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 12 | |
| 13 | Illinois | Big Ten | 13 | |
| 17 | Rutgers | Big Ten | 24 | |
| 21 | Northwestern | Big Ten | ||
The Knights travel west this weekend for two matches on Saturday.
| 11/21/15 | at Oregon State | Corvalis, Ore. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| vs. Utah Valley | Corvalis, Ore. | 4:00 p.m. ET |