No. 18 Rutgers at Indiana: Wrestling Preview

After the whirlwind of a victory of in-state rival Princeton, No. 18 Rutgers hits the road for two matches against Indiana and No. 20 Purdue. First up, the Hoosiers.

Rutgers is heavily favored on paper over Indiana but there will be some toss up bouts. However, this is a prime opportunity to get to 10-5 overall on the season and even up the conference record at 3-3. This is also final preparation before the Big Ten Tournament in March.

Now that almost all of the big boys are out of the way, save for Michigan later this month, the Scarlet Knights will have opportunities to improve Big Ten seeding throughout all weight classes.

Let’s get to the matchups. Rankings are via Flo Wrestling.

Preview and Predictions

125: Shane Metzler vs. Liam Cronin

-The only common opponent here is Michigan State’s Ravon Foley with Metzler losing by tech fall and Cronin losing 12-5. Metzler has really struggled as of late, but this could be an opportunity to get back on track and start the meet with a win. We’ll have to wait and see. Indiana could also throw out Elijah Oliver, who is 19-11 on the season, and has been in and out of the rankings throughout his career. However, he has not wrestled since January 11th vs. Ohio State.

Prediction: Cronin by DECISION

133: No. 4 Nick Suriano vs. Garrett Pepple

-Suriano has been really efficient since dropping two in a row to Daton Fix and Austin DeSanto. He’ll keep it rolling here. He could push tech fall territory here.

Prediction: Suriano by MAJOR DECISION

141: Peter Lipari vs. Kyle Luigs

-We’ll go back to Lipari here after Mike Van Brill dropped his match vs. Princeton. Although I would not be surprised if both guys are brought on the trip and even if Van Brill gets the nod. Either way, this match will be close on paper. Luigs is 0-2 vs. common opponents.

Prediction: Lipari by DECISION

149: No. 1 Anthony Ashnault vs. Fernie Silva

-It’s safe to say the new number one at 149 pounds is going to be rolling here. Silva is going to have to do is best to save bonus points.

Prediction: Ashnault by TECH FALL

157: No. 17 John Van Brill vs. Jake Danishek

-Van Brill has beaten Danishek twice in the past but they did not wrestle last season. There is an astounding difference in the common opponents record: Van Brill is 20-25, Danishek is 9-30.

Prediction: Van Brill by DECISION

165: Stephan Glasgow vs. Bryce Martin

-Here’s one of the biggest toss ups of the evening. It’s a mystery as to which Glasgow will show up here. If he isn’t hampered by the knee injury, Glasgow should get the win here. But then again, this is a true question mark.

Prediction: Martin by DECISION

174: Joe Grello vs. Jake Covaciu

-Another toss up bout and by Grello’s season, he has been going win, loss, win, loss lately. I think he finally puts together a winning streak since the early part of the season.

Prediction: Grello by DECISION

184: Willie Scott vs. Norman Conley

-It looks like Scott is healthy and set to return. He will make the trip along with Nick Gravina so we could see a split between the two. When healthy, Scott has been vastly improved this season. He was even ranked in the top 25 according to Track Wrestling at 174 lbs. earlier in the season. I like his chances to return on Friday to give Rutgers a fresh look at the weight. We then might see Gravina on Sunday.

Prediction: Scott by DECISION

197: Matt Correnti vs. Jake Kleimoa

-Kleimoa hasn’t beaten any common opponents as compared to Correnti. Correnti wrestled well vs. No. 3 Patrick Brucki and if he has that same type of aggressiveness, he should win.

Prediction: Correnti by DECISION

HWT: Christian Colucci vs. Fletcher Miller

-Colucci finally opened up his offense vs. Princeton but he’ll have a tougher opponent in Miller who is 8-6 vs. common opponents, while Colucci is 4-7. This one could go either way.

Prediction: Miller by DECISION

Final Score: Rutgers over Indiana 24-9