No. 14 Rutgers wrestling ends Big Ten dual schedule with impressive win over Maryland
The Rutgers wrestling team defeated Maryland 27-12 on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The Scarlet Knights (11-5, 4-4) won 7 out of 10 bouts against the Terrapins (4-7, 2-6) to end their four-match losing streak.
Here are three takeaways from No. 14 Rutgers' dominant win.
Strong ranked wins
In the first ranked bout of the night, No. 9 junior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver emerged victorious over No. 16 Braxton Brown in his 9-5 decision and landed three takedowns. Shawver has now earned three straight wins against ranked opponents.
"He's really good. He's always been really good," said head coach Scott Goodale on Shawver. "Every single time, he wants to wrestle. He wants to compete. He's a competitor, he'll be in the thick of every single match going forward from here until March 20 for sure."
After missing the last match, No. 21 graduate student 141-pounder Mitch Moore defeated No. 28 Kal Miller with a shutout 2-0 decision to earn his third-ranked dual win of the season.
Bounce back victories
No. 19 junior 125-pounder Dean Peterson returned to his winning ways, securing a 17-2 technical fall over Tommy Capul. Peterson previously fell to No. 6 Braeden Davis last week.
Junior 157-pounder Al DeSantis ended a four-match losing streak with a 13-5 major decision victory against Michael North. The win marked DeSantis' second against Big Ten foes.
Junior 165-pounder Anthony White, who has lost his last five dual matches, ended his skid after defeating AJ Rodrigues in a 7-4 decision.
No. 14 senior 174-pounder Jackson Turley was upset by Penn State earlier in the week but was able to bounce back with a close 1-0 decision win over Dominic Solis.
Brian Soldano pins yet again
No. 19 sophomore 184-pounder Brian Soldano landed his second pin at Jersey Mike's Arena this season against Maryland. Soldano secured the fall over Chase Mielnik in the third period to get the crowd on their feet.
"There's no better feeling," Soldano said on his pin. "The crowd here is (like no other) in the country."
Soldano is now 12-7 on the season and has one ranked win heading into March.
Now that Big Ten dual action is over, Goodale is focused on the Big Ten Championships.
"We're gonna get healthy, we're gonna get rested, we're gonna train, we're gonna have a great cycle of training and we'll be ready to go in three weeks down in Maryland," he said.
The Knights will wrestle their final dual match of the season against Bloomsburg on Wednesday at Jersey Mike's Arena. The contest will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
"I just think it was good for our guys. It was good for our guys to go out, another Big Ten win at home, and that's what I’m taking away from it," Goodale said.
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