No. 14 Rutgers wrestling defeated No. 21 Indiana in Big Ten opener
On Friday, No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 21 Indiana (3-1, 0-1) 30-11 to begin their Big Ten Conference schedule.
The Scarlet Knights picked up their eighth win Friday night and their first Big Ten victory on the season. Rutgers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with a victory by No. 13 Dean Peterson (125) over Indiana Blaine Frazier. Peterson pulled out a dominant performance on Friday, beating Frazier 12-1.
Wrestling in the 133 weight class, No. 8 Dylan Shawver followed Peterson’s performance with a 22-7 tech fall over Indian Cayden Rooks to give Rutgers an 11-0 lead.
The Hoosier fought back in the 141 weight class when No. 23 Dan Fongaro captured a 20-3 tech fall over Max Hermes to cut the Scarlet Knights’ lead to 11-5. Indiana would record back-to-back victories with a victory in the 149 weight class. No. 14 Graham Rooks defeated Rutgers’ Michael Cetta 8-2 in a decision to give Rutgers a three-point lead.
Ranked win over the Hoosiers!#RelentlessPursuit | #GoRU pic.twitter.com/pewk8hyQ9a
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) January 13, 2024
The Scarlet Knights bounced back when Al Desantis defeated Zack Rotkvich 9-0 in a major decision to give RU a 15-8 lead heading into intermission. After intermission, the Hoosier would receive their final points of the night with a victory in the 165-pound weight class. Indiana No. 23 Tyler Lillard defeated Anthony White by a 5-1 decision, cutting Rutgers’ lead to four.
After White’s loss to Lillard, the Scarlet Knights would win the final four matches to secure their eighth victory. Rutgers No. 27 Jackson Turley had a huge win when he defeated No. 9 Donnell Washington 15-0 in the 174 weight class to lock up Rutgers’ victory.
The Scarlet Knights return to action on Sunday when they hit the road to take on Purdue (5-3) in West Lafayette, Indiana.
